Genre: Horror
Target Audience
Horror movies are super popular with teens and young adults (mostly ages 15-35) who love the excitement and rush of being scared. A lot of horror fans enjoy getting that thrill of suspense and fear, especially when watching with friends. It’s also popular with people who like stories that dig into weird, creepy, or mind-bending topics.
Genre Conventions – Content
- Common Themes: Horror movies usually play on our fear of the unknown, the supernatural, and the danger of the “what if.” Themes often include survival against something dangerous, ghostly, or evil. Sometimes, horror movies use monsters or scary situations to talk about real-life fears or social issues.
- Character Types: Horror has a lot of recurring characters, like the one who survives, villains or monsters, and innocent people who get caught up in scary situations.
- Story Elements: Often set in isolated places (like haunted houses, forests, or creepy towns), horror plots involve people facing off against something terrifying or supernatural. The tension builds through unexpected twists, reveals, and jump scares.
Genre Conventions – Production Techniques
- Lighting: Dark and shadowy lighting is key to horror, creating a sense of fear and making viewers feel uneasy.
- Camera Angles: Low and high angles are used to make characters seem powerful or powerless, while close-ups are common to show fear or panic on characters’ faces.
- Sound: Horror often uses creepy music, sudden loud noises, and eerie sounds (like creaking doors) to make scenes more intense.
- Editing: Quick cuts and jump scares keep viewers on edge, and slow-motion is sometimes used to make terrifying moments last longer.
Institutional Conventions – Marketing
Horror movies are usually marketed with trailers that focus on suspense and mystery. Posters often use dark colors, spooky images, and bold, creepy fonts. Horror movies are released around Halloween to add to the eerie vibe, and many of them go viral because of their scare factor, so social media plays a big role in horror marketing.
Film Sample #1: Lights Out (2016)
Lights Out is a supernatural horror film that plays on one of the most basic fears: the dark. The story follows Rebecca, who tries to protect her younger brother, Martin, from a mysterious figure named Diana, who only appears when the lights are off. Diana is a ghostly, terrifying figure connected to their mother’s past, and she only exists in darkness, vanishing when the lights are on.
- Horror Elements: The fear factor in Lights Out is all about shadows and what you can’t see. It builds suspense by making the darkness itself a threat, keeping viewers constantly on edge. The movie doesn’t rely on a ton of blood or gore; instead, it uses that primal fear of what could be hiding in the dark to scare the audience.
- Production Techniques: The film is heavy on visual tricks with lighting. For example, it often shows Diana standing menacingly in the dark, only visible when lights flicker or flash. The filmmakers use quick cuts and low lighting to keep her mysterious, making her scarier since you don’t get a clear view of her. The sound design also ramps up the fear – there are unsettling noises like scratching and echoing footsteps that make the darkness feel alive.
- Themes: Lights Out explores themes of family and mental health, as Rebecca tries to protect her brother from both Diana and the trauma affecting their mom. The story hints at how past trauma can haunt people, literally and figuratively, creating monsters that are hard to face.
Film Sample #2: The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring is a classic supernatural horror movie inspired by real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. They’re called in to help a family who just moved into a new house that turns out to be haunted by a powerful, malevolent spirit. Things go from creepy to terrifying as the family starts experiencing terrifying hauntings, and the Warrens try to save them before it’s too late.
- Horror Elements: The Conjuring uses supernatural horror with ghosts, spirits, and possessions. It has tons of jump scares, but it also builds a heavy, scary atmosphere with eerie silences and unsettling visuals, like creepy dolls and haunted basements.
- Production Techniques: The movie uses dark lighting to create shadows and uses sound effects, like whispers and creaking doors, to make you feel uneasy. The camera angles are often close-up to show fear on characters' faces or from weird perspectives, like the spirit’s point of view.
- Themes: At its core, The Conjuring explores the fear of the unknown and forces beyond human control. The idea that evil could hide anywhere, even in your own home, makes it relatable and terrifying for audiences.
Other Examples of Horror Films:
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Hereditary
Paranormal Activity
It Follows
The Shining
Halloween