Codes and Conventions of Horror

Location

 

In a horror genre, isolated areas and dark areas are usually the main location and setting. Since Supernatural is the most selling sub-genre at this particular time and the majority of horrors are supernatural, the common location tends to be in haunted house. These homes are usually isolated and in the outer suburbs surrounded by a lot of greenery and lakes. They are usually all cracked up and the paint is peeling off, this is to create a more haunting feeling. Usually the narrative of this location is that they are just moving into the home or even visiting it for a short while. The reasons why horror movies are general set in isolated and big houses is because it symbolises "no escape". Since they are isolated it presents a trapped feeling and so it creates more fear and tension since the victim wouldn't know where to go. Having a big house emphasises fear because it means that there are a lot of areas, rooms and space which will create a feeling that anything can pop out from any corner. An example of this is like from the movie the stranger, the house is so big that she doesn't know where to go and the antagonist is just standing behind her in the dark shadow without her realising.

 

Forests are a common location for slasher movies. Since forests are so big and it’s hard to find any resources, it is the perfect area for a gruesome killing. Gothic, olden day’s horror movies would usually be located in castles, towers and dark locations.

(Forest Location - Firday 13th)            (Isolated Home- Amityville Horror)

Characters

In every horror movie there is an antagonist, a protagonist, a donor/helper and innocent victims. Depending on the subgenre in which the movie is trying to promote there will be a range of characters. The characters that generally appear are a Final girl who is generally the antagonist and she tends to live and fights of the protagonist. She is generally really wise and resourceful and has masculine features. We tend to have more female protagonists in horror. This is because the audience are more likely to accept a female who is terrified and screaming as she battles against the antagonist, rather than a male.
  There will be the "dumb", hopeless girl that will either be the first victim or die a careless death due to her faults. When it comes to possession the main characters are either older women or young children. This is a good way to freak out the audience since they wouldn’t expect little innocent children to be demonic and possessed by an evil spirit so they wouldn’t think of them to be murderous. Having an old woman being possessed is really freaky since we don’t know what they can do as for they have been around for many years and by having old, wrinkly features just adds more of a horrific image. Killers are usually in slasher and psychological are usually really tall with unattractive facial features which tends to scare the audience and makes them think that they are "abnormal". Their face is usually hidden with a mask to hide their identity; this would make us feel like there is a mystery to solve. Within movies you will expect to see a donor or a helper like a priest, doctor or an exorcist, this is so the audience feel like there is going to be a solution to the problem that they are facing and so it gives the audience the peace of mind that everything will be okay since they are either scientifically clever or religiously faithful. 

(Killer From Scream)                 (Protagonist and Antagonist

                                                                                            from the devil inside)

Costume

The main victims tend to wear revealing clothing like short skirts and vest tops which suggests promiscuity; in horrors the sexual transgressors die, so when the audience see a scantily clad woman showing off her cleavage it sets her up as a victim in their minds and builds up their expectations. They wear this type of clothing to show that they are too careless and un-classy which is why they are the main target for the killer. Across the movies they tend to wear really dark colours to reflect the horror theme. The antagonist wears either dark clothing, a lot of layers, dark leather look or cloaks. This is to hide their identity and the idea of what they could be, or they tend to wear a white long gown to contrast with their demonic side and show the other characters that they are innocent. The white gown can also represent a ghostly look and feeling which makes it clear to the audience that they are the antagonist.  The dark costume is a way to show a dark soul and a sinister agenda. Since the protagonist tends to be females they usually wear sophisticated clothing, a bit baggy but have a feminine fit, this is to show the audience that she is fearless and powerful yet she has the masculine power. Their clothes quite often end up being ripped as a sign of distortion and terror.

(White Gown - Grave Encounters)

Sound

The sounds you will expect to hear in horror movies are so big and extravagant that will get you off your seat. At times of tension you would hear sounds that are eerie, footsteps, heartbeats and bangs. Generally, diegetic sounds are emphasised to make the certain scene more effective by adding tension to that certain scene. An example of this, is a like water droplets sound being enhanced since it can reflect a heartbeat and so that can relate to the audiences mood as for they would be on edge when watching that certain scene. This is all added so that people feel like they are part of the movie and also it causes tension which just emphasises on the horror theme. If the movie involves a child, contrapuntal music like nursery rhymes. This generally sends the chills down the audience’s backs since it’s something they grew up with and it could be them. Contrapuntal sounds are also unnatural which can create a creepy, shivers feeling. Stabs are added to add more of a horrific feeling, they enhance the scared feeling. The audience enjoy these since it gets their blood pumping.

Weapons

To create a horrific and graphical deaths, weapons like knifes, axes and chainsaws are all used to create this effect. These weapons tend to appear in mostly slashers or even psychological. Not every sub-genre of horror involves deadly weapons, usually if there is any available resources like a plank, or a pole, these can be used as a weapon. Weapons are mostly used in slashers due to the fact they create the most dramatic and graphical deaths which is something the target audience want to see. The reason why knives are the most common weapon opposed to guns or poison is because it provides more gore and a slow gruesome death. When using a knife it creates more of a dramatic scene as for we see the blood on the knife, the stabbing motion can reflect the sound which creates a high tensional moment. Guns involve a fast death and less blood which goes against the typical codes and conventions of a slow painful death.