This document outlines common conventions in horror genre films including settings, technical elements, iconography, narrative structures, character types, and themes. Settings often involve isolated or abandoned places like rural areas, houses, or institutions at night. Technically, the camera work aims to unsettle viewers with weird angles, close-ups, and subjective shots. Iconography includes dark colors, lighting, and props related to violence or the supernatural. Narratives typically follow the victim/hero and resolve at the end. Character types include the final girl, stupid characters, children, ineffectual authority figures, and monsters. Themes explore binary oppositions and the return of repressed ideas around topics like the unnatural, evil, madness, and

1. Horror Genre Conventions

2. Don’t Ignore S T I N C T …

3. Settings *Small Communities *Isolated Places *Rural Suburban Areas *Places with ‘past’ which will return *Abandoned houses *Homes with cellars and attics *Night-time/out of hour *Religions *Medical institutions- Possession, demons, psychosis

4. Technical Code *Expressive camera work *Weird high & low angles *Canted camera work *ECU’s on victim, identification with terror *ECU’s on monster connoting invasion of personal space *POV subjective, handheld or steadicam putting audience in monsters eyes *Use of depth of frame in camerawork, protagonist in foreground. *Unsettling jumps, sudden movement creates suspense. *Ambient sound for atmosphere, footsteps etc.

5. Iconography *Visual signifiers of genre *Colours black and red- connotations *Lighting, low key high contrast emphasises shadows *From unexpected angles (bonfires, natural light- sunlight, moonlight) *Mise-en-scene, weapons, blood, masks, icons of supernatural *Iconography of childhood/innocence *Specific props: axes, knifes, guns, chainsaws, costumes, masks.

6. Narrative Structure *Classic realist/classic Hollywood *Todorov’s theory of equilibrium *Props theory of hero’s and villains *Levi Strauss theory of binary oppositions *Who, what and where *The ending resolves what has happened.

7. Character Types *Main protagonist, victim/hero *The final girl *Stupid/Immoral *Children *Ineffectual police *Ghosts/Zombies *Demons *Psychopath *Stalker *Spirits *Werewolf

8. Themes *Binary oppositions – natural vs unnatural; good vs evil; known vsunkown *Return of the repressed- Freudian theory *Science out of control *Mental Problems, envy, revenge, suicide, supernatural, sexuality, the past, lust