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Horror is intended to scare, startle, and shock the audience. It often deals with themes of death, darkness, and the unknown, and it can be used to explore a wide range of human emotions, including fear, anxiety, and disgust. Horror stories often create a sense of suspense and dread by slowly revealing information to the reader or viewer. Anxiety is created from this, as the audience waits to see what will happen next. Horror stories also often rely on jump scares and other unexpected moments to startle and frighten the audience. Horror is a popular genre because we can be scared and safe at the same time. The typical target audience for horror is young adults and teenagers, aged 15-25. This is because people in this age group are often drawn to the excitement and thrill of being scared.

Genre Conventions

Content

There are many recurring aspects to horror that are crucial if you are creating a horror film. In order for a horror film to be a horror film it has to have some of these elements.

Fear of the Unknown: Often, the fear of the unknown is more potent than what is explicitly shown or described. Leaving certain aspects of other stories or monsters ambiguous can enhance fear.

Suspense: Building tension and suspense is a

fundamental aspect of horror. Slowly revealing

information or escalating the threat over time

can keep the audience on edge

Gore and Body Horror: Depictions of violence,
gore, and bodily mutilation can be used to shock and disturb the audience. However, it's essential to use these elements as excessive gore can desensitize viewers.

Monsters and Creatures: Many horror stories feature monsters

or supernatural beings, whether they are vampires, zombies,

ghosts, or original creations. The design and characteristics of these

creatures contribute to the horror.

Production Techniques

Lighting

This is a critical element in horror movies for several reasons

Setting the Mood: Lighting sets the tone and atmosphere of a scene. In horror, dim, shadowy lighting can create a scary ambiance that immediately tells the audience that something bad is about to happen.

Creating Tension: Carefully manipulated lighting can build tension by revealing elements in the scene. Low-key lighting, with strong shadows and dark corners, can hide potential threats and keep the audience in suspense.

Revealing the Unknown: Effective horror often involves slow reveals and concealing frightening elements. Proper lighting can control what the audience sees and heighten the fear of the unknown and the unexpected.

Symbolism: The use of specific lighting techniques, such as color can convey foreshadowing. For instance, red lighting can evoke danger or blood, while blue lighting may bring a sense of ghostly, paranormal activity.

Jump Scares: Quick changes in lighting, such as a sudden bright flash or flickering lights, are often used to accompany jump scares and intensify the shock value of a scene.

Ex: In the movie "Psycho" they use backlighting to hide the face of the killer

Sound

Establishing the mood: Soundscapes, including background music, ambient noise, and sound effects, set the mood and atmosphere of a horror film. The right audio cues can immediately create a sense of foreboding, tension, and unease.

Building Suspense: Sound can be used to build suspense and anticipation. Ominous music, whispers, or distant screams can create a sense of coming danger, keeping the audience on edge.

Jump Scares: Sudden and intense sound effects, known as stings, are a hallmark of horror films. These go with visual scares, making them more startling and effective.

Foreshadowing: Audio cues might hint at upcoming events and create a sense of approaching doom. Additionally, even when nothing is shown on screen, they can make the audience believe that there is danger.

Pacing and Rhythm: Sound can influence the pacing of a horror film. Changes in music, sudden silences, and the rhythm of audio cues can manipulate the audience's emotions and keep them engaged.

Institutional Conventions

Horror marketers identify and understand the demographic profiles of their target audience. This includes age groups, gender, interests, and cultural backgrounds. Then they make trailers that often feature quick cuts of intense and frightening scenes, aiming to capture the audience's attention and curiosity. They build suspense and provide a glimpse of the film's mood and terrifying elements. They also make things like posters that typically convey the genre's mood and key visual elements. It often features striking or eerie imagery that piques interest. Teasers are short video clips that usually released way before the movie is to keep potential movie watchers excited and anticipated to watch the film. Teasers can also provide some more background on the movie. Considering that their target audience is prime users of technology, horror marketers will try to promote the movie on social media websites like TikTok, Instagram, etc.

Example: For the "Smile" movie they decided to promote the movie by hiring actors to make creepy smiling faces at a baseball game. This became a huge hit on TikTok, which made the movie go viral

Samples !!!

"The Conjuring" (2013) has a lot of key elements and techniques that make it a great representation of the genre. The atmosphere and setting excel in creating a dark and eerie atmosphere. The film's farmhouse, isolated and shrouded in darkness, is the perfect setting for building tension. When it comes to pacing the movie does a great job of a gradual buildup of tension. It takes its time to establish the characters before introducing the supernatural elements. This slow burn contributes to a sense of dread. The film features terrifying supernatural entities, such as the malevolent spirits in the house. Their eerie appearances and behaviors tap into primal fears, making them truly horrifying. The film features terrifying supernatural beings, like the evil spirits in the house. Their sinister appearances and behaviors tap into primal fears, making them truly horrifying. In the film, there are well-timed jump scares to make the audience jump. These moments, often accompanied by sharp sound effects (stings), take the viewer by surprise and provoke fear. Getting more into the sound aspect, it uses a combination of unsettling ambient sounds, sudden stings, and a haunting musical score to create an unsettling auditory experience. A classic that "The Conjuring" movie has is that the film is based on true events, even if it's minor events it is a great trick that they use to grab the attention of the audience and scare them even before they have a scene in the film.

"Halloween" (1978) is an essential example of the horror genre. Halloween " introduces one of the most iconic horror villains in cinematic history, Michael Myers. The film's setting of a quiet, suburban neighborhood provides a contrast to the horrors that unfold. The familiarity of this setting amplifies the fear, as it suggests that such violence and terror can happen anywhere. When talking about tension, just like "The Conjuring", "Halloween" also has a slow-burn approach to building tension. The film takes its time, allowing the audience to get to know the characters and their vulnerabilities, creating a sense of dread as they are stalked by Michael. John Carpenter's (created the music) haunting music is an essential part of the movie. The repetitive piano notes and eerie synthesizer music contribute to the movie's atmosphere and create an unsettling experience. The film uses first-person point-of-view shots to give viewers a perspective of being Michael Myers. This adds to the suspense, as we see the world through the eyes of the killer. "Halloween" relies on suspense, tension, and psychological horror.