Genre Research

Horror -

The earliest horror films drew upon the legends round Europe, the silent films were the first of their era. They were often also inspired by spirit photography (the blurring of a photo deliberately)
Some earliest horror films were about the three main subjects - werewolf's and vampyres and Frankenstein. When the world was faced with war the films changed - the fear over atomic bombing changed the films and things like Godzilla and King Kong. After the wars the soldiers inspired a new type of horror films - their mutilated faces gave birth to the films of mutants. A technology upgrade started the 'invasion' films - for example Mars Attacks! The 'slasher' films were then made - these shocker the world as there had been nothing like this before. The monsters and ghosts were still as popular but they started to go the exploration of supernatural creatures - creating a new genre. The next decade saw the release of the exorcist which again shocked the world - many countries banned it. Body gore also appeared in films like the Texas chainsaw massacre. Another type of horror film appeared - killer animals. Jaws was released in 1975. The 90s brought the old elements of horror film and turned them into comical horror - Scream is a good example. The 200's bought the zombies out to play and a new twist on the vampyre world. Blade,underworld and Van Helsing all became big box office hits. Resident Evil became the bets selling zombie style film of the decade. The 2010's do a lot of remakes but drop films like Oujia and The Purge.

A Horror film is made to make the audience feel uneasy and a sense of emotional dread and fear. They are often made to replicate our fears as they make good stories are they are built of legends or old stories or books. They often shock us or use a plot twist and often have unhappy endings but this is what makes them entertaining - they give us a sense of adrenaline.
A lot of horror films are hybrid genre's - they mix and match a lot of them to create a better film.

Action Horror - This genre has the elements of gun fights and frantic chases along with normal conventions of horror.




Comedy Horror - This is a mixture of comedy and horror.



Gothic Horror - Often tied in with a romantic storyline that unfolds and is suspenseful.



Natural Horror - This genre often uses mutated animals and/or plants to create it effects. It often overlaps with Sci - Fi or action/adventure as they all show the storyline to it full potential. 



Psychological horror - This is one of the most popular horror sub genres. It uses characters guilt,fears,hidden story lines or uses the audiences fears to create its effect. It uses eerie music,emotional instability or supernatural causes to build tension to and freak out its audience. They often have an open storyline so they can make series.



Sci - Fi horror - Often involves aliens and/or mad scientists or an experiment gone wrong.



Slasher - This involves a psychopathic killer that often has a hidden past to how they became this way. They often kill using a chainsaw or knife.



Settings - They are often isolated or hidden/abandoned places with a hidden past. They are often set in the night but not always. They often are filmed in the middle of nowhere - often in woods or an empty town. Church's are often a favourite too as they are religious and a lot of horror films use the thing of being sacrilegious.
Technical Code - They use a lot of slow pace action and editing to make the tension. A lot of diegtic sound gets distorted and non-diegetic sound is 'incidental'. Low lighting is used to create fear and mystery,high and low angles are use to make the audience seem submisive and helpless or dominant and in power. Jumpcuts/jumpscares are used to keep the auidence on the edge of their seats. Point of view shots make the auidence sympatize with the character.
Iconography - Blood,weapons,gore,religous,colours,clothes,masks
Narrative - Beginning/middle/end. Often ends unhappily or involves a cliff hanger.
Character types - Hero/Victim (Protagonist) Villian,Children,Supernatural characters/Monsters/Ghosts/Teenagers.
Themes - Demons/Exorcism. Apocalyptic/ Post Apocalyptic. Nightmares/Religious Beliefs. Good vs Bad/Revenge & Hatred/Haunting.