Blog Post #1





Horror


Genre Conventions - content: The most obvious purpose of the horror genre is to scare and frighten the audience. In order to do so, unsettling themes are usually portrayed. These themes can range from death, demons, homicide, to ghosts. Horror films tends to take place in a creepy or unnerving setting. The Conjuring is an example of this because the setting is in a large, old house, which is located in the middle of the woods. Key elements like foreshadowing, jump scares, and suspenseful music are used in order to get a frightening reaction from the audience. Filmmakers in this genre investigate to know what people’s biggest fears are. Through these fears, they are able to put it on screen and create a visual nightmare for most. The main characters are usually the one experiencing the horror and pain the audience does not wish to feel. This creates a suspenseful feeling for the audience since they will not know whether the main character will come out dead or alive. There is a common subgenre to horror which is the psychological horror. This subgenre that relies on mental, emotional and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle viewers.


Genre conventions - production technique: In horror films, many production techniques can be used to efficiently improve the quality for the viewers. Some common production techniques begin in just the screenplay, where things such as using older English, Latin and so on and so forth are used to add an extra layer of unknowingness to the conversations within the film. An extremely popular production technique in horror films is the use of GCI or special FX makeup to achieve gorey looks that otherwise would be virtually impossible. The use and absence of audio is incorporated to create what is known as a jump scare. A scene which its main purpose is to physically scare the viewer or in other words make them “jump”. Another common production technique is having underexposed environments. This makes for dark scenes which appropriately math the horror genre and also make things harder to see with the physical eye, making it easier to scare the audience.


Film/magazine sample #1 - include analysis of how this film embodies your genre: https://youtu.be/XSOvTa38w24 The film Sinister (2012) is a great example for a horror film. The plot revolves around Ellison, whose discovery in the attic of his new house of a box of home movies depicting grisly murders puts his family in danger. The film consists of many jump scares and gory murder scenes of several families. The gray-like color scheme accounts for a creepy effect in the viewers. Sinister contains a demon haunting the house. The use of something supernatural in the film also contributes to it being a horror film.


Film/magazine sample #2 - include analysis of how this film embodies your genre: https://youtu.be/wHbpWtMOJTI In It (2017) many jump scares are incorporated into the film to keep viewers interested, afraid and on the edge of their seats. Many scenes include a dark palette, low exposure and both a mixture of CGI and special FX makeup to bring the monsters main antagonist, Pennywise the killer clown to life.


List of 5-7 other film/ magazine examples within the genre (with links or images of these examples)








The Shining (1980)











2. The Conjuring (2013)





Annabelle





Silence of the Lambs





The Babadook