Codes and Conventions of Horror genre

Codes and Conventions of Horror Genre

Narrative Structure:

•      Standard Chronological Structure with beginning, middle, end (Conflict, Struggle, Realization)

•      Often there is heavy foreshadowing to build tension

•      The problem the protagonist faces is caused or exacerbated by being isolated, unprepared, or naive

•      The narrative is built to cause tension, anxiety, and fear in the audience

•      Story plays on standard human fears: the dark, strangers, isolation, death, violence, insanity, creepy monsters

Themes:

•      Good vs. Evil

•      Religion and the Supernatural or Beyond Death

•      Nightmares, Madness, Insanity, Suicide

•      Childhood Fears and Issues

•      Revenge

•      Science gone bad

•      Murder, Death, Hate

•      Darkness, Demons, Satanic Ritual

Setting:

•      Hospitals, Insane Asylums, Mental Institutions or Hotels (long hallways and lots of rooms)

•      Graveyard or Cemetery

•      Churches or Convents

•      Isolated communities or remote locations (cabin, abandoned mansion, haunted house, ghost town, farm field, dark woods, tunnels) – deserted places

•      Basements, Attics, Science Labs

Props and costumes:

•      Dark colored clothes, costumes, settings

•      Weapons (rarely guns – usually a stabbing or cutting weapon like knives, scythes, axes, chainsaws)

•      Religious or Demonic Symbolism

•      Monsters (vampires, evil scientist, werewolves, zombies, possessed people, mass murderer)

•      Lots of black and red

•      Mirrors, masks, peepholes, stalking, chasing

•      Running and then tripping and falling (being chased)

Cinematography:

•      Unnatural camera angles – very high, very low, canted (to show dominance and innocence and power relations)

•      Extreme Close-Ups on victim’s face to show fear

•      Long take with a sudden jump cut to frighten viewer

•      Point of View (POV) shots from the view of the villain

•      Handheld camera adds terror

•      Shallow depth of field – makes whatever is behind the protagonist blurry to build suspense

Sound and music:

•      Ambient Diegetic sounds (footsteps, chainsaw, breathing)

•      Orchestral (violin)

•      Silence used to build tension