JH - Genre Analysis

1. What is your chosen genre? Research your genre. What sub-genres exist? Are you following the conventions of a sub-genre? Outline some films which fit into this genre which you find interesting in some way.

My chosen genre is horror as this is what our opening of a film is based on and the genre itself contains sub genres. Horror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Many horror movies also include a central villain. Various sub genres include psychological horror, slasher horror, comedy horror and gore horror.

Psychological horror tends to be subtle compared to traditional horror and typically contains less physical harm, as it works mainly on the factors of mentally affecting the audience. Psychological horrors rely a lot on various emotions of the viewers, so that they too can relate to this and it also uses a lot of various techniques to build on suspense, like music, sound effects and shocks. Good examples of psychological horror films include the likes of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

Slasher film is a sub-genre of the horror film genre typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a chainsaw or knife. This creates enigma and terrifies audiences due to the realism and the thought of it happening to them. Successful slasher films include The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Scream.

Comedy horror relates to a combination of strong horror and a frequent use of satire, intertwining to present a more relaxed enigma however at the same time uses strong themes of horror, shocking and terrifying audiences. Classic examples of comedy horror include the Scary Movie franchise and Severance.

A final sub genre of horror is gore horror. This is an extreme form of horror and presents ideas in a graphical and violent manor. It gives the film a sense of realism and the obvious killing style involving a lot of blood and weaponry scares the audience. Examples of successful gore films include the SAW franchise and Hostel.

2. Pick three of these and outline specific techniques or style which you think might be useful for what you are planning.

Three of these films which I think are extremely effective in terms of scaring an audience and present the theme of horror in a terrifying way include Paranormal Activity, The Texas chainsaw massacre and Hostel.

Paranormal activity lists under the sub genre of psychological horror. It’s all filmed using the style of a hand held camera, similar to the Blair Witch project. Its effective as the way is filmed presents a sense of extreme realism and from one point of view (the cameras) the whole time, which means you don’t always see the main action and have to think for yourself about what is taking place. The way it’s filmed also allowed the film to be made on an extremely low budget of £15,000 which is going to be a factor when making our opening 2 minutes.

The Texas chainsaw massacre relates to the genre slasher. As it’s based on a true story, it immediately establishes enigma and builds tension for the audience before the film has even started. This could be useful to use in our opening two minutes as it tells the audience this has happened and could happen to them which makes the experience even more terrifying. The use of the infamous chainsaw is also extremely effective and creates a feeling terror alone. Again this concept could be used in our film as a simple way to emphasise the theme of horror.

Hostel is clearly comes under the sub genre of gore horror as the sickening reality of the event throughout the film are used to scare audiences and portray the genre with a sense of realism. This however may be hard to include in our opening scene as we are working with a low/no budget, but if ideas were used successfully it could be extremely beneficial.

3. What is a typical narrative for this genre of film? How could this be set up in the opening to create enigma or suspense?

There is clearly a main type of narrative for horror films however they seem to vary depending on the sub genre. Relating to the film examples previously used, Paranormal Activity and the Blair Witch Project, both psychological horrors, have a similar narrative of slowly setting the scene and getting to know the characters, a subtle introduction to the horror and then a full on scenes of horror with a psychological twist at the end, often leaving room for a sequel. The openings start to establish enigma and suspense as we start to realise unusual event taking place and assume that the worse is yet to come. The introduction with the characters also positions you with them for the rest of them film and then when the horror is introduced it makes it even more terrifying as we feel connected to the victims.
The Texas chainsaw massacre has a slightly different narrative as do most slasher films. They usually start of with a group of friends, mainly teenagers, going on a road trip or somewhere together which unknown to them is previous place of murder, although the audience usually know this. The horror is then introduced and one by one the characters start to get killed off usually leaving the two main characters at the end and finally the girl. In some slasher films the villain is killed by the remaining characters, however, like in Texas chainsaw massacre the villain survives leaving room for a sequel. The openings to these films create suspense as we, the audience, already know the horrors that have taken place at the location and believe that these characters are about to experience similar. Finally films like hostel and SAW, a sub genre of gore horror, have a completely different narrative. These types of films usually start immediately with a killing, in an extreme fashion, creating tension and suspense from the start. They often create an immediate puzzle or twist that is left to resolve throughout the rest of the film. These narratives can be used to structure our opening in terms of ideas as we need to establish a sense of enigma and suspense straight away in order to create a successful and scary 2 minute clip.

4. What kind of characters are conventional to this type of genre? Identify archetypal heroes or villains, stock characters?

There are defiantly typical characters the conventional to the genre horror. Archetypal heroes are often females who appear to be useless throughout the narrative, however usually prove successful in the end by killing the villain or saving the day. Villains in a horror film are often mentally challenged or have superhuman strength and speed which allows the audience to think the characters have a slim chance of survival and will be shown no mercy. There are acceptations however, like in the SAW franchise, where the villain is extremely intelligent and can therefore create life threatening situations for the characters with ease. This again creates a sense of the characters having no escape, as they are not in control. Stock characters in horror films are usually typical teenagers or a group of friends who are killed off by the main villain in a terrifying and often gruelling fashion.

5. What are typical locations or settings for this genre

Usual places for a horror film to be set are remote locations where the characters have little chance of escaping or calling for help. This creates a strong sense of isolation and builds tension and enigma relating to survival. Typical locations could be the woods, abandoned houses, cabins and cornfields. All of which suggest no one will be around, except of course the villain. The sets are usually dully lit and or even shot at night to enhance the enigma.

6. What iconography would you expect to see in this genre?

Typical iconography in a horror film would be extreme types of weaponary, which are of course used to kill the victims. These could include chainsaws, axes and kifes, typically used in slasher films like the Texas chainsaw massacre and Scream. Types of masks are also often used in horror films to cover the villains face, establishing tension as the audience then doesn’t know who or what the killer is. This has been used in again the Texas chainsaw massacre and Scream.

7. Find examples of suitable costume.

8. How is lighting/colour used? What effects would you want to create with lighting? Identify connotations of particular colours.

Obvious lighting used is dull lighting or the film may even be shot at nigh. This immediately establishes enigma and makes the whole situation more terrifying. Colours used would be mainly dull in horror films, especially by the villain, wearing mainly black. Red may also be used to signify danger and could be an indication in to who’s likely to be killed or possibly who the real killer is.

9. Find examples of fonts which would be suitable for this genre for title sequence