Blog Post #5 - Horror Genre Conventions

Genre conventions are essentially the "building blocks" needed to create a movie in a specific genre. Horror has many typical conventions, that you will be able to find in almost every movie in the genre. These conventions consist of Monsters/a malicious force or person: these are often psychopathic entities who enjoy murder - Monsters are also a manifestation of the protagonist's greatest fears. Isolated spaces are also a very common convention across the genre; adding even more horror to the film, putting the protagonist in harms way with no one around to help, and no where to run, only the scare amount of supplies available in the setting. Horror films also use low-key lighting, peculiar or strange camera angles and tend to be set at night; these technical elements add to the atmosphere of the film, making every moment tense and frightening. 


This shot from "The Exorcist" (1973) is an excellent use of these conventions. The scene uses the night setting, open framing, fog, and low-key lighting, to make a scene without a monster or any disturbing imagery unsettling and off putting. Scenes like this are seen in most films in the genre (maybe not executed as greatly) to create a sense of suspense and terror that lasts the film's runtime. 

This research is important to the planning of my final project so that I can nail down what a horror film truly is. Using these conventions a scene without unsettling imagery can still frighten the audience, and I will definitely use almost if not every single one of these conventions in my opening scene. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post #29 - Full Script

  TITLE CARD FADE IN: EXT. SUBURBAN HOME - FRONT DOOR - NIGHT                                                                     1 JOHN, BRUCE, SAM, and JAMES arrive at BLAIR’s house and begin to knock on the door.  JOHN  (to BRUCE) Hey we’re proud of you man JAMES: Yeah man, I could never BRUCE: Ah, don’t say that man Clutter and locks moving are heard from inside before BLAIR frantically slams open the door. BLAIR: Ah crap guys, how long were you out here? I’m so sorry. JOHN: (to BLAIR) Nah, don’t sweat man, not lo- SAM: (to BLAIR) Lonng.  The group lead by SAM walk into BLAIR’s house  CUT TO: INT. SUBURBAN HOME ...
Read more

Blog Post #12 - Auditioning for "Party Guest 2"

Image
 My film will take place at a party, where a guest is possessed. That being said I will need multiple people to attend the party, and multiple people to get killed. This audition is for the second party guest, and for one of the 3 kills(what I am aiming for) of the opening scene. Candidate 1: Mason Mattix Candidate 2: Matthew Stramiello For the party guests I am looking for how well the candidates can act out fear, and expression. After analyzing both auditions, I have chosen to cast Candidate 2: Matthew Stramiello as "Party Guest 2". He is much more expressive then Candidate 1, and truly show cases the horror he is witnessing through his body posture. 
Read more

Blog Post #44 - Filming Scene 3 [Patio Party Starts]

Image
 This is the third scene in the film where the group(Romen Basu, Cole Bryant, Matthew Stramiello, and Robert Sokoll) goes into the patio, to start playing football, and grilling. However, right as the guys start playing football, Blair's(Romen) dogs want to come outside, and when John(Cole) lets them out, they run out of the gate of Blair's house, so Blair leave to go find them.  This scene is where the friends find themselves most at comfort before the horror begins. The music blasting and them being together in a group, give them a false sense of security and safety to the dangers that lurk around them. I continued to use open framing for these scenes, leaving the audience to feel suspenseful during them. I also used the contrast from the well-lit patio and the dark backyard, to show the dangers the group should really be focused on.
Read more