Assignment 1

Assignment1Genre and structure

Toby Prichard, Conner Smith, Mykola Serbov

Killer: Backwoods and Rednecks

The hills have eyesThe Texas chainsaw massacreIn fear

Convention:character types

In every Backwoods and Redneck films there are different types of characters. There are both convection on the protagonist and the antagonists.

Freaks: Innocent girl Innocent peopleFreaks are often characters which are very unusual and look very disturbing, and you would always see them in Backwoods and Redneck ,movies

Texas Chainsaw massacre

The hills have eyes

There is always one innocent girl which is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She is often hunted by the freaks and survives different types of horror.

Just as the innocent girl there are always people who die without deserving it. Their death is usually very bloody and they tend not to live to the end

Conventions: Location/Setting(Remote and remote)

The house in texas chainsaw massacre is secluded and has no nearby inhabitants.

The location is often very remote which makes the protagonist even more helpless as there are no nearby people it’s just them and the antagonist in the middle of nowhere.

Texas chainsaw massacre (1974) In fear (2013) The Hills have eyes (1977)

Conventions: Location/Setting(Area is well known to antagonist)

Texas chainsaw massacre (1974)In fear (2013) The Hills have eyes (1977)

In the backwoods subgenre the area being previously well known to the antagonist and unknown to the protagonist is common and it adds a layer of mystery and fear as you can’t tell what’s going to happen where.

Conventions :Location/Setting (Dark attack scenes)

Texas chainsaw massacre (1974)

Dark attack scenes are very common and having the setting being dark when characters are attacked heightens the fear factor as you can’t see exactly what’s happening on screen as the darkness twists your vision.

In fear (2013) The Hills have eyes (1977)

Convention: Plot (Happy Beginning)In the horror genre, the travelling group is shown to be happy and enjoying themselves before the killing begins. This is to emphasise that they are normal people that have been wrapped into needless killing.

In Fear (2013)Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1977)

The Hills Have Eyes (1974)

Convention: Plot (Girl left alone)In many horror films which feature a woman, they are often cornered or left alone. This creates a feeling of sympathy as the girl is typically weak and incapable of protecting herself

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

In Fear (2013)

Convention: Plot (Traveling)

In the backwoods and redneck genre, before the killing and horror begins, the group is shown travelling to a distant, often remote location which consequently leads them to their deaths. This is done to establish a lack of help available in the area.

The Hills Have Eyes (1974) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1977) In Fear (2013)

Conventions• Happy beginning (traveling)• Group of people or young adults going somewhere• Girl left on her own • Better equipped antagonist who start attacking for no reason• Incapable protagonists• Remote countryside Area already known to antagonist Dark attack scenes