Conventions of a horror film

Conventions

• Isolated Area• Power is cut• Phone lines are cut• Someone investigates a strange noise• Victim falls over• Vehicles won’t start• A fake scare• Ignoring warnings• The stormy night • The short cut

Isolated Area

• Generally, horror movies enjoy placing their characters in a place where there are no one around to help them. (For example; the woods, isolate room, ghost town, house in the middle of nowhere). So when they ask for help no one can hear them scream.

Power Cut

• At the scariest moments, the lights suddenly turns off. This creates a atmosphere that the danger is near and that the audience should get ready for what’s about to come.

Vehicle won’t start

• When the characters are being chased by danger their vehicle seems to be broken even though it was working perfectly a few minutes ago.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h-7gb0jU0WU

Phones Lines are Cut • The killers always take out

the phone, even in their own home so that no one can call for help, nearly every horror film that have phones their phone lines would be cut.

• Even mobile phones they end up having low battery or when they do call there is no service and the phone breaks up before the person can ask for help.

Victims fall over

• When the characters are running from the danger the victim slips and falls over. Whether because of something on the floor or they just trip over their feet.

Ignoring Warnings

• It is in our nature to do things that we are told not to do. This could consist of a do not enter sign or a rumour about a discovered object but they still take it anyway. Or if they are told to go away it’s not safe they don’t pay any heed to it.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k3CaYYEkGXI

Someone investigates a strange noise

• The character hears a strange noise and goes to investigate where the sound is coming from. It’s one the most common conventions of a horror film.

The Short Cut

• The characters use the short cut that is isolated and creepy and step off the trail, they stop following the map and get lost. The short cut where if they are in trouble no one is around to help them.

A fake scare

• Is one of the most over-used conventions in horror films. They can be either a friend jumping out at someone or a slam of a door. They are not connected to the threat but seem to be effective in making the audience jump.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z0HazBZIr10

The stormy night

• The clichéd use of the dark stormy night. This is used to create that scary atmosphere that the audience can relate to since we all have that childhood fear of lightning and thunder.