Psychological Horror Research

GENRE CONVENTIONSRESEARCH INTO THE COVENTIONS OF HORROR

MOVIES

WHAT ARE THE THEMES OF HORROR MOVIES?Themes in horror movie's are simply used to frighten, scare, entertain and thrill. They often deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Horror films tend to focus on the more untold, dark side of life which is normally left untouched because of certain forbidden and alarming events. Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or person, commonly of supernatural origin, into the everyday worldThese themes include:HAUNTINGREVENGESERIAL KILLERSDEMONSEXORCISMS GHOSTSRELIGION MACARBRE SUPERNATURAL WITCHESVICIOUS ANIMALSCANNIBALSMass infestation Being left alone

FAMOUS HORROR MOVIES:

THESE FILMS INCLUDE: THE EXORCIST, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, THE CONJURING, JAWS, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, INSIDIOUS, SAW AND PARANORMAL ACTIVITY HOWEVER THERE ARE MANY MORE...

WHAT DO THESE THEMES INVOLVE?In order for me to fully understand what making a horror movie entails, and before I do detailed research into my chosen sub-genre I wanted to find out more about other themes and different sub-genres:

GOTHIC FILM:A Gothic film is one that contains elements of both Goth and horror. The film is usually suspenseful and most likely will have a romance unfold throughout.

SLASHER FILM:A slasher film is a type of horror film that involves a psychopathic killer that stalks and kills a sequence of victims in an extremely violent manner. This genre often overlaps with crime and thriller.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FILM:A psychological film relies on characters fears and guilts in order to build tension during the film and to further add to the plot. It also relies heavily on the filming and sound effects used.

HAUNTED HOUSE

EXORCISMS

SUPERNATURAL

PARANOIA

GHOSTS

virus

SERIAL KILLERS

aliens

VICIOUS ANIMALS

DEFINING THEMES:

In horror cinema, they usually are the soul of dead people which, for whatever reason (unfinished business and revenge are the most common reasons) does not go to the hereafter but stay on earth, haunting people.

The difference with the ghost sub-genre comes from the fact that the spirits here belongs to the house itself, and are not following someone in particular. Sometimes, like in 1408, it is the room itself that is alive.

The possession/exorcism is a sub-genre in which people’s body is infiltrated by an evil spirit, or a demon, that will take control over that person. The genre owns its success to The Exorcist (1973), the most famous horror film.

At the limit with science-fiction, this sub-genre often features a hero (quite often a teen or a kid for some reasons) with paranormal powers but who, unlike super-hero, is often unable to control them properly.

Often close to the Slasher genre, these films are nevertheless different in that they do not emphasize on the killing but on the madness and paranoia, induced by supernatural forces or not, of the character(s).

Multiples movie's started to based their story on viruses that would turn people into zombie-like creatures. Unlike the rules of contamination variants can be found with such as infection triggered by some words in cases.

This sub-genre usually features a lot of pursuits and a lot of gruesome murders. Teenagers are often their favourite prey. They have existed for a long time but really became popular in the early 80s with films such as Halloween

The monster genre has always been trying to justify the presence of its horrible monsters: nuclear reasons, scientific experiments, evolved species etc... This sub-genre regroups these films with solid science-fiction plots.

This sub-genre can be related to something found in nature: famous predators such as sharks, crocodile or inoffensive creature such as insects, birds, dogs, etc. Almost every animal has its horror movie.

PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR FILMS

I have chosen to focus on the psychological horror sub-genre because I felt my strongest ideas for a movie trailer fell within this genre.

As soon as I heard this concept I immediately had ideas surrounding what I could do. I also think we could make a professional outcome as this genre allows us to experiment with different camera, editing and acting techniques. For example we could use hand held camera shots, as well as pans and we can have quick editing followed by more smooth slower paced transitions.

Psychological horror falls under the sub-genre of fictional horror which simply relies on the characters fears and emotions in order to be successful. Not only does this build tension throughout the film but also adds to the plot. NB: This genre relies heavily on sound effects to add to the horror element and build tension.

WHY HAVE I CHOSEN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL

GENRE?

THESE FILMS INCLUDE: GOTHICA, THE UNINVITED, THE RING, OPRHAN, THE SHINING, SHUTTER ISLAND, 1408 HOWEVER THERE ARE MANY MORE INCLUDING, JACOBS LADDER, SESSION NINE, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, IDENTITY, AMERICAN PSYCO, THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, FUNNY GAMES, THE SKELETON KEY, SE7EN, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, FIGHT CLUB, DONNIE DARKO, THE SIXTH SENSE, FRAILTY, HIDE AND SEEK, OTHER OTHERS, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS AND DISTURBIA.

WHAT CAMERA WORK IS APPARENT IN THIS

GENRE?Weird and canted camera angles are used in the psychological sub-genre. This is because it creates a feeling of confusion and disorientation, not only to show how characters could be feeling but to also try and recreate this on the audience. They often also use extreme close ups, point of view shots and over the shoulder shots to try and make the audience feel more involved and thus heightening tension and building fear even more.

SETTINGS & CHARACTERS

THESE SETTINGS INCLUDE: ABANDONED FOREST, HALLWAYS, ATTICS, ABANDONED CASTLES, BEDROOMS HOWEVER MOSTLY THEY ARE SIMPLY SET IN ORDINARY LOOKING HOUSES.

Extreme close up and canted camera angle

THESE CHARACTERS INCLUDE: THE ANTAGONIST (THE BAD PERSON), THE PROTAGONIST (MAIN CHARACTER), UNSUSPECTING FAMILY, CHILD OR CHILDREN, CREATURE OR LIFEFORM, UNSUSPECTING HERO, UNSUSPECTING BAD PERSON, THE ANNOYOING CHARACTER AND THE CHARACTER SEEN AS A SEXUAL OBJECT.