Genre Research - Horror

Genre Research

Horror

• Horror- a film that depicts the viewers emotions, worst fears, terror of the unknown, disgust and nightmares
• The horror genre is a genre that often feature scenes throughout the film that scare the viewer with the use of macabre and also that of the supernatural
• The genre also overlaps with many other genre’s such as fantasy, science fiction and thriller
• Most plots of horror films involve an evil force, event, or personage commonly of supernatural origin into the everyday world
• Elements that feature in horror films are often torture, gore, ghosts, demonic forces, supernatural organisms and serial killers

Typical characters in horror films:

The Main Protagonist, often the “victim/hero” of the movie

The Villain, often a monster, mutated freak, alien or serial killer

The stupid/immoral teenagers that always get killed

Creepy children

Police Officers that can either be good or bad

And many more: Ghosts, Zombies, Demons, Psychopath, Stalker, Weirdo, Werewolf, cheerleader and the list goes on

Typical settings in horror films:

Small communities or isolated places

Urban environments, dark streets and narrow alleyways

Large cities or run down ghost towns

Anything that connotes isolation or being alone

Often sometimes places with “dark” history, like abandoned houses, hotels and insane asylums

Locations for any good horror genre film could be: Lakes, Roads, Highways, Countryside, Barns, Farms, Dark Woods, Woodlands, Houses, Cabins, Cities, Subways, Gloomy Underground Tunnels, Creepy Hotels, Abounded Houses, Haunted Houses, Space-Stations (for Sci-Fi Horror), Graveyard (Or Cemetery), Dungeons, Deserted Ships at Sea, Space Ships, Alien Planets (Like Predators), basements, attics, meat factories, science lab, London Underground, Shopping Mall, Cornfield, Pirate Ship, Tundra, Asylum, Deep Water, Blizzards and many other dark locations. 

Examples:
Jaws (1975)
28 Days Later (2002)
Cabin in the woods (2012)