What Is Horror?
I've created this on Halloween, so I believe the genre Horror is the only appropriate choice.
Horror
means the sensation of being in shock, fear, or disgusted. Despite it's unappealing definition, horror requires and contains lots of creativity and skill. Although most are usually low budget or contain limited resources, they still manage to keep their audiences at the edge of their seats engaged with the thrill. Their low budgets are extremely smart as it is less risky and usually profitable, especially in October, horror films become extremely popular on account of the holiday Halloween.
Target audience
After conducting some research, it is exhibited that most horror films are aimed towards teenagers and young adults. This is likely due to the theory that teens/young adults are the most curious and bold, so they'd enjoy the adrenaline rush given through horror films more than other age groups would. Furthermore, teens and young adults are more likely to enjoy watching predictable things, which horror movies usually are.
Conventions/Production Techniques of a Horror Film
The genre of horror contains many elements and conventions to bring emotion and tone to scare viewers. One of the main ones being setting. The location of a horror film is crucial for the production and feeling of the film. Most of the time, the setting of a horror film is isolated. Some examples include, abandoned houses, cities, graveyards, or cities. The color hues and filters of the film is also important. In the horror genre, the lighting is usually dark cool tones. The exposure is usually very low, and shadows are more prominent. These films are meant to make viewers feel uncomfortable and vulnerable, so image is a big part of creating these feeling. Another crucial aspect of a horror film is sound. Mainly diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are used. Foleys are also frequently used to make an eerie sound, sound more dramatic.
The perfect example of sound techniques is the chronic repetition of the sound whenever the shark gets closer in Jaws. This builds the suspense and indicates the shark is approaching.
The movie Jaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller directed by Steven Spielberg. Jaws tells the story of a great white shark that preys upon people in a small town. The great white shark, which frequently attacks individuals, swims in particular regions of the United States (The Bahamas). The movies feature the Brody family as the shark's main adversary. Throughout the whole movie, the shark attacks and intensity progress. The tone of the movie completely shifts from the beginning to the end. The tone gets darker and shifts from light and fun to gore.
Horror Film Stereotypes
Horror films are one of the most stereotypical genres.
The female character: In need of protection, attractive, and presented as unintelligent
The innocent one: Only one with common sense and the smart one
The hero- usually a male, brave, and has a big physical figure/muscles (buff)
The evil character
The person who doesn't believe anything- usually cocky
Marketing Strategies That're Scary Good
Horror movies usually promote themselves with posters and trailers. The posters usually use their central idea or main characters with bold color to intrigue and draw in viewers. For example, the IT poster. The balloon and main character that develops the plot are shown. They also used bold colors like red, black, and yellow.
A seemingly never-ending streak of violence, murder, and mysterious kid disappearances terrorize the small community of Derry, Maine, a once-peaceful hamlet from the late 1980s. The Losers' Club, a close-knit group of school outcasts, including Georgie Denbrough's troubled older brother Bill, bullied new classmate Ben Hanscom, mistreated Beverly Marsh, playful Richie Tozier, homeschooled Mike Hanlon, asthmatic Eddie Kaspbrak, and meticulous Stanley Uris, muster the courage to face their long-repressed childhood fears in the wake of Georgie's recent death. The movie begins with a soft urban tone with children enjoying their childhood. The movie quickly shifts when the evil character comes to the screen. Something happens to the main character (Georgie). The group of children defending themselves and others from the evil clown all represent a stereotype I displayed before. The clown (Pennywise) uses the children's fears against them, which is a lot like what horror movies do to their viewers. Throughout the movie, there's blood, jump scares, dark tints/color hues, strong colors, gore, and more to enhance the horror production.Other Horror Movies
