Research on Horror Genre in Film

Research
The main purpose of a horror film is for the audience to feel scared and feel a sense of panic and
thrill. The films aim to reveal our prime fears in order for us to feel engaged and believe in the story.
Horror films tend to be more popular amongst the younger audiences, between 15-25,
predominantly, because horror films have that added element of entertainment and excitement
which younger audiences would enjoy more, rather than older viewers. It is said that around 42% of
horror audiences are male and the other 58% are female. Horror films tend to merge with thrillers in
a similar way that audiences seek out a certain thrill by escaping the real world.

There are a variety of sub-genres of horror films. These include;

The Monster scare The Thing, Predator, Jaws, Aliens

Hauntings/ Paranormal Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring
Apocalypse Apocalypto
Zombie Films The Walking Dead, Shaun of the Dead
Gore Saw, Hostel
Mystery/ Thriller Orphan
Slashers Friday the 13th, Scream, I know what you did last summer, Texas Chainsaw
Massacre

https://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php?/article/horror-genre-codes-conventions

Codes and Conventions of a horror film:

Secluded location
String music
Blood/ gore
Weapons
Masked killer
Power and phone lines is cut/ no connection on phones
Someone goes to investigate
Vehicle wont start
Someone dies early on
 https://www.slideshare.net/kbamediastudies/codes-and-conventions-in-horror-films

Stereotypes presented in Horror films:

Female character:

Vulnerable and often saved by the male hero, usually very attractive and over-dramatic in
situations in the film Detention, the opening scene is the perfect example, as the girl is
over-dramatic when she needs to use the bathroom and her brother is using the toilet, she is
young and attractive, not very innocent and she is receiving texts from her stalker, who then
ends up killing her very brutally in her bedroom, which is also seen as a safe-place.
Detention Opening Scene - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLVUlb7fpF8

The Hero:

Usually a strong male, brave, young, usually goes after the antagonist in Hostel part 3, the
protagonist is a young, attractive male who goes through what his friends go through of
being tortured but all his friends end up dead and he manages to survive the affairs as well
as killing the antagonist who was his friend at the start of the film but turns out to be the
villain.
Scott (Protagonist/ hero) survives - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5DkOCaK_s

Racial Issues:

The black person always dies first In Scream 2, Phil Stevens, a black actor, died first in
the toilets of a cinema during a premiere of the movie.
Phil Stevens death scene - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NHlP12h1KE

Changes over time:

Over the years, the horror genre has changed in order for it to suit its more familiar audience, and
to not be as predictable and instead continue to entertain and thrill the viewers. Changes include
things such as the having a more complex plot, with changes in the way the films are shot and how
theyre arranged with the gore and to shock the viewers more.

1930s horror films were mainly based on historical literature such as Dracula and
Frankenstein.
1950s and 1960s monster movies such as Creature from the Black Lagoon, Tarantula,
and The Thing from another world all monster movies to try and take away some of the
nations fear during the Cold War and allowing them to escape reality in the real world.
1980s Slashers becam more popular such as A Nightmare on Elm Street. Also, Special
Effects started being used more, such as in The Thing and Gremlins, which became
another popular movie at the time. Stephen Kings, The Shining became a classic within the
industry.
1990s The first psychological thriller, The Blair Witch Project became a sensation, which
even today has been remade and is popular within the same audience people who
watched it back then and enjoyed it would also, most likely, watch the remakes. Also, the
start of the famous horror franchise, Scream, which changed horror movie stereotyping
and also became the influence of a few crimes.
 2000s A mix between fantasy horror and slashers were popular within this decade, such
as American Psycho and Scream 3 (Slashers), and inescapable and unprovoked deaths
such as in the film Final Destination.
2010 Religious connotations with implications of certain Evils, with films such as Devil,
The Last Exorcism, Let me in and the Crazies. These are all films that focus on a type of
entity or evil that has taken over.
2017 Films today have changed from the typical stereotype of the female damsel in
distress to being the main protagonist, for example in Scream Sidney Prescott is the female
protagonist who always seem to get away from the killer in time and manages to survive.
Also, the stereotype of The black person always dies first has changed recently, as in the
film Get Out, the main character is a black male who survives all the terror in the film and
gets out alive, with the antagonists dead.
http://thehorror2010.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/how-horror-films-have-changed-and.html
Narrative Structure:

In horror movies, you have the typical narrative structure, with a death at the beginning as the
opening sequence, to keep the audience in suspense, and then the main story starts, for example in
Halloween (1978), it starts off with the mentally unstable, Michael Myers as a kid who murdered his
sister on Halloween Night, and afterwards, which is 10 years later, the film starts with the main
protagonists. This type of narrative structure, of the whole idea of the killer having had past events
of medical issues and turns insane so he disappears for a few years and comes back 10 years later to
haunt his home town, is all part of a more formulated structure. The uses of the horror conventions,
such as string-music are all elements which help make up the tension in a horror movie. Theres
always a hero protagonist, and usually embarks on a mission and are in charge, to kill or solve
problems.

https://www.slideshare.net/marine18/horror-genre-conventions

Links Used:

BBFC - http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/student-guide/issues-
introduction/horror
Statistics - https://saraeveninga2media.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/audience-
research.png
Stereotyping - http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04092009-
105427/unrestricted/Brewer_thesis.pdf.pdf
Stereotypes - http://threemenandalittlelady.weebly.com/further-research---horror-genre--
target-audience.html
Representatives in Horror films -
https://screampsychohorror.wordpress.com/representation-of-women-in-horror-films/
Over the Years - http://thehorror2010.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/how-horror-films-have-
changed-and.html
Blog on Stereotypes - http://rkmediab.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/representation-of-men-and-
women-in.html
Charles Ramirez-Berg Critic Stereotypes - https://www.asu.edu/courses/lia294a/total-
readings/RamirezBerg--Categorizing.htm
Gender Stereotypes - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/gender-stereotypes-horror-
industry
Theorist Zillmann and Weaver -
http://www.uky.edu/~dlowe2/documents/7.HoffnerLevine2005EnjoymentofMediatedFright
and.pdf
http://mediaviolence.org/media-video-violence-addiction-research/research-
archives/zillmann-d-weaver-j-2007-august-aggressive-personality-traits-in-the-effects-of-
violent-imagery-on-unprovoked-impulsive-aggression-journal-of-research-in-personality-
414-753-771-retri/
Psychologist Dr. Glenn D. Walters - http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/the-psychology-of-
scary-movies/