Codes and conventions of horror movies

codes and conventions

1. Codes and conventions of horror movies By Mahfuza

2. What are codes and conventions? Codes and conventions within a genre are followed in any media product in order for the product to be recognisable to the mainstream audience. Therefore, it’s important that the codes and convention of the horror genre are followed so that my target audience can acknowledge my film as a horror film . There are many codes and conventions in a horror film, such as location, weather and camerawork.

3. Fowler Fowler says that ‘ one advantage of genres is that they can rely on readers already having knowledge and expectations about the works within a genre’. This means that the audience does not need any text explained to them as they are already familiar with the conventions of a particular genre. This would be beneficial to us as a group of filmmakers as we would know what conventionally occurs in a horror film and can conform to the conventions and also challenge them to make our film have a unique selling point, in which would increase our views an gross income if we were to publish the product.

4. Locations and settings Usually horror movies are based in isolated locations. The victims would have no one near them to help them and they would be far away from their friends and family. It’s usually set in really old places. For example, old houses of graveyards. An example would be The Woman in Black. In our film we could have the main setting to be in the house and have both our antagonists and protagonists live there. This way we would follow genre conventions.

5. Weather Dark and gloomy weather is a big convention of a horror movie. Usually there is rain, thunder and lightening. It’s normally very windy, and an example would be that it’s so windy that the door flies open. An example would be from ‘The Woman in Black’. The weather in this film is always dark and gloom, windy and also when the protagonist goes in then the doors start shutting in on him. Abercrombie says ‘we derive pleasure from observing how the conventions of a genre are manipulated’. Knowing what to expect makes the audience enjoy watching what they do not expect. This allows the horror genre to appeal to them. So if they don’t expect a door to shut behind the victim then it does, and then we hear they are dead, it is unexpected but appeals to them as they may watch the film for escapism (uses and gratifications theory)

6. Camerawork / shots / angles / composition The camera always follows / dolly tracks where the victim is going and the cuts to the villain suddenly in front or behind them. Tracking shots to make out when a character is being followed or stalked. Long shots of the settings. Sometimes a handheld shot which creates verisimilitude/hyper-reality. Point of view shots of the characters views, for example, shaking, expressing the victim running or panting. Close ups to catch the expressions of the victims and the gruesome details of the antagonist/villain. High angle shots of the victim to show the killer/villain is scary and the victim is afraid. It creates dominance over them. Over the shoulder shots to create suspense.

7. Editing Slow motion leading to a fast pace to crease suspense and this gets the audience’s hearts beating fast. Black and white to remind us of the past. I could use this in my short horror film to have a flashback scene from the victim to help to construct my narrative. CGI for dramatic and horrific effects. This helps it be recognised as a horror movie.

8. Sound The sounds in horror movies usually consists of thunder, rain and lightening. They usually have eerie music playing which rises to a crescendo in order to bring tension where there is a climax. Heartbeats and flat lines to create tension and suspense. Screaming is conventional in a horror film. Heavy breathing and running. Steve Neale says that ‘pleasure is derived from repetition and difference’ – in our film we could use similar sound FX used in conventional horror films. For example, when someone is being killed we can use screaming but we can challenge this and use contrapuntal sound and perhaps have classical music playing on top of the victim’s screaming. An example from a real life text would be from the horror film ‘Orphan’ where there is music playing when Esther kills the nun.

9. Representation Women are often the ones who are the victims or need saving. In my film I could challenge this convention and have my antagonist and villain as a woman. For example in the movie Annabelle or Exorcist. Often vulnerable groups are used, such as children, women or the elderly. And example would be Knowing. Horror movies feature many character types reinforcing Propp's theory on the 8 stock character types (i.e. the villain, hero, the false hero and much more)  .

10. Fear / fear of death Power cuts in the house / place they are in to create suspense and to create a climax, such as cutting the phone lines too. It’s waiting to scare the target audience. Fear of death through the villains. For example, in the movie Orphan, there was the fear of a woman acting as a child to kill everyone in order to get the man she wanted. Strange/ loud noises which make it obvious that the protagonist/victim is not alone.

11. Stunts The victim falls over. The victim is injured. The victim is the one who gets hurt whilst the villain succeeds in injuring/killing them. The car won’t start, for example in the film, The Woman In Black.