Horror Convention

Horror conventions

Location

 A good location is key in horror films. These are very important as it’s where the film is going to take place. This is usually in abandoned/ isolated places such as alleyways, old schools or somewhere that has a haunted past such as hospitals, parks. Having locations like these makes the audience feel as if the character is by themselves, this emphasise that there is no one around to help them. These type of locations can easily be portrayed as dark and mysterious in horror films. Horror films are usually set at night, this is because it makes it scarier when the audience don’t know what the scary obstacle is.

Characters

 In every horror film we have the typical characters. The typical characters are:

The victim which has 2 different forms of being presented. One of them is usually an innocent one. This character is usually smart and survives. The other type of victim is the opposite. They usually don’t care about life, they are more modern.

There's also another very important character which is the dumb blonde. This character is usually presented as dumb and stupid, which usually has a comical aspect because she is usually lost and doesn’t know what is going to happen to her. In horror film this is the character that usually dies first.

We also have what you could call the hero. This role is usually played by a man/boy. This man is usually strong and often popular, which shows a form of comfort. This is because he is usually helpful and known , in other words popular.

We finally have the killer. Is the majority of the film this is a mystery because during the film it keeps a hidden identity. This makes the audience be even more scared as they don’t know what will come up. Is usually a demon spirit or person that either want to say something but they don’t understand so the only way is killing or someone looking for revenge. When the killer is looking for revenge this is because they have being hurt in the past and they want to take revenge in their own hands.

Costumes

The costumes are a very important piece in horror films as these are used on characters in horror films to let us know what kind of character they are. The victims usually wear white or pale colour clothing. This helps show their innocence and purity. They usually also have long straight hair and wear a little bit of makeup so it looks natural. But we also have a different type of victim which will usually wear red or black/dark colours. They will be dressed with short tight revelling outfits. Most of the time they will have short hair or curly hair and they will have loads of makeup ( colourful eye shadow , red lipstick , loads of mascara, black thick eyeliner). The killer usually has a pale type of make up which shows us how much they have suffered. Also they have something unique which makes them stand out and be different from the rest.

Angles/ shots

Horror films contain a variety of different angles and shots. They often have a lot of close up and extreme close up, this is used so we can feel and see clearly what is happening.  This gives the audience a real sense of fright.            

They also use point of view shots, which makes the audience feel as though they are them. These are usually being given from the point of view of the victim or killer.

High and low angles are used so that they can show the hierarchy of the characters, also to show who dominated and to show the innocence of the victim .

Canted angles are also used during horror film. This gives the audience a dramatic effect to create a sense of disorientation. This makes us think something is not right and something bad will happen.