Horror Genre

Horror

Horror is a genre that focuses on evoking a negative reaction from the viewer. It does this by trying to scare the audience, often by playing on common fears. The films often contain themes of violence, darkness and mystery.

Horror films are usually set in isolated, run down areas and the majority take place at night. They also may take place in areas with a dark history (like an abandoned hospital or a mansion rumoured to be haunted). The main point is that the settings usually carry the feeling of being alone or helpless so that when there is a bad situation, it is worsened by the fact that they can’t get help.

The way horror films are shot is often unusual and not natural or similar to other genres. Often slanted or low angles are used because they are the most unusual to humans. We are used to seeing the world straight on and from eye level, so going against this makes the viewer uncomfortable and gets them on edge. Another point about the camerawork is that they often incorporate handheld cameras because the natural shake from our hands adds to the ambiguity and may not give a clear picture of the monster, which deepens our fear of it.

The narrative structure of horror films usually contains some familiar components. There is a protagonist, somebody with good intentions who must go against the antagonist who usually has bad intentions. Another usual convention is that the antagonist has gone through an event or experience that has made them the way they are; their method of thinking is often explained and not just random. Sometimes they want revenge, and sometimes they are masterminds who want to release their ideas in a cynical way.

The characters within horror films mostly remain the same. You have the protagonist who is ‘morally good’ who must face their fears and go against the antagonist who is portrayed as ‘evil’. You then have the people who die, often through stupidity and ignorance. Usually these are teenagers and in this sense horror has a negative representation of teenagers, showing them as unwise. Then you have the authority, like police who may be good or bad, and this determines whether they are helpful or not to the protagonist. Another common character in horror is creepy children. They are used because it opposes the usual idea of children; they are sweet and cute.

A theme within horrors is psychology, especially with the more mature films. They raise the questions of whether all of us could become a bad person and also what makes a person go bad, a topic explored by the psychologist Zimbardo. It makes us (the viewers) question ourselves and whether we see parts in the antagonist or whether something like that could never happen to us.