EMI'S SUPER AWESOME AICE MEDIA BLOG!: GENRE RESEARCH BLOG ACTIVITY

Halloween is right around the corner and so I thought that horror would be the best genre to research at the moment!

HORROR DATABASE

Horror as a genre can be defined as a type of fiction that aims to scare, shock, or disturb audiences for the sake of entertainment. The main appeal from horror comes the thrilling feeling that many viewers crave while others like to watch in order to prove emotional stability. Horror is an easy genre to market and produce, with most not needing a frighteningly high budget to make, hence the reason why some directors' first projects are horror films. During October, these films become more popular than any other genre because everyone's feeling the spooky spirit!

GENRE CONVENTIONS- CONTENT

One thing that every horror movie has is some kind of memorable menace or terrifying creature that torments the main characters throughout the course of the film. Every viewer will expect this as in order to inflict fear, there typically has to be an antagonistic force. These menaces can either be human like Michael Myers from Halloween or an entity such as a monster from The Quiet Place. Other types of evil forces may include, aliens, possessed people (typically children), ghosts, or large animals. With a good frightening premise and antagonist, the movie will leave the viewers processing what they just watched and a tendency to not sleep for 2-3 days!

EX: Ghostface, the main killer of the slasher film, Scream,

serves as the main menace/antagonistic force!

Horror movies also mainly rely on the element of surprise. It is not uncommon for these films to have sudden jump scares left and right! Without this factor, a horror film would not be as thrilling as surprise allows for the unexpected to happen, keeping the story fresh. However, a large amount of jump scares and surprises can be seen as a bad thing to many movie lovers due to the fact that they can be seen as cheap and a waste of time.

EX: In Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a monster

called "the Jangly Man", acts as an element of surprise.

Another main convention of horror is foreshadowing. The use of this allows for the film to hint at things that could occur later on in the story, causing suspense and anticipation to be felt among the audience!

EX: In The Sixth Sense, it is hinted all throughout the film that the main character, Malcom was dead the whole time, later to be revealed at the end.

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Typically horror films rely a ton on using sound as a horror movie without sound would be lackluster and even a little funny. Sounds and music build tension and add emotion to the film and viewer. A jump-scare used along with the right sound effects, for example a scream or growl can scare the audience both audibly and visually.

EX: The film, Psycho, uses music and sound to add to the overall shock and emotion of this specific scene!

Another technique that horror productions usually use is low, gloomy lighting and color. Horror uses dark lighting to further enhance the sense of danger, terror, and suspense, allowing the viewer to feel a sense of dread and uneasiness. These films also usually use colors such as red, black, purple, blue, green and so on to stack upon that uneasy feeling.

EX: In The Purge, dark lightning (as well as creepy masks) is used to create an uneasy vibe and tension.

MARKETING

The main audience for horror films are 15-24 year old teenagers and young adults as they are most open to thrills than any other age group. Although a good number of females like horror movies, a larger amount of males are more prone to be the target audience as these movies contain weapons, gore, and violence. Horror films like to market themselves by creating a sense of mystery that will immediately attract the attention of an audience. Trailers include quick scenes of the production as well as a terrifying soundtrack and posters may be foreboding and evoke a sense of fear within its viewers, making them wonder what's to come with the movie.

FILM SAMPLE #1:

The film Scream (1996) follows a sadistic killer terrorizing a small town. In the movie, teenage girl Sidney Prescott, (Neve Campbell) whose mother was killed the year before, becomes the main target of the primary menace of the story, Ghostface, a masked killer whose identity is unknown. Sidney's boyfriend, Billy Loomis, (Skeet Ulrich) along with her father, become the main suspects of the killings. Later on, the town reporter and deputy investigate more to find out, and eventually come to the conclusion that it was the same person who murdered Sidney's mother a year ago! Scream implements dark lightning and color, especially during the last 42 minutes finale of the movie to create eeriness and mystery. The production also utilizes a terrifying soundtrack and a variety of sound effects to add to the anticipation, fear, and shock of the overall story. The main menace of the story, Ghostface is one of horrors most iconic villains of all time as he has a costume that anyone can recognize, and is a compelling character that remains to be a staple in pop culture.

FILM SAMPLE #2

The Sixth Sense (1999), main character Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) sees the undead everywhere he goes, terrorizing his daily life. Dr. Malcom (Bruce Willis) finds the boy and decides to help him to relieve the guilt he felt from not helping his past patient, Vincent, with the same problem. Later in the film, Cole gets invited to a local birthday party. While he is there, these two boys noticed that Cole was terribly scared of the house's cupboard, which caused them to force him in there, causing Cole to get attacked by an unknown entity. Cole then finally confides with Dr. Malcolm that he can see dead people. Eventually Cole and Malcolm find a solution to the problem by helping the ghost of a young girl, allowing Cole to learn that all the undead want is help. The Sixth Sense utilizes the element of surprise by using an eerie soundtrack and effects in order to add a sense of disturbance to the film. There are a few minor jump scares in the film that rely on sound in order to affect the audience. The movie also uses dark lighting throughout to create a creepy atmosphere and to add more to some of the jump scares.

OTHER FILM EXAMPLES!

THE EXORCIST (1973)