Conventions of a horror film

British horror films

Conventions of a horror film

British horror films are most often low budget and focus on the story and how to scare the audience where as other horrors tend to be full of action, gore and big named actors which all costs more money. This can often make the film unrealistic, and sets British horror apart.

The horror films we have so far looked at in class are Dracula, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, Frankenstein, Nosferatu, Dead of Night, The Descent and My Little Eye. These horror films are all different and they tap into different fears people may have but they all have one thing in common, and that is that they are meant to scare people. To some people some films are more frightening than others for example the isolation in ‘My Little Eye’ might frighten one person more than the darkness, small spaces and monsters in ‘The Descent’, simply because people are scared by different things.

Most often horror films will be set in dark locations for example; Dark Streets, dark woods, old houses, isolated cabins, graveyards, basements, attics and caves. These places are all used because it taps in to the primal fear of the dark and if some where is dark it’s difficult to see who or what is in it, which also helps directors to mask the ‘villain’ and build tension. The camera shots are usually very expressive and often unnatural this gives the audience an overview as they can see everything that is happening which the characters cant, e.g. high low angles giving or taking the illusion of power and promoting fear. Point of view shots (POV) give the audience the ability to see into the monsters/villains or the hero’s world and see things through his/her eyes, an example of this is in the descent when using the camera, we the audience are seeing what the character is seeing.

Sounds are important in horror, the sounds are often loud and disturbing like a heart beating or footsteps, and this builds tension and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. Non diegetic sounds like music and low drowning are very common in horrors because they make the audience expect something before it happens e.g. walking down a dark hallway with a loud drowning in the background. The pace of the editing in important because if the speed hasn’t been picked up recently then there is a good chance something is about to happen this builds up the tension.

Certain styles can promote fear like the colour red and black which links to blood, evil and danger.  Lighting helps to promote fear also, an example of this is low key lighting which can help to create dark shadows. Props help to further identify the villain or character. Common objects in the horror genre are weapons, masks, icons of the supernatural, religious icons.