Research into generic codes and conventions

Horror films

A fierce creature is the first typical element found in horror films. A lot of movies in this genre use a fierce animal to make a plot. Making that animal huge, savage and intelligent can absolutely horrify people. Using characters who are frightened all the time and are running away from the fierce creature also excites people. These characters always succeed in escaping from some danger, but they sometimes fail to escape from other dangers. For example, in Jaws (1975), the white shark is a typical horror element. Steven Spielberg uses the huge and fearful shark to thrill people. When some people get killed as they’re swimming in the sea, the cinematography shows only the shark’s fin and the bloody sea, but the audience is very scared because they realize how big and fierce the white shark is.

The supernatural is the second thing which is used as a typical horror. Ghosts are supernatural elements that are found in horror films. In many movies, directors use ghosts which always haunt a particular old place as elements to horrify people. The camera work is often simple shots of catching moving objects. The time set in the film would often be very late at night as this creates a darker scarier feeling. Having ghost movies during the day would not be as effective at scaring an audience because the dark creates the feeling of not knowing what is there, also horrors tend to be watched more during the evening therefore the audience may feel like this could happen to them, which is a big part of creating a successful horror. Non diagetic music used is often a shaky violin sound that is used to create dramatic suspense before something terrifying happens.

Murderers are typical story plots for horrors. Filmmakers often use a scary human character to be a typical element. In some movies characters wear scary clothes and masks while committing the murders. This creates the idea of not knowing who the murderer is and usually horrors take a twist of the victims knowing the murderer very well sometimes even being their friend. A typical plot would be about a group of teenagers getting killed by a murderer one by one. These films create suspense because you are not sure who is going to survive and the idea of the characters being teenagers suits the target audience of around 15-25. Sounds used would consist of lots of screaming to emphasise how scared the characters are and also loud dramatic music leading up to their deaths.  POV shots are often used in this type of film to show the perspective from both the murderer and victim, Often from the victim because this draws the audience’s attention and makes them feel the same worry that the character does.