The Conventions of the Horror Genre- A brief breakdown of what is expected in a

Supernatural

Ashlee-Rose Brisley

CharactersThe characters within the horror genre are conventionally natural, grown

women who have a bare and fresh faced look to present the ‘beautiful female form’, wearing simple clothing that doesn’t project them as sexualised. The smart and well groomed look gives them a doting mother role which will be challenged when an ‘irremovable force’ enters the family home. From this point on the casual costume choice will become dirty and look messy as the narrative continues.. Pastel or neutral (soft blues, pinks, white, cream etc.) coloured tops with jeans will be grubby and look unkempt.

The first impression of the paranormal spirit is negative and confusing as to why it’s tormenting a ‘normal’ family, yet later on it will be discovered to have a purpose that the protagonists help to uncover what it’s mysterious purpose is, guiding the narrative so the audience understand the clues it’s giving and can reveal the secret behind it’s ways of revenge. The presence will not be accepted like a human character, it is deemed an outsider who is detached from the modern world and can be depicted as old fashioned. Because of it’s strong and sometimes traditional beliefs it cannot be fought or escaped, adding a scary feeling to the audience of being surrounded with no way out.

Characters (Continued)Another character ‘type’ within the genre would be the ‘non-believer’ who

think the woman is making it up or ill because they can’t justify why something is happening that they can’t see. They can be presented as either arrogant or naive.

A classic ending for the characters is to result in death. The characters dying is usually because of the spirit that has possessed the house and trapped them from leaving. It is what an audience expect, Paranormal Activity sticks to this recurring expectation where the main characters end up killed or possessed.

The unknown world of supernatural activity is controversial as to whether ghosts, spirits and curses exist, so to have such a strong character that may not even be seen in the film can fascinate an audience. To other it’s just a story and not real life but it can never be known as untrue from a scientific outlook. To make the idea or notion seem as real as possible the use of characters in their own home relates them to the audience watching, this common ground adds realism to make the characters seem like them.

LocationThe protagonists family home is a suspected choice for a supernatural film, the ability to use

floorboards and doors to project ‘strange happenings’ in the building is an easy tension builder or tool to make the audience jump. It makes the film seem more realistic, especially if it’s based on true events because the audience will them be scared and have nightmares of it happening in their own home. Having it set in what is meant to be a ‘safe’ environment will automatically place the audience of the side of the protagonist because we relate to how we would feel if our own homes were being destroyed. This makes us defensive and angry at the spirit for ruining what is usually a new house after the father has been given a new job with better hours to spend with his wife and children and more money so they can afford this big (empty) home. - we feel empathy for them.

With such an expected location naturally comes classic iconography that the audience will instantly pick up the genre from. This holds symbols for what may happen in the narrative and what props will be used from how the location is shot. In the Woman in Black the way the camera moves around the house can create the ‘element of surprise’ in shot reverse shots and pans. The darkness and how the location is lit foreshadows that something bad is going to occur. The location may vary from a house depending on the storyline, however the place will be significant to the characters, it might be a ‘romantic’ hotel or weekend away, somewhere they are working in or a relatives; however the environment will always be isolated from the rest of ‘civilisation’ as shown in Woman in Black where the house is set as if on a separate island, you need to time the sea to be able to get there. This is to give the film a hopeless idea of being ‘stranded’. This means that the area won’t be busy or populated with those who may be able to help.

Location (Continued).If the protagonist does need help they often leave the house and head for

their car which either won’t start or will still be possessed by the spirit. If the house is at all nearby a suburban or other isolated building, shop or home the one the protagonist will be in will have a deserted, run down or haunted style so that it sets up the story of them being alone and no one would want to go there and help them. It can make the family seem strange or naive for wanting to live there, as no one else would dare reside in the decaying building. There also may have originally been a town of people but they will have left from worry of rumours and stories or been forced out themselves from what is about to ruin the lives of the current family we are following. Having a house setting promotes the underlying worry we all have of something unwanted not leaving and the unfriendly force taking over your personal space.

Other locations that are famously used are the likes of The Blair Witch Project which uses a forest/woodland. This may lead to cabins or houses in forest areas to present the idea of nature turning against them, which is scarier than a machine because nature we can’t control, it’s supposed to be on our side.

SoundNon-diegetic soundtracks are the key way in which horrors create the

feeling of tension or suspense. It guides and manipulates the audience to feel nervous and cautious of what is going to happen, this can be contrasted with the use of silence to build the atmosphere. This will link to how the editing is used with the cinematography to make the audience guess what’s going to happen or where the spirit might be hiding. The genre will use classical instruments in an orchestral piece of music to relay the genre. This is because orchestral music makes a large impact on audience’s emotions and pop music won’t scare the audience. A really old ‘classical’ song from a record may be played, however the sound will be warped and distorted to make it sound sadistic, sinister and creepy. The way the rhythm and pace of the music is carried out can create fear, panic and reflect the mood of the characters. It can be chaotic with added contrapuntal sound to juxtapose the image, this could be a sickly sweet and innocent laugh of vulnerable child, this naturally endearing sound in the context of rushing for survival can sound like crazy laughter. It can tell us that something bad is about to happen to the character if other uses of sound like faint whispers in song or rhyme, old witch like cackles and other uses of similar conventional sounds can be changed to be asynchronous and parallel as if the protagonist is hearing them in their head or from another world of the dead.

Sound (Continued)The conventions of Diegetic are: • Screaming to present raw fear and the sense of real scared reaction/• Rapid breather and calming whispers from the protagonist• Banging or clunking sounds to show force when opening and closing

things such as doors or lifting and moving props/furniture setting• Dialogue that has a broken and ‘wobbly’ effect as if they’ve been

crying or had a panic attack/shockThe conventions of Non-Diegetic are:• Fast heartbeats to represent the quick pace• A voiceover in the trailer of key dialogue from the film to get a sense

of narrative plot• Musical scores to link the music specifically to important scenes from

that particular film, this can help quicken the speed of the scene• Sounds that bridge two scenes together, this appears diegetic but in

the current scene we don’t yet know the relevance (e.g.. – The sound of a note being scribbled on paper or a telephone operator, a record being scratched or a car not starting)

• Sound effects (heightened diegetic sounds for impact (e.g., a candle flame being lit with a match)