the codes and conventions of horror films
TRANSCRIPT
CHARACTER TYPES
Propp found that there were certain characters in films and stories
with certain functions:
The hero: character that goes on a quest and saves the day
The villain: evil character that causes the disequilibrium
The helper: character that helps the hero in the quest like a
sidekick
The victim: at the mercy of the villain
The donor: someone who has something special which will help the
hero
ICONOGRAPHYI M A G E S A N D S Y M B O L S A S S O C I A T E D W I T H G E N R E
Lighting is expressive & non-naturalistic
Low key lighting (dark): Unfamiliar shapes in the blackness, this can be created through lighting from bonfires, torches etc.
Heavy makeup
(Before low budget film’s used rely on this but because of technological advancements SFX)
Gothic setting
Visual style: Black and Red-these are colours linked to evil and Blood (gore) relates to danger
Symbol’s of devil e.g. the triple 6
Monsters: vampires, mummies, shadow, werewolves (these also connote fear, disgust, terror etc.)
Props:
Knives
Axes
Chainsaw
Costumes
Religion
Psychopathic issues
Revenge
Supernatural
Nightmares
Insanity
Lust
Envy
Depression
Good vs Evil
Self-consciousness (make you question what is real of
not-playing with the mind)
Gender (women/men)
they are often seen to be the victims or in Slasher film known as ‘final girl’ the
character is often a virgin and innocent e.g. Laurie from the film Halloween.
In Slasher films there are violent attacks against women, particularly those who
had sex. The women are terrorized and slaughtered
“Most monsters tend to be in fact male, especially in so far as the object of
their desire are almost exclusively women. Simultaneously it is women who are
their primary victims” Neade, 1980
Robin Wood stated Slasher film were a “misogynist genre”
Authority:
Most of the time authorative figures shouldn’t be trusted e.g. cops
Race:
In Slasher films the main girl tends to be a white girl or women.
Age:
The main protagonist usually are young adults or specifically in Slasher films it
will be a teenager.
THEMES AND REPRESENTATIONSThemes Representations
SETTINGS
Urban environment & isolated places e.g. haunted house
Large cities or ghost towns
Somewhere with an eerie feeling
Dark & gloomy
Farms/barns (mostly western)
Dark woods
Houses
Cemetery
Dingy places e.g. narrow alleys
Places with hidden past e.g. a story behind a mysterious place
Basements
hotels
NARRATIVECliff hangers at the end
This is because it is usually left for a possible sequel. Most horror films are a franchise e.g. Scream, Halloween etc.
The victims attempt to free/escape from the villain. This ignites some hope for the audiences watching.
Valdimir Propp a Russian critic interested in the narrative of folk tales, he noticed that often many folk tales were similar in some areas. He
identified the theory about characters and actions as narrative functions. And according to Propp characters have a narrative function and they
provide a structure for the text.
Todorov’s narrative theory (structure)states that most story’s or plot lines follow the same pattern or path. There are 5 steps in this pattern.
1. Equilibrium (balanced, normal state)
2. disequilibrium
3. Realisation
4. Restored order
5. Equilibrium again
Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that all narratives had to be driven forward by conflict that was caused by a series of opposing forces. This theory was called the Binary Opposition-it describes how the main forces in narrative have it’s equal and opposite. E.g. good/bad, right/wrong, light/dark, man/women (these opposites create conflict)
Camera work expressive and not natural
High and low angles to connote fear
P.O.V shots (this allows the audience to see the
world from the monster’s eyes e.g. clown face
movie (find it later)
Sometimes with films such as the Blair Witch
project, hand held camera work is used to
capture a more realistic feel to the film.
S O U N D
The common feature of the sound in horror films is
to build tension and make the audience feel fear
The pace of the sound or music can reflect what is
happening in the scene e.g. if a character is running
away really quickly from a monster the score playing
would be faster
The tone of voice of the characters are different.
Some monsters will speak in an unnatural tone. Maybe
something strong or husky e.g. whispering
Camera Work/Visual Codes