Horror by Afshana Aktar

GENRE RESEARCH

1. World War Z

2. Fatal Attraction

3. What Lies Beneath

4. Gremlins

5. The Blair Witch Project

6. The Conjuring

7. The Ring

8. Ghost Rider

9. The Grudge

10. Paranormal Activity

TOP GROSSING HORROR FILMS

Typical characters that you would find in a horror film are the following:• Female Victim; This character is usually very vulnerable and needs the most

protection. In horror films they would cast this character as the ‘dumb blonde’ and be “sexy” to attract the male audience.

• Non-believer; The person in the film which refuses to believe anything that is out of the norm. They are overly confident and always think they’re right. This would lead to them being the first kill.

• Hero; Commonly a man as they are the dominate sex to portray strength and masculinity. In horror films narratives tend to end which evil triumphing therefore the “hero” would be the brave one who steps in first and ends up dying.

• The quiet one; Stays quiet throughout most of the plot, until the end. They either survive or have been playing a secret part in the cause of everything happening.

• Evil character; This would be the thing all the other characters are trying to get away from. Can be a spirit, demon, serial killer, vampire etc.

• The loved up couple; Usually there will be a couple featured in a horror film. The two characters will be most favoured to survive by the audience as they are the ones in a relationship but it is commonly that one will die quick.

CHARACTERS

The theme within a horror film is what drives the audience to watch it. Some

typical themes you can find in horror films are:

• Revenge e.g. ‘The Woman In Black’• Haunting e.g. ‘Let Me In’• Spirits and demons e.g. ‘The Exorcist’• Serial Killers e.g. ‘Scream’

THEMES

The setting plays a huge part in a horror film it maintains the eerie atmosphere as it enhances the effects of what they are watch with how they feel themselves. The settings which are chosen are very dark and

isolated here are a few examples:• Forest • Abandoned house• Insane asylum • New house that’s been moved into by a family• Countryside• Underground tunnels• Science labs• Lakes• Narrow alleyways• Ghost town

SETTINGS

PROPS

In horror films enigma codes are very far stretched. There will always be a character which has fear for their life and try to escape the horrors they face. Most of the time they

will endure it until the end of the narrative and this is when they either figure it out or most of the time don’t.

ENIGMA CODES