Main Character Types
In a horror film there will always be a main character who will be the victim/hero. They tend to be the person that the villain is after and in the end they are normally the ones who kill or capture the villain. The hero/victim also tends to be a women who doesn't seem normal and will always have a story behind her either adopted, parents killed when younger or maybe that she killed someone but she will have a story and that's why the villain wants to kill her. By the end of the film she finds these things out, becomes stronger and kills the villain.
The villain, who tends to be either a monster, mutilated freak, alien or serial killer normally has some sort of grudge against the victim/hero who won't rest until they have killed them and don't care who else gets in their way whilst trying to do that. There is also the type of villain who was bullied when they were younger, or has had something bad happen to them which has made them that way. I found a good example of this in Texas Chainsaw Massacre where the killer and his family's town went bankrupt and so everyone else from the town left except from then and they had no way of making money so his family sent him out to kill people passing through the town for them to eat. The villain in this film also had a condition and so didn't really know what he was doing. The villains are also often men. However, in some films we find villains aren't just people but are fate or have some weird background such as films like final destination and the ring. In final destination the victims were meant to die in a plane crash but got off but fate won't let it be and kills them all off in the order they would have died on the plane. In the ring there is a tape and if you watch it 7 days later you will die. This film is abit more logical and you go through the process of one women trying to uncover the truth of this tape before she dies from it.
We then have a stupid teenager who gets killed by the villain so easily. These characters are helpless, think they are more powerful than they really are and mostly they are clueless. we see these characters alot in the start of the films such as in scream, where an innocent teen is just at home when she starts getting mysterious calls and in the end ends up dying as she can't cry out for help even though her parents are right in front of her.
Next we have creepy children, these children are always wise and you see them alot as the child of the main character such as the ring. In these films things happen to these children but they don't seem as scared of it all as the main characters and this leads them on to seems creepy and disturbing.
We then have a police officer who is trying to help the case but doesn't really know as much as the victim/hero or doesn't believe them. This person tries to help them out and sometimes in the end kills the villain when the victim/hero is trying to kill the villain but isn't quite able to. They are sometimes known as a second hero, who saves the victim/hero in the end. Sometimes there is a relationship them and the victim/hero but that is not always and when there is a relationship formed between two characters in a horror film one of them isn't always a police officer but has this role throughout the film where they are still trying to help the main character.
A typical villain with a typical prop. LeatherFace in texas chainsaw massacre.
The villain from scream on the left and Sidney Prescott the typical teenager and lead role who survives. Otherise known as the heroine.
Themes
In a horror film there is many different themes. Most common themes include:
.Lust
.Envy
.Suicide
.Insanity
.Revenge
.Religion
.Madness
.Nightmares
.Supernatural
.Beyond death
.Good versus evil
.Childhood issues
.Science gone mad
.Zombie apocalypse
Settings
Many settings that are used for horror films are all built around the thought of isolation and being alone. These include small communities, urban environments, dark streets, narrow alleyways, large cities and small ghost towns. There are many different places that can show this type of loneliness.
Another type is places with a dark history like abandoned or haunted houses, hotels, factories and insane asylums.
Setting for texas chainsaw massacre. A deserted town and a large, scary looking house.
Nightmare on elm street, setting is dark and mysterious revolving around your dreams and typical teenage life.
Technical Conventions
The camera work seems to come out as not very natural using high and low angles to connote fear and nightmares. It is also very common to find POV shots roughly at the end or about the middle of the film. You can find them when the monster is chasing the hero. These are very important as they allow the audience to see whats happening though the monsters eye. Handheld shots are also used. This is to make it difficult for the audience to really see whats going on giving them the impression of the unknown and making them feel terrified of what will happen next. Sometimes the framework is used, making it harder to see the monster creeping up behind it's victim. Close ups of the victims face are used to show the real horror and feelings that they are feeling, this is also used as you don't see the monster making it seem like more of a threat. The editing of a horror film can make tension and suspense. When the editing starts getting quicker you know something bad is going to happen soon. Non-diegetic sounds are also very common within a horror film such as footsteps and heartbeats as they make it seem disturbing.
Narrative structure
The most common ending for a horror film is that the hero tempts to kill the villain, thinks they have done it but in the end the villain gets away leaving it open for a sequel. Usually at the end the hero, who is usually a girl, has to go on some quest to kill the villain.
The most common horror storyline is that the villain had either a horrible childhood or went insane and after many years go back to their hometown and start killing teenagers. The teenagers represent stupidity, usually they start the horror in the first place or they just get killed quickly on the villains road to killing the hero who is usually the only survivor, most likely a female character.
Props
In horror films the visual style is always the same with dark colours, usually black and read which link to death, evil, blood and danger. Lighting is used in a non-natural way, using low light to express shadows and unfamiliar shapes in the darkness. Props are used to show that the film is in the horror genre. Specific props can be linked to a certain villain such as a chainsaw for the texas chainsaw massacre and a knife for scream.
Michael Myers from Halloween with his typical prop of a knife.
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