Genre Research

     Horror is an interesting case of genre. While having the capacity of being unique, horror films often fall under very similar story structures and production designs. This is because all horror movies have the same common goal: to scare the audience. The adrenaline rush of being scared is why this genre is so loved and many of its films and known as cult classics, take Jaws or the Friday the 13th franchises.

    CONTENT:

    Horror movies rarely break away from the American story structure of an establishing period, an enticing action, a climax, and falling action. The establishing period is when the horror elements haven't been implemented into the story yet, everything is normal and calm. For instance, in Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, the film starts with a group of friends going on a normal camping trip, no horror elements found, it's not until the group makes it to the cabin where the inciting action takes place. The rising action is often used to build up the horror, murder after murder, the Friday the 13th films commonly follow this rising action structure. This story structure works particularly well in horror as it establishes the normalcy in the narrative world, which makes the audience feel more connected to the characters and world. 

    Suspense can be found in nearly every horror movie. Suspense can be used to build-up to the scare, a long, excruciating, pause right before a monster jumps at the camera is a common way to use suspense. During this pause, horror movies often go one of two ways, either staying completely silent until a loud sound scaring the audience, or a build up of music until the scare. Both can be found in IT (2017), specifically when "The Losers Club" uses a projector to map out what they know so far, until their meeting is cut short by the evil clown Pennywise.

    Horror movies also often use monsters to achieve the fear element. Hundreds of horror films' antagonists can be divided into ghosts, zombies, demons, curses, aliens, or un-killable monsters. A common fear of humankind is the unknown, so using fictional monsters correctly can make the audience extremely fearful while also being confused at what their seeing. Movies like Aliens, 28 Days Later, and The Exorcist all use one of these monsters. 

    Horror movies can also use the opposite of mythical creatures to scare their audience, opting for the more realistic approach. Films like The Strangers and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are often credited to being realistically disturbing. The latter even being thought by audiences to be based on true events when released.

    PRODUCTION:

    Darker values are often found in horror movies, as they try to achieve a more gritty and uneasy feeling. Very rarely are bright hues used. The darker colors add to the fear element of these films, taking advantage of humanity's innate fear of the dark. Dark blue is often used as well, to create an eerie mood and give off a cold, dead atmosphere. In Jordan Peele's Us, a dark blue tone is used to create a cold and evil tone when the twist is revealed. 

    Loud sounds are often used to add on to the fear. Often horror scenes begin with complete silence with minimal to no sound only to be interrupted with a large sudden sound. Both nondiegetic and diegetic sounds can be used here. Nondiegetic sound is commonly used to build suspense. in the Friday the 13th films, Jason's score is used to signify that he's close and he's ready to hunt his victims.

    Suspense is also expressed through prolonged shots of a certain object or location. Usually this shot shows a dimly lit location and holds on it for an uncomfortable amount of time before something comes out of it. This can be found in The Barbarian, when Tess, the protagonist, stares down a dark tunnel, the shot holds on this tunnel until something quickly crawls towards the camera, creating suspense and relinquishing it with a scare.

MARKETING:

    The general audience for horror films are teens and young adults. Horror movies tend to be too disturbing or graphic for younger audiences. A poll done by CBS News in 2021 found that older people tend to not like horror as much as teens and young adults, with a 48% difference between the two. 

    Horror trailers mainly focus on the scares included in the movie. This is done to "wow" the audience and scare them through the trailer. If the scares are well-made, it could leave an impact on the viewer, which would increase the chances of them seeing the movie since they remember more about it. The trailer for Smile used this technique. At the end of the trailer, a sudden, disturbing scare happens where a character's head turns upside-down completely. This scare could have made some viewers jump and therefore heighten their interest in the film. Using scares like this in the trailer can also increase the word of mouth, as if the scare is impactful enough, people will go on social media and talk about it.

    Horror movie posters often use reds and blacks. The reds can be used to convey a gore-filled, bloody movie, and black could be used to enforce this idea of a dark, scary movie. Horror posters also include disturbing imagery, whether that be a severed body part, a weapon, blood, or a masked killer. 

SAMPLE:

    The Evil Dead (1981) directed by Sam Raimi is a horror movie about a group of friends stuck in an isolated cabin whilst being tormented by evil spirits of the dead. Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) is an ordinary man who wanted to enjoy a vacation in a quaint cabin with his friends, but his vacation quickly shifts gears when he finds the Necronomicon, a book of the dead. Soon enough, his friend, Cheryl (Ellen Sandwiss), is possessed by a demon, and one by one all of his friends are taken under the control of the evil demons. Ash reaches his breaking point when he is forced to kill his girlfriend, Linda (Theresa Tilly), as he learns what he has to do. Ash continues to battle the demons and is able to burn the Necronomicon and defeat all the demons, or so he thinks. he movie follows the American story structure greatly, having the story start off normal but quickly turn into a demon-infested nightmare. The film uses the paranormal beings, demons, to enhance the fear felt by the audience. Each battle between Ash and the demons holds suspense, as Ash takes more and more damage every fight, suspense builds as the audience worries if he will make it out alive. Suspense is heavily utilized when Ash tries to burn the Necronomicon. As one demon continuously and violently chews on his leg, the other tries to stab him through a spear. Despite this, he tries to reach for the book to burn it. Prolonged shots of Ash reaching for the book are used here, building suspense each time he isn't able to grasp the book. Lighting is used when the demons look from outside to inside the cabin. The outside, pitch black, unknown, while the inside is brightly colored, full of life, that is about to be taken. Many scenes also utilize heavy shadows and dark lighting to build the unknown and  fearful themes. The trailer utilizes many scares and a disturbing amount of gore, all in an effort to impact the viewer enough so they remember and are interested in the film. The film's poster shows a woman reaching out to a blank blue backdrop, as a hand tries to pull her back into the ground. The poster shows how violent the film is and adds to the fear factor by having the woman be reaching out to nothing, a blank space.

    The Barbarian (2022) is about Tess (Georgia Campbell) accidently having to share an Airbnb with Keith (Bill Skarsgard), but both of them soon find out that this Airbnb has a hidden basement with a terrifying creature roaming it. The film then focuses on AJ (Justin Long), a big-time Hollywood actor who has to dissolve assets due to rape allegations from one of his co-stars. One of the assets he wants to dissolve happens to be this Airbnb. Eventually, AJ finds out about the basement too, and in an attempt to measure the surface are is captured by the creature. He comes across Tess and the two make their escape, then they're given shelter by a local homeless man, Andre (James Butler), who explains the basement, until they're suddenly attacked by the creature. Tess is eventually able to defeat the creature, only after AJ dies. The film uses the story structure by establishing Tess and Keith as normal and charming people who start to form a relationship, something the audience can related to, then the inciting action, the basement, takes it away. Suspense is formed by using prolonged shots of the dark and sudden sounds. For instance, when Tess is in the basement, the only visible thing is the basement floor, only lit by her flashlight, and it is absolutely silent. Then, suddenly, Keith crawls towards the camera quickly followed by a sudden, quick, nondiegetic sound. Lighting is used to convey how dark the basement is, with no light, the characters' faces are barely illuminated, only being able to be seen with a flashlight. The trailer also uses quick scares to instill an impact in the viewer, and the poster features a bright, red background with the silhouette of Tess, looking down the basement. The poster is eye-catching, and only the top floor is displayed, implying that whatever his down the stairs is unknown, and the red implies that it is bloody.

MORE EXAMPLES:

    - Friday the 13th: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 

    - The Conjuring: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1457767/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 

    - The Cabin in the Woods: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 

    - Child's Play: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094862/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 

    - A Nightmare on Elm Street: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 

    - Poltergeist: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 

SOURCES:

- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scary-movies-opinion-poll/#:~:text=Scary%20movies%20appeal%20more%20to,seniors%2065%20and%20older%20do.