Horror Genre Convention List

•Sounds; creaking door/floorboards, whistling winds, screams, howling wolves, thunder & lightning, rain, banging on doors, hacking, echoes, crackling tv/radio signals, crying, (evil) laughter, rustling leaves, silence, breathing

• Characters; psychopaths, beautiful girl, hero, idiotic girl/boy, smart independent heroin, monsters, ghosts, detective, spirits, possessed people/children, cute children (often kidnapped), recluses, cowardly witness, bully, police, privat investigators, the best friend

Iconography; blood, gore, knives, axes, guns, night, dark, full moon, Lighting; backlighting creating silhouettes, low key, dark, shadowy, Camera Movement; handheld e.g. ‘Blair witch project’, zooms, Bad Weather; night, moon, stormy,
Camera; Close ups in extreme scenes, long shots to establish scary setting and show remoteness and isolation, photographs, candles, masks, long dark corridors

• Music; eerie, build up of tension- change in tempo, very high pitch e.g. Shower scene ‘Psycho’, Very low pitch e.g. ‘The Shining’, sudden changes in tempo and dynamics, often orchestral instruments, violins, organs etc.

• Setting; forest, remote/derelict buildings, old houses, hotels, basements, attics, alleys, dark dingy places, country side, long empty roads, night time

Themes;< High body count, Chase scenes, jealousy, lust, revenge, anger, death, secrets, lies, love, passion, obsession, mental illness, torture, betrayal, mystery