Conventions of Horror

When talking about the conventions of a specific type of film, you tend to think about many specific points and sub-points related to that film, such as why that specific genere exists, some of which are easier to identify than others. For example, you can't always tell what a comedy or a romantic film would look like just be looking at a poster, you would have to watch the trailer of the film, and even then, your assumptions of a genre could be wrong, especially if the film has a sub-genre that is hard to recognise. Horror films in my opinion tend to normally stick to their own genre, but if they include a sub-genre, then it is one that is easily recognised by the general public.

Going deeper into the conventions of Horror, you would tend to think of things like what symbols the film includes. Some easy ones to notice are: Relgion, the colours red and black, crows, monsters, blood and guts and photos. Some that aren't so easy to notice are: Cats, a hidden face and more.

Locations play a big part in the production of horror films, with the best ones being the most obvious places to use, such as churches, schools, graveyards, forests, cellars and attics and the most generic one used being a haunted house.
The music and the sounds you here also plays a big part in the production of horror films as they also help to set the mood, indicating to the audience how they should possibly feel or what is about to happen in a specific scene. Some generic sounds or pieces of music that are normally heard in horror films are: Screams (usually high pitched), strings (in the form of an opera), the wind (russelling trees), rock or heavy metal music, slamming or squeaking doors, growls from animals or people, an echo that can be heard from far away and crying.

Horror films are normally centred around a theme that lasts throughout the entire film, and is normally used by the psycho (a character used in horror films) in terms of how they like to isolate their victims. Other themes used are: Slasher, the supernatural, winter/autumn (which links to locations), science and more.

When watching a horror film, you tend to not really see too much lighting used as the film is meant to be creating a dark, drury feeling. The only light really visible is the natural kind of light, so things like the moon, the night itself, fire (torches) and the shadows. A silhouette feeling is created with the lack of lighting used as well.

Without any of the symbols, lighting, themes, locations and sound/music thought of when creating a horror film, then they wouldn't really be the greatest of creations and the films themselves wouldn't be able to create a certain dramatic effect that horror films like to do, especially when they try to, as they say in the business "leave people on the edge of their seats".


After analysising all the conventions that were just previously talked about, I decided to think of an example of a horror film where conventions either conform (normal) or are subject (abnormal) to the generic conventions that horror presents. The example I chose was the film "Splice" a very low marketed film in 2009 but was then marketed more in 2010, when more of a general release of the film was made. things like isolation, monsters, blood and guts, strings, science, winter (the snow), the moon and forests are conventions that conform in the film, but just as there are things that conform, there are things that are subject to conventions in the film, such as the female scientist first taking up a parental role, but then switches to the male scientist of the monster that they have created, which they need to protect.