Genre Research Activity (Horror)
Choose a genre or sub-genre within the film world. Conduct research about the genre. Some subjects you should explore are:
1. Typical target audience of the genre – The usual age for the target audience of a horror film is 15-25.
2. Genre conventions – both within content and production techniques – Horror films usually use remote, dark rural settings as their scenes. Props include graveyards, haunted houses, castles, as well as weaponry like chainsaws, axes, and knives. This tends to create mystery and suspicion in the film.
3. Institutional conventions – narrative image, marketing, etc. - These conventions include lighting, camera techniques, and the use of sound. The majority of horror films use dark, moody lighting. Horror movie marketing must focus primarily on teasing.
4. Film samples within the genre - Based on the Stephen King novel, Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film "The Shining" is renowned for its iconic sequences of psychological horror in a haunted hotel. William Friedkin's 1973 film "The Exorcist" is a classic in the possession and demonic horror genre and is well-known for its horrifying exorcism scenes.
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Create a database entry following the same format as the sample below. Your database entry must include the following sections:
1. Genre - Horror
2. Genre conventions – content - Horror movies often have gloomy, isolated backgrounds, who could be supernatural entities or human villains. To shock the audience, they employ sound effects, music, and jump scares. Characters that experience violence and gore in spooky, uncomfortable settings are used to explore psychological and supernatural issues.
3. Genre conventions – production techniques - Careful lighting and framing are used in horror film production techniques to create a spooky mood. Strategic use of music and sound design creates tension and terror. Special effects and jump scares are examples that add to the overall spooky experience.
4. Institutional conventions – how is genre marketed - Posters and other promotional materials featuring startling and scary images are frequently used to market horror films. To pique viewers' interest, trailers often feature jump scares, suspense, and terrifying scenes. The marketing of the horror genre frequently targets a certain audience that likes to be afraid and makes use of the thrill of suspense and terror.
5. Film sample #1 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre - "The Babadook" (2014): This movie explores psychological anxiety, perfectly capturing the horror genre. Using tension to create an uncomfortable environment and make the viewer wonder what the real cause of the fright might be, it explores the idea that the real horror might be the monsters inside our brains.
6. Film sample #2 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre - "Get Out" (2017): By using social and racial themes inside a suspenseful horror story, "Get Out" captures the horror genre. The viewer is met with its mixture of satire and psychological horror.
7. List of 5-7 other film examples within the genre (with links or images of these examples) -
