In terms of film, the genre of horror is set out to scare an audience so that they feel scarred when they come out from the cinema. Some classic examples of horror films include:
- The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1974)
- The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
- The Blair Witch Project (Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, 1999)
- Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1985)
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1998)
What are the conventions?
When you watch a horror films, there are specific moments and elements of the film which are iconic to the horror genre and they can be easily identified within a horror movie. This is known as iconography and without these, they would not make a horror movie and enjoyable thing to watch.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to any horror film is essential, in order to build up suspense and anxiety. A classic example of this is in the film "Psycho" (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) in the infamous shower scene, the use of a staccato violin sound in used during the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4
This use of music is a classic example of how soundtrack is a convention of horror films because the use of this violin sound builds up tension for the audience and when the piece of music ends, it leaves the audience feeling shocked at what has just happened in front of them.
Special Effects
For horror films, the use of blood and gore is iconic, especially in gory horror films such as Nightmare on Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Gory horror films use this piece of iconography as part of the attraction of these films. A key example of the use of special effects in horror films is in Hostel Part II, in a scene where a surgery take place, the use of props and special effects makes it uncomfortable for the viewer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6r6armimdE
This use of special effects is a good example of how this is a convention of horror films because special effects, in particular blood, are an essential part of horror films as the blood has connotations of danger, making it uncomfortable and scary for the audience.
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