Pre-production Research

There are many Sub Genres of Horror, here are a few that I have researched:

- Action Horror e.g. Dawn of the Dead

- Body Horror e.g. The Thing

- Comedy Horror e.g. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

- Gothic Horror e.g. Dracula

- Natural Horror e.g. Jaws

- Psychological Horror e.g. The Ring

- Science Fiction Horror e.g. Alien

- Slasher Horror e.g. Psycho

- Splatter Horror e.g. Piranha 3D

- Zombie Horror e.g. The Crazies

The sub-genre that stands out for me is ‘psychological’ because there’s always a lot of depth to characters which helps create a sophisticated plot. It makes the audience question themselves as it contains the ‘fear of the unknown’ element. These horror films are enjoyable to watch and also unpredictable.

An example of a horror film that I have studied and have taken inspiration from is The Ring.

The Ring is a psychological, Supernatural Horror film about a video tape that causes those that watch it to die in seven days. A group of teenagers watch the tape but they are quick to dismiss the phone call they receive informing them of their remaining time to live. They don't take the message seriously and seven days later, they all die. The aunt of one of those teenagers is a journalist so she decided to investigate the deaths and she too watches the tape and receives the call. Realising what had happened, she decides she needs to solve the puzzle and find out who the person in the tape is. With the help of her ex-boyfriend who happens to be an expert in video technology, they realise there is more to the tape then they thought.

Using children is a typical convention for horror films, especially for supernatural horror films. For example, The Grudge and Exorcist both use little girls as their killers and this is because they want to show the audience that they can turn something innocent in to something evil. This makes the film even more horrific.

The Ring Trailer:

Camera Work:

- There are various close-ups of the victim’s faces and this is to emphasise their facial expressions and to make the audience fear the supernatural being and also to be afraid of what might happen to the character

- There are long shots paired with camera panning to establish the scene and to make the audience aware of the characters surroundings so they can detect any possible abnormalities or threats in the scene

- Fades are used to slow down scenes to build more tension

- Low angle shots are used to show superiority/inferiority (typical convention of a horror film)

- The scene then begins to cut rapidly to add pace and excitement

Lighting:

A typical convention of a horror film is the dark and low lighting that is used to create an eerie atmosphere.

Sound:

Non diegetic: The soundtrack in horror films that help to build tension. For example, the motif that plays when the antagonist Samara appears is a non-diegetic sound. This is a sound that only the audience can hear and it is used to build suspense and make us feel scared for the characters.

Diegetic: e.g. the telephone ringing is something both the audience and characters can hear. The telephone is very important to the narrative which is why it is something both groups can hear.

Costume:

Samara wears a long white dress and has long thick black hair that covers her face. She wears white because it is a colour that connotes purity and because she is a child and children often symbolise innocence, it makes sense for her to wear white. However, this creates a very powerful juxtaposition as she is the killer in the film. The long black hair represents her being blinded and taken over by evil.