Horror Research

The horror genre often appeals to themes of fear involving the unknown, death, and the supernatural. This genre is known for being one of the most profitable genres seeing as low budget films can gross millions.

CONTENT

The horror genre contains different types of content to ensure the genre is being portrayed directors use foreshadowing, suspense, disgust, and often the supernatural/ cultural lore. Foreshadowing is used in Horror movies to hint to the audience what will later be unveiled. The foreshadowing often adds an eerie sense although it is only truly understandable when a film is rewatched. This can be seen as a pattern throughout the "scream" movies, as the killer often has a close connection to the victims you can infer who the perpetrator is before their reveal. Similarly, this is also seen in the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" movies. Suspense is another element found in horror movies used to captivate the audience's attention as they build up the emotions experienced in the film. They also often set up room for a jump scare in a film as the audience is intensely focused. This is seen throughout most horror movies, most including jump scares like "insidious". Disgust is an important component of the horror genre as it makes the audience uncomfortable. Disgust affects both physical and psychological elements. This can be used in gore or psychological films as it makes the audience question why, when something is "gross" and "unfamiliar". This is seen in movies like "Fresh" and "Hereditary". Supernatural and cultural lore aren't always found in horror films but when they are the focus is on tune. They may not always be accurate, but they use it in the same way films have before. There are also appearances of films that solely focus on cultural lore like "La Lorna" or "Hagazussa".

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Techniques used in the genre heavily involve lighting and sound to assist in creating the film's atmosphere. By using lighting directors can use shadows and low lighting to create an ominous presence, especially when the audience interprets what is occurring on their own. While sound is used to make the audience uneasy waiting with anticipation as to what will come next. Both sound effects and long-lasting background sound are used to tense the audiences and mess with their perception.

GENRE MARKETING

The typical horror marketing age range is between 15-25 with a core demographic of 19-24; horror has the highest 19-24 age range than other genres. This is because the idea of thrillers, slashers, and gore often appeals more towards teenagers and young adults who are mature enough to watch these films. The movies are often marketed with trailers that capture the most thrilling and suspenseful moments as it entices the audience to want to watch the film, and to want to be scared.

Sample 1: Silent Hill, 2006

A movie version of the popular video game, this film is a supernatural horror movie that follows a desperate mother who incidentally drives through a portal in reality where she ends up trapped in an almost abandoned town, Silent Hill. She searches for her daughter in this town continuously encountering monstrous beings and citizens of the town, all who are surrounded by darkness that is slowly taking ahold of them. This film uses dark lighting and shadows to emphasize the town's abandonment and evil presence. The shadows are used to create illusions and to set up jump scares throughout the film. The consistent use of gore and creepy characters emphasizes the horror genre as this isn't typical in any other genre.

Sample 2: Megan Is Missing, 2011

This movie is a found footage psychological horror that revolves around Megan (Rachel Quinn) and her best friend Amy Herman (Amber Perkins) who end up chatting with a stranger online. One of the friends Megan (Rachel Quinn) attempts to meet up with the online stranger resulting in her disappearance. That is when her friend Amy attempts to find her, which results in her capture as well. The film's ending surrounds the reveal of what happened to Megan and what will happen to Amy. The film uses elements of suspense, disgust, and foreshadowing. This is seen at the beginning of the film when Megan chats with the man online those who are aware of the signs of danger may realize the danger this man possesses. While the disgust and suspense are seen in the methods of torture, the girls experience and the moment leading up to them.