People enjoy the Horror genre for different reasons. One is Catharsis, the idea of purging the mind of negative emotions by watching drama and violence to get rid of pent up feelings and aggression. A simpler reason may just be human curiosity. People often find pleasure in being shocked and disturbed and morbid curiosity could drive peole to watch Horror films for this reason.
One of the most common and likely reasons is the 'adrenaline rush' gained from watching these films. It enables people to face their fears without it being a reality. Watching Horror films awakens the fight or flight responses in our brains, giving us a rush of exhilaration and for many people this can be entertaining and leaves people feeling relieved when it's over.
A lot of people watch Horror films because they relate with either the killer or the victims. People sometimes find pleasure in watching people get what they deserve and often in Horror films there are victims who's actions and behaviour is the cause of their deaths. For example, a young couple running into an abandoned building and ignoring all the warning signs outside.
Some people simply enjoy the sensation of fear and excitement due to personality types. These people also seek the same experience from other activities in life such as skydiving, swimming with sharks and such.
Posters for films are one of the ways of advertising, and therefore must convince audiences to watch the film.
This poster for Skyfall is simple and minimalistic, not needing to show too much due to being part of an ongoing and already popular and famous series of films. The design captures the movie's characterist features and style however.
Similar to the Skyfall poster, this one for Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows part 2 doesn't even need to include the film's title on the poster. The faces of the two famous and iconic characters is enough for fans of the previous movies and even those who may simply know of them to recognise the film. The words 'It all ends' at the bottom creates drama and those who have been following the films will be most affected by the poster, desperate to watch the final film.
This horror poster for the movie 'Scream' uses greyscale and the image of a woman with her hand over her mouth. The caption at the top gives more of an insight into the film and its plot, as audiences will not necessarily be familiar with it. This sort of poster is for new, lesser known films that need to attract their audience and convince them to view it.
The Cabin in the Woods' poster uses the twisted, optical illusion of the cabin floating to appeal to its audience, creating a dramatic effect of tension and curiosity. This poster says less than the Scream poster, instead using the imagery to deliver its message. Both feature dark, dull and grey colour tones though, keeping a similar mood.
I attempted to create my own poster roughly using Pixlr and an image taken fro Google. Keeping with the style, I made the colours dark and tried to use minimal text. I used a small, simple caption to add to the film's title and left the cast down the bottom in small text.
Audience Survey To get a better understanding of what people look for and enjoy about horror films I shall create a survey and ask random people. My particular film is aimed at 16-30 year olds, and therefore I shall ask people from within that group. Q1- Do you enjoy horror films? (If answer is 'no', stop survey here) Q2-What is it about horror films that you enjoy? Q3-What is your favourite subgenre of horror?
Paranormal
Slasher
Apocalypse
Suspense/ Thriller
Religious/ Satanic
Sci-Fi
Gothic
Rampant Animals
Splatter/ gorenography
Erotic
Dark Fantasy
Comedy
Supernatural
Q4-What sort of antagonist do you find the most terrifying?
Q5-What is your favourite Horror film of all time?
Q6-In terms of camerawork, sound and editing what do you find to be the most effective?
I shall record the responses and upload a video of people's answers to the survey.
I have decided that my short film will be in the paranormal subgenre of horror. This genre is all about ghosts and ghouls, the unknown and mysterious unexplained happenings.
Features include:
Jump scares- Building up tension to make the audience jump in surprise when the music changes or something happens on screen.
Dramatic music- Using music to aid the tension and enhance the eerie atmosphere
Ghosts & spirits- The antagonists are usually ghosts or spirits, often of the deceased come back to haunt or get revenge.
Possession- The ghost or spirit gaining control over the characters, making them commit acts.
Haunted houses- Common setting for the subgenre, often the home of the ghost.
Religious themes- Use of the Devil, demons and Hell are typical of the genre, using these to frighten an audience.
For my short film I plan to include the themes of ghosts and hauntings, using dramatic and intense music to help create tension and a build-up to a jump scare. My antagonist will be the ghost of a girl who drowned in the river and continues to haunt the area and lure people to their deaths, including the 'controlling', 'possession' themes typical of the genre.
For my short film I have set up a plan. It will be a supernatural/ghost film involving two characters, minimal dialogue and artistic camerawork.
Characters:
Lily- Protagonist, young girl of 10 years, long hair, naive and innocent. Child victim.
Morgan- Antagonist, ghost of teenage girl that drowned in the river. Messy hair, pale.
Plot- A child goes out for a bike ride to an isolated field by the river, encounters the spirit of a girl who drowned. i.Film underwater, light rippling on surface. Title shows ii.Lily is tying her shoe laces, sitting on the stairs. Gets bag and cardigan, leaves house. iii.Goes to the garage, opens it and then collects bike. iv.Rides bike through the fields, reaches destination and leaves bike beside tree before walking towards river. v.Picks up a stick and breaks it in half, then walks onto bridge and throws them over the side. vi.As Lily runs over to the other side, antagonist’s reflection appears in the water beside her. vii.Lily heads back, but finds her bike missing.
viii.Becomes hypnotised, gets lured into river
Camerawork and Editing
Artistic filming style. Angled shots, pans and close-ups. Slow, distant shots as well as tracking shots.
Lights Out, developed by Swedish director David F. Sandberg. It was first released on Vimeo and Youtube, and was winner of 'Best Short' at FANT Bilbao 2014. The film begins by introducing the protagonist, an ordinary female heading to bed in her pyjamas. We as an audience already get the sense that she is vulnerable. When she goes to turn off the light and a shadowy figure appears at the end of the hallway our antagonist is introduced. The unknown creature causes our protagonist to grow panicked and she tapes the light switch down in an attempt to keep it on. She goes to bed but the lamp beside her begins to flicker and the light in the hallway turns off. The light soon comes back on and our protagonist believes she is safe, only to be met face to face with the creature when she turns to look. The film shows excellent use of lighting, having the creature's figure outlined when it is first shown at the end of the corridor to emphasise its unsettling form. In our protagonist's bedroom, the lamp gives the room a dim light, enough to keep the keep the monster away (or so we think) but enough to create an eery atmosphere. At the end, when the monster's face is shown, it is illuminated by the light of the lamp, making its disturbing features such as big, blind eyes and unnaturally wide mouth stand out. Use of sound in this short is particularly strong. The loud click of the light switch emphasises silence of the rest of her house, making her seem more isolated. The clicking light switch is the only sound we hear until the figure is seen standing right next to the bedroom door, and at this point we hear an eerie sound effect used to increase tension. While the woman is under the covers, hiding, we can hear footsteps. These are made to seem louder by the absence of any other sounds and get louder, suggesting the creature is getting closer. We cannot see the antagonist however, which helps to build tension while the audience listens to its footsteps. Regarding Mise en Scene, the setting is typical of a horror film. A lone woman's suburban house at night. The woman herself is wearing her pyjamas, displaying her as vulnerable seeing as she is not protected by much clothing. The creature is not shown properly until the very end but while it is standing in the hallway we can see its figure, which appears a little abnormal. Throughout the film we only see the hallway and the bedroom. The hallway is long and bare, making for a better effect on the audience when the woman turns the light off and the monster appears. In the woman's bedroom, there is only a bed, a cabinet and a lampshade. From the bed, the door can be seen and we are given the woman's point of view when the hallway light turns off and she can see through the slightly-ajar door.
For a film to be considered a 'short film' it must be no longer than 40 minutes. Because of this limited time space, the film must keep its plot concise and easy to follow. Generally, the cast is small, keeping to a small group of characters and avoids complicated backstories. They're usually low budget and because of this, they often take place in everyday, ordinary environments such as in the home or a forest, making them relatable.
Short films typically use expressive and artistic camerawork, using unconventional angles and pans that wouldn't be used in big Hollywood movies. Sound is a very important aspect of short horror films. Sound can help narrate the story and build tension and fear in its audience. Sounds like heartbeats and creaking floorboards are very effective.
Some short films are later tuned into longer feature films, such as Mama and Lights Out, which started as short films. Todorov's Narrative Theory states that all films follow a similar plot. At first there is equilibrium, where everything is balanced. Soon there will be disruption and a problem will arise. Next, the characters will become aware of the disruption to the balance. They will then try to restore the balance and resolve the problem and by the end there will be equilibrium. In the Lights Out short, we are shown balance when we are introduced to the character, a woman in her pyjamas in her home. The disruption occurs when she turns off the light and a shadowy figure is visible and she realises that it is only visible when the lights are off. She attempts to resolve the issue by keeping the lights on and hiding under the covers. There is no restoration of equilibrium in this short however, as the figure is revealed at the end and viewers are left on a cliff-hanger.
