TM- Genre Analysis

Chosen Genre

Our chosen genre is teen horror. This is a sub-genre of horror. The horror genre as a whole is designed to scare and provoke your worst nightmares. This selection of films does this in a quite brilliant but unique way.

• Scream (1996),
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997),
• I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998),
• Ginger Snaps (2001),
• Dead Silence (1998),
• Killer Instinct (2000),
• Spliced (2003),
• Freddy vs. Jason (2003),
• Serial Killing 101 (2004)
• Fear of the Dark (2002),
• Hangman's Curse (2003)
• Cursed (2004),
• Final Destination,(2000)
• The Hollow (2004),
• Predator Island (2005),
• Devour (2005)
• Jeepers Creepers (2000)

All of these films bring a new technique in to the horror genre. The films that I took specific technical styles from were;

Final Destination (2000)

This film is a sub-genre of horror, it is teen horror. The style which I like from this film is the flash back technique that is used. The girl sees into the future and the horror that unfolds but then it cuts back to her showing it was just a thought. I like this technique because is it is so simple to achieve yet so effective in creating mystery and enigma.

Jeepers Creepers (2000)

This is another teen-horror which involves to teenage friends that discover a room full of bodies. The man the made the room is a monster of some sort. The technique I liked is the costume that is used for the monster. He wears a hat which covers his face most of the time, only revealing it times of fear and loathing. This simple piece of costume creates tension by the mystery of his face. We don’t really know what he looks like.

Alien (1979)

This film is an alien horror which involves a team of people that find evil aliens that kill them. The technique I liked was the use of prosthetics in the form of the alien that jumps at your head. The alien looks slimy and horrible. The prop helps create the sickening feeling when you watch it. It looks so realistic, this helps create enigma within the film.

The Typical Narrative

The typical narrative of a horror film is having things that the audience can identify with. This could be a ghost or an alien for example. This helps create suspense and enigma by making the audience relate to the film. If the audience can relate it will be much more foreboding for them, believing that the film could really happen. There are a few techniques which could be uses for this; the techniques are in the characters thoughts and feeling, making the audience relate to them.

Stereotypes within the film

In a horror film there are many stereotypes used, this could be;

• The jock
• The nerd
• The popular girl
• The weird boy
• The rebel
• The nice guy

A big stereotype in a horror film is the “Killer in a mask”. The film which has used the killer in the mask is “Freddy vs. Jason”. A hockey mask has been used to cover Jason’s face. This creates suspense and mystery about the film. The mask has now become iconic with many films trying to recreate this piece of horror.

Setting

The setting in horror films is most of the time quite similar. The setting that is mostly used is the forest scene. This is very effective because there is a sense of alone and fear in woods. You are so rural; no-one can hear your screams. Another setting which is commonly used is the hunted or old house. These houses connote fear and loathing because of there history and because they generally don’t look welcoming.

Iconography

Visual – in horror films, an ordinary object is usually a centre focus for the terror. Ef a knife in the film “Psycho”
Aural – These are sounds such as creaking doors, footsteps or simply just the wind howling
Oral – These are noises from people e.g. a scream or a strange voice

Costume

The costume is much depended on the story or setting of the film. For example a cape and mask would create mystery in the film. This was apparent in the film scream. It makes the audience would to watch and see who is the killer. A school is very depended of costume. The people would be wearing school clothes or casual clothes. This really helps set the genre of a film. This film with the school would be a teen horror because of the characters and their costume.

Lighting

The lighting in a horror film could be crucial in the success of the film. The lighting should be dark and mysterious. The lighting really needs to set the moods and themes of the film. For example low lighting will help keep the secrets of the film. In the film “Jeepers Creepers (2000)” the lighting helps keeps the killer’s identity a mystery.

Colours

The colours in a film help connote certain things. The colour red for example only connotes one thing, Blood. The colour black also connotes evil and suffering.