Hello! Today I will be talking about one of the most popular production genres: Horror. Horror is a genre, usually fictional, that is intended to frighten, scare, disgust, or startle its viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. Horror movies target 15-25-year-olds because younger audiences are drawn towards graphic images and themes than older ones. Additionally, they focus on males over females as the horror thrills are statistically enjoyed by males more. From 1995 to 2019, horror movies raked in a whopping 11.1 billion dollars in revenue.
Horror movies usually share common content conventions. To start, horror movies almost always revolve around an antagonist. Common antagonists include monsters, psychos, possessed people, and mass murderers. Horror movies usually play on standard human fears, such as the dark, strangers, isolation, death, violence, and insanity. Also, many horror films feature the use of weapons. Weapons add to the feelings of fear and make the production scarier. Lastly, most horror films utilize a black and red color scheme. This color scheme helps create feelings of danger, villainous power, and the unknown. The use of red and black hues elicit the psychological reaction of terror, thus increasing the level of fear in a production.
Horror films also share similar production techniques. They utilize a standard chronological structure and focus heavily on climaxes. Films usually have heavy use of foreshadowing which increases overall suspense. Also, they focus on unnatural very high or very low camera angles to convey dominance, innocence, and power as well as extreme close-ups on the victim’s face to show intense emotions. A blend of jump cuts and point of view shots from the villain are effective in frightening the viewer. Additionally, a shallow depth of field when filming makes whatever is behind the protagonist blurry and as a result, builds suspense. These production techniques are apparent in almost all horror films.
Productions of the horror genre also follow common institutional conventions or marketing strategies. The nature of these films allows them to be marketed extremely well. For horror films, Hollywood pays special attention to the concept of mystery. In movie trailers, they try to leave viewers slightly confused and do not reveal much information about what the movie is about, which hooks them into finding it out for themselves in theaters. Companies also focus on the usage of Ethos marketing. Credible testimonials and quotes from well-known agencies are included in movie trailers to help attract more viewers. Lastly, horror movies are extremely creative with their budget; they use simple equipment which, in turn, makes their production cheaper to make. The simple equipment also makes the film look more realistic, which makes the movie scarier. This results in cheap to make yet high-quality movies raking in millions of dollars in profit. These institutional conventions make horror movies a force to be reckoned with in the film industry.
An example of a movie that embodies the qualities of the horror genre is Paranormal Activity. In the movie, most of the characters are young. This makes the film feel more real to young viewers, thus making it scarier to them. This is a great example of a movie focusing on its target audience. Also, many sequels of Paranormal activity were produced. This turned it into a successful franchise, as viewers will continue to see the movies because they want to see how the story continues. Paranormal activity was also a huge money-maker. The first Paranormal Activity had a $15,000 budget and went on to gross more than 193 million at the box office, making it one of the most profitable movies of all time.
Another example of a movie that embodies the qualities of the horror genre is A Quiet Place. This film is unique, as it takes a different route and focuses on the fear associated with families being in danger. This now attracts adults too, as they can relate to the struggle of trying to protect your children at all costs. These qualities make the film an easier sell for a mainstream audience. The marketing strategies for this movie are unique, as the trailer has little dialogue and their slogan is “If they hear you, they hunt you.” The slogan itself just leaves you to wonder, “who are ‘they’ and why are they hunting you.” The mystery and tension created by the marketing help to attract viewers who want their questions answered. The film has grossed over 188 million dollars in the U.S., making it the second-highest-grossing horror film in the U.S. in over a decade.
Here are some examples of horror movies:
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