Here are the main elements of the horror film genre. Or as we like to call them, the ingredients and recipe of horror movies.
Horror movies have been popular since the early beginnings of movie production.
The genre started to develop with Georges Méliès. The director made a silent film called The House of the Devil in 1896. It is the first horror movie ever made.
What is the horror film genre?
I know its self explanatory… But I’ll say it anyway… Horror movies are movies intended to scare who is watching them :O
The ingredients of the horror genre:
The villain
Can be a monster, alien, ghost, human…
The hero
This is usually the protagonist who is pursued by the villain.
The hero is naturally in immediate life-threatening danger because of the villain.
The First Victim
The character that dies first. The death of this character is the event that shows the evil and cruelty of the villain.
Music
A main ingredient in the horror genre.
Music is used to build tension, suspense, and to set up an unsettling mood.
Lighting
Darkness is horror’s best friend.
Dim light, low exposure, and high contrast lighting are essential ingredients of the horror genre.
Camera Movement/ Angles
Horror movies are usually filmed with hand-held camera.
Mainly, POV (point of view). The camera usually moves and follows the characters to give a panic feeling.
Peeking shots are also used by having an object in the foreground. This gives a creepy feeling that the characters are always being watched.
Horror movies also depend heavily on close up shots. These kinds of shots help the audience feel with the character. But most importantly, close-ups don’t give much information. This increases the element of scare and tension.
For example, if the character is alone in the woods.. and we are only seeing her in close up, the audience won’t know if the “monster” is near or not. This makes the audience on their toes the entire scene.
Setting
The climax of most horror movies take place at night or in a low-light interior place.
Violence
Gory violence is a main component of horror.
Sex
Almost all horror films include graphic sex scenes. I don’t have an explanation… but sex seems to go well with the genre.
The formula of the narrative of a horror film would be like this:
Characters in their ordinary life.. everything is going normal until the villain enters the scene and turns things upside down. All the main characters are in immediate danger.. the protagonist manages to survive till the climax. In the climax, the final fight begins. Sometimes it can be the final escape. The movie ends with the protagonist free. The villain may dead.
In some cases evil wins… the villain defeats the characters. In other words, wait for the sequel.
Next, I want to discuss a horror film. The first thing that comes to mind is a movie for the master of horror: Alfred Hitchcock.
Yet, I decided to talk about a more “recent” movie that deserves to be discussed because it is somehow different from other movies in the genre.
