Genre Analysis: Horror

Out of all the different genres in media, I have decided to write about horror today. Horror is one of my favorite genres for many reasons. It has so many different subgenres, including paranormal, gore, psychological, and more.

Content:

Some specific genre content conventions that Horror films are supernatural monsters and gore.

Still from The Exorcist (1973)

Supernatural monsters and entities have always been considered as something scary for the general public. Films have used different ways to conjure up supernatural entities. The most popularized form of this is by using an Ouija board. One of the first and most popular films that came out that used an Ouija board was William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973). In this movie, the main character Reagen was seen using the Oujia board to contact a "Captian Howdy." After this first encounter with the Oujia board, she starts portraying the characteristics of being possessed. Despite the Ouija board not being the main focus of the movie, it helped popularize the use of Ouija boards in horror films.

Stills from Tarot (2024) - High Priestess card

Over time, the use of Ouija boards in film became overused. Younger generations knew to not play this "game" and people grew tired and bored of this reused topic. To make a change, directors Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen decided to use the infamous Tarot cards instead of a basic Ouija board. The movie Tarot (2024) was a huge switch in the media since many people had never touched on the topic of using Tarot cards. The directors choosing to make a horror film based off of these cards was extremely wise. This movie was specifically geared toward younger audiences since that's who helped the resurfacing of Tarot cards. Despite the new concept of using Tarot, the movie feels cheap and rushed compared to The Exorcist (1973). It relies heavily on jumpscares which makes it very repetitive and underwhelming.

Still from the Terrifier trilogy.

A huge element that many horror films have is gory content. Many movies rely on making their main sense of attraction bloody, gross, and graphic to instill a strong sense of fear in the audience. Gore in films makes the audience feel uncomfortable when watching. Directors use psychology when filming because they know that when humans see other humans being hurt, they can "feel" the same pain, and inevitably feel squeamish. A movie that does a great job using gore to scare the audiences is the Terrifier trilogy. These slasher films use an excess amount of blood and guts to terrify the audience. The bad thing about the overuse of gore is that the movies are quite bland. The only point of these movies is kill, kill, and kill.

Production

Two production techniques used a lot in horror films are jumpscares and specific sounds.

In recent times, jumpscares have played a huge role in Horror films. Older films that came out during the seventies and eighties aren't considered as scary nowadays. More recent horror movies are scarier for my generation due to the excess jump scares. Jumpscares add a strong sense of unpredictability and suspense. For example, Tommy Lee Wallace's It (1990) doesn't have any jumpscares, it relies mostly on the unsettling atmosphere of having a clown be the antagonist. It (1990) uses a lot of loud music, slow motion, and abrupt fade-ins and outs.

Stills from It (1990) and It (2017)

Compared to Andy Muschietti's It (2017), Muschetti's adaptation of Stephen King's hit novel can be considered scarier than It (1990). In the remake, Muschetti uses a lot of jumpscares and gore to make the movie, in my opinion, scarier. Comparing the two costume designs and interpretations for the clown Pennywise, many have argued that the 2017's version is far more scarier. Bill Skarsgard, Pennywise in It (2017) plays Pennywise as less comical and more serious compared to Tim Curry's interpretation.

Since I have watched both versions of It, I have to say that the 2017 remake was more scary for me compared to the older version. I understand how the 1990 version could have been scarier for people back in the day since killer clown movies weren't as popular. It (1990) paved the way for the popularization of killer clowns, and it helped influence the amount of clown movies and content that we see in recent media.

Sound plays a crucial element in horror films. It helps build tension and certain music scores in horror films have become iconic.

Sound helps create shock through the use of sound effects. A simple door slamming in a quiet environment can be a terrifying addition to a movie. In many different movies, the music crescendos when the killer is near. This helps instill a sense of fear and panic into the audience.

Still from A Quiet Place (2018)

In the movie A Quiet Place, sound adds so much to the intensity of this movie. The whole premise is that you cannot make a sound, because if you do, the monsters, Death Angels, will come and kill you. The use of sound is used sparingly, but every time that it is used, it is extremely important because it means that something bad can potentially happen.

In many older horror movies, the music score that is used has become extremely popular and is seen as a great representation of the movie. It helps amplify fear and establishes the overall mood by creating unease and anticipation.

Still of Michael Myers from the Halloween series.

In John Carpenter's Halloween, the iconic sound motif that is used helps the audience realize when the killer Micheal Myers is about to make an appearance. Click HERE to see an example of this in action.

Marketing

It is difficult to narrow down which audiences horror movies are specifically marketed tp, for it is such a broad genre. Many people who are drawn to horror movies are people who are considered thrill-seekers, since horror movies can bring on different reactions in people, both emotionally and physically.

Typically, a lot of horror movies are geared more towards teenagers and young adults. The media is constantly changing and upgrading. Older horror films can be more appealing to the male gender due to the excess amount of nudity and graphic content that is displayed. Due to the constantly changing media, new horror movies don't really display a lot of nudity, making it easier for more ages to watch.

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BlumHouse scarezone.

The thing about horror movies is that it is way cheaper for companies to make them, which leads for the constant outburst of horror movies that are constantly being made. A great marketing tactic that horror films have is jump scares.

Companies like Universal have profited so much off of the use of jump scares by the creation of their event entitled Halloween Horror Nights (HHN). This event helps audiences immerse themselves in whatever horror films are chosen for that specific year. This helps audiences be more engaged and more willing to participate in watching these films and going to these events.

Film Samples

The Conjuring (2013) is the first film in The Conjuring Cinematic Universe. This movie follows a family of 7 who recently moved into a house in the countryside. They begin encountering different typical paranormal activity. Smells of rotten flesh, clocks stopping at specific times, and sudden temperature changes are all telltale signs that there are present demonic entities. The mother, Carolyn, goes to a meeting where Ed and Lorraine Warren are talking about the different stages of demonic possession. Carolyn asks Ed and Lorraine for help since her family is being gravely affected by the entity in their house. Time passes, and Carolyn gets possessed by the demon of Bathsheba. She tries to kill her daughters, but Ed can exorcise the demon out of her.
This movie is a great representation of the horror genre. It includes different elements of horror, such as jumpscares and supernatural entities. This film properly uses jumpscares, since it isn't overdone and is still absolutely terrifying. The main premise of the movie is that the Perron family is being terrorized by a malignant entity, and that perfectly plays into the paranormal aspects of horror.

Pearl (2017) is the second move in the X trilogy. This film is the prequel to the movie X. It follows the character of Pearl, a sociopathic young lady. She hates her life, and her mother, and wants to be a star. She auditions for a church dance group and unfortunately doesn't get the part. She goes on a rampage and kills her lover, her mother, her father, and her sister-in-law. This film is considered a slasher, and to be honest, it does it very very well. The gore aspect in this movie isn't overdone, and it adds the perfect element of suspense. Mia Goth, the actor who plays Pearl, perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to be a sociopathic teenage girl. The use of sound in this movie is mostly important through the use of dialogue. Pearl goes on a lot of manic screaming episodes, and they portray how she's feeling perfectly to the audience. The daunting music used in this film adds an extra layer of suspense. I thoroughly enjoy this film. It is the perfect ratio of scary, thrilling, and emotional.