Normally is most horror films the characters are in their teenage years, this is done because most people have a negative view of teenagers so the audience are very unlikely to like the character ,however the use of teenagers as main characters are also used because teenagers take up a lot of the viewing figures this means the audience can relate to the characters more.The main character/victim is usually an attractive girl this is done to trick the audience into thinking they are stupid and naive however this character normally ends up being the unlikely hero.This is normally due to girls being more patient and clever.This subvert the stereo types of women in other genres such as action where they are normally "useless" and act like damsels in distress.The villain is almost always a man.We are rarely introduces to the villain face to face unless the villain is acting like a normal character throughout the film who we wouldn't expect to be the antagonist. If this isn't done we normally hear the voices down the phone to the victim, they normally have a very distorted voice which is put on so their hidden identity isn't revealed.
The location is normally set in a rural environment which is isolated rather than in a city were there are a lot of people around.The first scene is normally set in a very normal environment but the use of haunted/abandoned houses are used, this is very stereo-typical.The majority of very famous horror films are set in america where it is legal to have ownership of a gun , these are very widely used props in horror films when the protagonist is being attacked. However the main use of weapon for the antagonist is usually a knife , this because it normally ends up in a slow , painful death where as if you shoot someone in the correct place the death is normally very quick.
Generally there is a death in the opening scene to entice the audience.There is also very stupid decisions made which normally make the audience want to scream and the screen and tell the characters to stop what they are doing, however by doing this it makes the film very predictable.
Common conventions used in the horror genre are the use of mirrors , quite a lot of the time the audience know what's going to happen when there is someone looking into a mirror.so nowadays its not so often used as it doesn't give off the shock factor.Plenty of the time it is based round someone getting revenge , peoples religious beliefs or demons & exorcism.
The use of lighting and camera shots & angles are very important to making a good horror movie.Most frequently the genre is set at night to add secrecy.Due to the antagonist not being revealed normally until the end of the film, Point Of View shots are used commonly because it gives us the perspective from the villains view and the way he looks at things. High and low angles shots are used a lot to inform the audience who is for example more powerful or insignificant.Sometimes the use of a hand held camera is used to add identification and realism into the genre.
Non-diegetic music is very significant to making a film interesting, different types of sounds give off different effects to the audience, the most used sound in the horror genre is normally very low pitched and slow to add tension.Sounds which are heard in the environment around us such as wind and lightning work well as it created realism for the audience to interact with.Non-diegetic sound is usually used when something significant in the plot is going to happen.Sound bridges are also brilliant to tie two scenes together and to add juxtaposition.
The normal age restriction for horror films are normally 15 or 18 this is due to explicit imagery to make the film as realistic and interesting as possible, to make the film realistic the use of stereo-types are normally very frightening and depressing which isn't very suitable for people aged below 15. However the average age of the viewers are between 16 and 24 mostly made up of men this is due to men taking things more lightly and stereo-typically they get scared less easily than women.
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