Generic Conventions of Horror

By Victoria Dixon

Semantic Conventions

• The semantic conventions of horror film trailers would include:

• The characters would include the protagonist; which would be quite down to earth and easy to relate to and they would usually have a friend who would be their sort of sidekick who would help out with the protagonists decisions and sometimes the ‘scardy cat’. The antagonist would usually be some sort of monster of very scary person who is after the protagonist and their friend.

• The props used in horror movies are usually things that are weapons such as knives and old styles of weaponry like batons. There are usually crosses and crucifixes also used which are symbolizing of religion and the devil.

• The costumes are usually everyday casual clothing which will be easy for us to recreate and the makeup is usually quite natural, although there is usually quite a bit of gore so there are lots of wounds and fake blood used.

• The locations used in horror movies are usually abandoned houses, or churches/graveyards. They help instill the sense of fear into the audience. The lighting is usually very dark.

• The sounds used in horrors are usually very eary and also can be quite silent

• The editing is usually very quick as it flashes from one scene to another

Syntactic

• Horror films usually start with uncertainty and this injects a sense of fear into the protagonist and tells the story. The antagonist isn't always introduced straight away so the audience is then unsure as to what the protagonist is running away from.It then goes through more scenes to inject suspense and terror into the audience then towards the end the drama and action starts and there is usually lots of screams and running around. The end also includes the death or escape of the antagonist and the protagonists get a sense of freedom.