Genre Conventions for Final Project

For my final project, my group is planning on creating a horror film. The horror genre tends to do very well in the box office. It is one of the best-selling genres to this day. The horror genre consists of many common themes. These include children, nightmares, death, fear, the supernatural, and zombies/unknown creatures. The horror genre in literature dates back to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, where horror stories explored themes related to death, demons, evil spirits, and the afterlife. This later transitioned into the film industry. The late 1890s is when the first few horror films started to appear. "The first depictions of the supernatural on-screen appeared in several of the short silent films created by the French pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès in the late 1890s. The best known of these early supernatural-based works is the 3-minute short film Le Manoir du Diable (1896), known in English as both "The Haunted Castle" and "The House of the Devil". The film is sometimes credited as being the first-ever horror film." This movie is considered a horror movie because of the elements of ghosts, haunted castles, and demons. There are also many important actors that contribute to the horror genre. Christopher Lee acted in many movies in the 90s such as Dracula and Son, The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Castle of the Living Dead, and more. Jack Nicholson is another major part of the horror genre. He starred in 'The Shining' which was one of his most legendary roles. He was also in Tim Burton's 'Batman' and played The Joker. Moving on, a big director in this specific genre is James Wan. James Wan is a well known director, known for directing modern horror movies. He has directed The Insidious Series, Saw, Malignant, Jigsaw, and The Conjuring 1, 2, and 3. These are all examples of movies that are very suspenseful and will keep the audience interested.

The horror genre was created to have the viewers frightened and on the edge of their seats. Movies will use certain tactics to generate the fear in the viewers. They usually show things that will scare, or disgust the audience. In most horror movies, there is a main villian/monster. Gore is a big part of the horror genre. This channels the audiences digust. It is easily recognized by the extreme violence and and disturbing imagery. It is purposely meant to shock the audience. There are commonly used settings for horror movies. This usually consists of cabins, woods, abandoned buildings, cemetaries, and empty rooms. As for lighting, there is mainly always low key lighting. Horror movies are never filmed in the broad daylight because no one fears things that they can see. Most horror films consist of a series of jump scares, flashbacks, pathetic fallacies, quick flashing shots, etc. Jump scares play a big part as well. If there is a moment of silence, and a monster comes out of no where, this usually sends a jolt of adrenaline to the audience member. Sound also plays a big part in horror movies. "Specifically in the case of horror films and haunted houses, the usage of infrasound contributes to viewers' or guests' feelings of “uneasiness, anxiety, fear and anger” and naturally puts them more on edge as they begin to anticipate the next scare." With that all said, for my final project, I would like to have dim lighting, jump scares, and possibly a main antagonist. 

Horror movies do great in terms of exhibition. They are preferably watched in theaters to get the full effect. The most profitable horror movie to this day is It by Stephen King. This film brought in $700,381,759 worldwide. Horror movies do not cost as much to make as other genres, however they usually bring in the most money. For example, Paranormal Activity cost $5 million and made $54 million domestically as well as another $86 million overseas. Horror movies are released very regularly. They have been becoming more popular over the past decade. Scream (2022) just came out not to long ago and already generated $63,296,275 in box office worldwide. Horror movies do exceptionally well in ancillary revenue. Merchandising and cross promoting helps a film more than you may think! Horror movies do very well around October due to the sales of Halloween costumes. Many kids decide to dress up as there favorite character/villian from popular horror movies. Many stores may also sell popular fake weapons from horror movies. Most of the money comes in through the box office and through streaming services, however, merchandising is still important. Selling T-shirts, coffee cups, toys, etc. helps. Overall, exhibition is the most important process in releasing a movie. It will show how successful a movie does. 

With researching the horror genre, I have learned a lot. In my final project, I would like to use dark lighting for a eerie feeling. This creates tension on how the individual characters are revealed. I want to include a main antagonist which will play a huge role. Silence will also play a major part. Silence creates a tense atmosphere. We will do a mysterious storyline. In the end, every small detail matters. I want to have the audience on the edge of their seats by the end of our short film.