horror.

GENRE RESEARCH.

Horror.

The horror genre started in the 1890s with several short silent films such as the devils cave in 1886 and the unholy one in 1889.

Hollywood then discovered horror through a series of German experimental films and so developed the genre for the viewing of a wider audience in films such as Dracula and Frankenstein in 1910.

Hollywood then started to mix the genre with other genres such as science fiction in the 1930s and this instantly created the popularity of the genre we know today.

Horror films generally have lower budgets then most other genres and so is a perfect genre to look at for my final film project.

The genre has many conventions but also easily fits into other genres as well. For example most horror films are incredibly dark with little lighting and gothic or supernatural settings. The miss en scene of such films varies however there is always use of the antagonist either as a murderer, being or some form of spirit/ virus.

Also almost all horror films are set in either a dessert of some form or completely of the beaten track that’s not to say that directors always use this.

Director Danny Boyle set his film in the city and that has many characteristics of a horror but also many of the Jason and Freddie films have also been set in suburbs of city’s and so the genre is constantly changing,

The film narrative also revolves around a group mostly and this usually ends up being one or two left at the end usually with the protagonist being the central role throughout the film.

With the genre having a generally low budget this means there is great use of hand held cameras and the natural setting and lighting available this to could be useful to bare in mind for my film.