Conventions of Horror

Night

The familiar setting that can be noted in most horror is at night. This is the time period when most of the horror action occurs as it is dark and helps create suspense. Furthermore it is the time when many people may feel slightly more insecure due to the fact that there is hardly any light, except for moonlight. A lot of horror use the night for their villains such as Dracula for example.







Isolated Setting

An isolated setting is very imporatant in horror as it not only creates suspense but also gives the audience an idea of what the villain in the film would be like, for example, someone who prefers to keep away from society for a reason. For instance in 'Nosferatu', the character lives alone in Transylvania as he is a vampire like being, and prefers to only come out at night. Another example would be the film 'Psycho' in which Norman Bates lives away from society only owning his motel in which he commits murder from. Finally 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' also follows this convention with Leatherface and his family living in an isolated residence in Texas as they don't want people to know of their cannibalistic activities.

Endagerment of Protagonist

In horror, the protagonist or main character is always the one that the film usually concentrates and focusses on. This is the character that the audience build a connection with and what the horror genre does, is use this relationship to keep the audience engaged. Moreover the protagonist character is the one who is in danger and is the one that the killer is usually after during the film. An example would be Marion in 'Psycho'.









Iconography

Iconography is what represents horror in a way that people would be able to understand when something is portraying it. For example, blood and the weapons used in the genre, such as sharp objects like knives and chainsaws. The weaponry of knives are mainly used as it allows the villain to get up close to the target and so the audience get a closer look on what is about to happen. The use of blood portraying horror as it shows that someone has got hurt. Prime examples would be the 'Saw' series in which gore is one of the main uses to portray its genre.