Salette's Media Studies Process: October 2022

As Halloween is just around the corner, the horror genre surfaced to be very popular at the movies as the season attracts more people to enjoy the chilling experiences these films bring. However, this holiday is not the only reason horror movies gain so much attraction, as horror movie fanatics end up watching these films year round.

For entertainment value, the horror film genre aims to arouse terror or disgust in its audience. Horror movies frequently explore sinister ideas and may cover obscene subjects. There are various types of horror that are included in films, but there is so much more that attracts viewers, even as horror movies are one of the most cost effective types of films to make.

Content

A crucial element that every horror film may have is fear. Most horror films have this addition since the viewers know that they will be spooked. Any good film will cause viewers to reflect on what they have just seen and perhaps even experience new levels of anxiety. Typically, the protagonist battles their greatest fear. In addition, a wide range of phobias, from those of a person to those of a terrifying occurrence, are examined in the horror genre. Masked killers, dolls, ghosts, monsters, possessed females, big animals, and monsters are some of the most well-known and feared characters in horror films.

The different subgenres of horror will contain different kinds of fear. Paranormal movies which contribute to the mystery of the human experience. These can even include religious attributes to the film, where demons are involved and being possessed in order to give fear to the audience that these characters have some sort of supernatural power. Other types of horror include ones with monsters and slashers, along with psychological and gore.

In a horror film, suspense contributes to the creation of terror. The movie would not be as moving without suspense. The utilization of suspense contributes to creating the excitement and anxiety that moviegoers seek out in these productions. The audience is on the edge of their seats as a result of the tension, waiting for the big scare or moment. Another common element in many horror films is the jump scare. This increases the dread while simultaneously keeping the audience engaged throughout the entire movie.

Production Techniques

Films like these use different techniques to get the feeling they want to motivate. Horror employs distinctive and unexpected angles to confuse and unnerve the person watching the film. Using these angles can also create a sense of uncertainty, which makes the watcher want to talk to the people on screen. Times where people want to warn the character that they are about to be killed are made through shots like an over the shoulder shot and various close ups. The lighting is lowkey, underexposed, and full of shadows, which causes the audience to feel uneasy and on edge.

Additionally, the use of sound, such as a key with a high pitch, alarms the audience. There is a focus on footsteps, creaking doors, and animal noises, giving the spectator the impression that they are unsure of what is around the next bend. In order to upset, unnerve, and create dramatic suspense for potential jump scares, editing in horror frequently has a quick tempo and several cuts.

Marketing

The main goal of marketing for horror films is always teasing. The basic goals of every horror film advertisement are to tease us, build a mystery, and intrigue us. Every promotional piece must leave us with the unsettling impression that a strange, dangerous force is pursuing us. The monster must be present, albeit largely hidden. This attracts viewers to come watch the movie to see how the story will pan out.

Horror movies excel at developing recognized characters. Almost everyone knows Pennywise, the character from the movie It (2017), as the scary clown, along with the other characters as well that has made the movie franchise grow large in the audience. Establishing an image for the brand, as the film It did, makes the films more memorable for the audience to watch and encourages them to await for other films to come out as well that center around that persona.

The audience for these films are from 15 to 25, meaning that the way they market their movies must reach their specific audience. Younger audiences are more likely to be excited by such sensations than older ones. They also do this by making movie plots and situations that can be relatable to this age group.

Horror Films

Us (2019)

A notorious film in the horror genre industry is the movie Us (2019). Adelaide Wilson visits the coastal house where she spent her childhood along with her husband, son, and daughter. Adelaide becomes more and more worried that something unpleasant may occur since she is plagued by a horrific memory from the past. Her worst nightmares quickly came true when four masked strangers stormed the house and put the Wilson family in a struggle for their lives. The family is shocked to discover that every attacker assumes the look of one of them when the masks are removed. The song “I Got 5 On It” has been increasing in its popularity after it was played as the leitmotif of the movie. The movie’s lighting is often dark, unless there are moments in the beginning of the movie of happiness in which there are brighter colors as well as in the day, while the rest of the movie happens in the night in different settings such as the woods and a deserted parking lot. These movie elements make it more easy to creep the audience out, especially as the movie contains a dark twist at the end. In the movie's poster, a woman is seen removing a mask that resembles her. They are the same person, but they are from a different location, a place where they get crazy, as the girl behind the mask crying, and this effectively sums up the movie's plot. The facial expressions on her face shows her distressed and manic, which further elaborates the point of how she is in the movie.

X (2022)

An old couple's farmhouse in the barren Texas countryside is the location for the adult movie shoot when adult movie actors and a tiny film crew show up. The visitors gradually become aware that they are not safe and are being pursued by a local enemy as the day turns into night. The movie starts in the daytime, as the actors are on their way to the house, and in the night in the dark, where the setting and location are mostly in the woods and near a lake, the plot thickens as each time an action occurs that makes the movie continuous horror film there is different music that builds up the suspense for the audience. The different angles shown in the movie signifies that something will come out, and that the actors will face different challenges throughout the movie that the audience is already aware of. The premise of the film is straightforward and resembles that of other horror films; it focuses more on a manhunt than anything else. The color scheme for the movie's poster is red and black, with the red primarily suggesting blood, rage, and violence. The dark sky also represents evil and bloodshed. The movie poster depicts the feet of the actors, who are racing around the farmhouse filming the scene, wearing largely skimpy attire to indicate that they are shooting their adult film.