Full of fear

The girl runs to her closet in fear of her life. Its quiet until she turns and BOO! Did I scare you? Well if I didn't then hopefully horror movies do. The horror genre isn't favored by everyone including me; however I'm always up for a good scare once in a while.

What is Horror?

The main purpose of this genre is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience. Examples such as,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, or Psycho exactly perfect and create this fear in the viewer. Horror films are considered unsuitable for people below 16 due to the graphic content and adult themes often shown. For this, the majority of these films aim towards 16-24 year old males. Camera angles, specific uses in mise en scene, and sound all come together to produce a horror film.

Horror films are usually structured starting with the main character investigating something further like a noise, book, or body. Specific fears are chosen to be related to the character giving the audience more fear as they wait to see what this discovery leads to. Nightmares, alienation, death, fear of the unknown, or loss of identity are among the most common fears that create the premise of each film. The most obvious element is the killer or feared character. This character can be dead, alive, human, or monstrous creature but their purpose is to torture the main character and instill fear. 

Establishing shots introduce the setting and where the characters are for the duration of the movie. To enhance the fear more, point of view and tracking shots are used to give more of a connection and follow the main characters steps while a dolly provides the feel that the character is being followed. Tilts after a chase or killing create disorientation among the characters and extreme close ups emphasize the victim's facial expressions. 

Sound is what builds up the suspense and fear making it crucial in any horror film as it is associated with something about to happen. Quite, dramatic music help in these cases. For example, in a scene of a seriel killer chasing the victim, the music will start at a low volume before the running and then as the running becomes faster and there is suspense build up the music will be at its max. 

Any horror movie wouldn't be one without props. Knifes, chainsaws and such are important props related to death. These weapons indicate slow, torturing deaths with a lot of blood which gets the viewer's anxiety as they don't want to be chased by a killer chainsaw. Along with props, the location is essential to leave the main character vulnerable at any time. Places with minimal people and light work well like forests, cabins, dorms, or old abandoned buildings. 

Examples

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) involves two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas. They end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths in attempt to survive the terrors of leatherface and his family. (IMDb) A part of the film's attraction comes from the theme that it has a strange origin story and was released randomly at a perfect time. This film's success also is due to smart marketing that prompted this was a documentary view at a "true story". The film's strange view at family values and tendency to be believable makes it this movie challening to sit through proving its irresistiblity to audiences.

The Exorcist (1973) is about a teenage girl who gets possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter. (IMDb) Repeatedly called the scariest movie ever made, The Exorcist casts a fundamental shadow over cinema history. However the most important of all is the fact that this film sets a world where God is certaintly alive and well or if not, always there to immediately save the innocent from torment. (Vocal Media) Religion is a main theme throughout the Exorcist and the mise en scene portrays this. Firstly, we have the priest holding the holy water over Rags, splashing it on to her and we have Father Karras holding the Bible slightly behind him. Although both are being held above her, it is not just for the effect of staying in shot but also for a short sequence of symbolism. The religious figures are wearing dark colors but the child being exorcised is wearing a very light color.   


Here are some more horror films to check out if you want a scare:
1. Psycho
2. Scream
3.The Blair Witch Project
4.The Shining
5.Halloween