Genre Conventions - Storylines

Genre conventions - Storylines:

Genre- Horror  

The horror genre has changed a huge amount over the years that it has been around, this is mostly due to the changing of technology and the films being inspired by events happening at the time of filming.  However, in a general summary the horror genre has very typical story lines which all involve evoking a sense of fear and panic from the audience. Most horrors base the storylines around people's worst fears to ensure that the audience are specifically targeted and on edge to coincide with the 'jump-scares' that will happen later in the film. The films traditionally incorporate a vast amount of violence into the plot to make the audience more fearful. This is proven in the essay: Effects of violence in films . The horror genre can overlap into other genres such as thriller, physiological and fantasy. One thing we can be sure about in every horror story line is that they have an antagonist which usually are an evil entity, a person or a horrific event. Examples of these are:





The Woman In Black (2012)

Evil Entity: The Woman In Black (2012)

A widowed lawyer is sent to a remote village trapped in the past with their ways to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased woman. After being in the town it is clear that the villagers are keeping a deadly secret, and try to stop him from learning the tragic history of the town. Children are being killed in what looks like 'suicide' however they all have one catalyst in common 'The Woman in Black'. Nobody is safe from the woman's vengeance as she tries to find something she lost many years ago and this being the reason she died.

This film is set in the past which is a common feature in many films at the moment- horror films that involve evil entity's which are set in the past include: The Conjuring, Ouija, Insidious Chapter 3. 





Scream (1996)

Evil People: Scream (1996)

In a little town, Woodsboro, there's a killer in the midst who's seen too many horror movies, and suddenly nobody is safe.  The psychopath stalks, taunts, manipulates and then rips them to shreds. In this small town it could be anybody. The only hope is to stay one step ahead of the killer, the clues are there, they just have to spot them.

This horror takes place in a school and focuses around young people which was a popular choice for slasher horror films in the 90s, these films are: Urban legend, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Final Destination.





Jaws (1975)

Horrific Event: Jaws (1975)

A horrific event in horror films could be anything such as an natural disaster, the outbreak of disease or anything that humans cant predict coming - this relates to the film Jaws. This film focuses around a shark attack. A huge great white shark arrives on the shores of a New England beach resort and with bloody attacks its wreaks havoc on the towns people. This is until a part time sheriff teams up with a marine biologist and an old seafarer to hunt the monster shark down.

This is a horror based around animal attacks, this was a popular choice of film as other films like this include: Piranha, Bait, Jurassic Park. 

Our Film

As a group we have identified our genre to be a paranormal horror. This genre gained popularity in 1973 with the film 'The Exorcist'.
These types of films aim to create a deeper sense of fear from the audience by scaring them with the 'unknown'. They express the views of the darker parts of the human mind- the part that people try to hide. This genre has now escalated into a traditional horror story. These storylines are usually based around an evil entity such as a ghost or a demon, and can involve some violence however are mostly focused around a tense atmosphere which puts the viewers on edge and takes hold of their imagination as your imagination can make the film scarier than it is. These films are set up for the viewer to envision the most horrific out come and plays on their mind. This supports the definition of a horror compared to a thriller. The horror genre will scare you long after the film is over while a thriller will only scare you while watching the film. As you have to use your imagination the films rely on mise-en-scene such as lighting to create the 'spooky' atmosphere.

Storylines
Usually in a paranormal horror. A ghost is haunting the main character and the main character and friends/family/important people have to do everything in their power to get rid of the ghost. This is commonly paired with a few characters getting killed along the way to add to the dramatic effect.
These are some storylines which are very common among the paranormal genre:

• The conjuring (2013)This storyline is focused around the infamous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine warren as they are called upon to confront a powerful demonic entity and save the family that it is traumatising. The warrens find them selves in the most dangerous and terrifying case of their lives.

In my opinion most horror films link up, for example The conjuring is based around a family in an already haunted house and the ghosts/demons threaten the existence of the family. Another story like this is The Poltergeist, however in this film instead of possessing the family it drags the little girl through the TV screen. This prop was also used in 'The Ring' where the main antagonist comes through a TV screen to kill its victims.

To compare this storyline with an old film I have chosen:

• The Exorcist (1973)

This follows the story of a 12-year old girl who gets possessed by demons. A young priest takes it upon himself to save the girl at the orders of her movie star mother.

All though these films are years apart they are both pretty similar in the storylines. The paranormal horror genre has a limited storyline basis and this would mean that our films would have to have a unique factor to make it different.