Storylines

We have identified the sub-genre of our film to be a psychological (paranormal) horror, more specifically to do with the idea of possession.

a) Typical Storylines for a Psychological Horror.
Initially, psychological horror aims to create discomfort by exposing common or universal psychological and emotional vulnerabilities/fears and revealing the darker parts of the human psyche that most people may repress or deny. Psychological horror films differ from the traditional horror films, where the source of the fear is typically something material, (basically various creates/monsters or aliens), as well as a slasher film which derives its effects from gore and graphic violence. In psychological films however, tension is built through atmosphere, eerie sounds and exploitation of the viewer's and the character's psychological fears. The main asset to this genre of film is what isn't shown, not what is. Our film focuses on the fear of paranormal activity/belief of ghosts and what that could supposedly lead to. Like a typical horror film, we'll use various backing tracks, props and lighting and sound effects to create the belief something is there as opposed to actually showing it, therefore relying a lot more on tension, to create that 'horror' feeling.

Examples:
1) Silent Hill (2006)

Rose Da Silva's daughter Sharon wakes up every night screaming about "silent hill" as well as experiencing sleepwalking. Pursued by a police officer, suspicious of her motives, and swerving to avoid a child her adoptive mother crashes the car knocking herself unconscious. Rose awakens to find Sharon is missing. She searches the fog and ash blanketed town for her beloved daughter. In order to find her missing daughter, Rose must fight the power of the town to get her back.

2) The Ring (2002)
A disturbing videotape appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it in this offbeat thriller. A strange videotape begins making the rounds in a town in the Pacific Northwest; it is full of bizarre and haunting images, and after watching it, many viewers receive a telephone call in which they are warned they will die in seven days. A handful of teenagers who watched the tape while spending a weekend at a cabin in the mountains scoff at the threat, but as predicted, they all die suddenly on the same night. Rachel Keller the aunt of one of the ill-fated teens, is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter.

3)The Black Cat (1934)
Honeymooning in Hungary, Joan and Peter Allison share their train compartment with Dr. Vitus Verdegast, a courtly but tragic man who is returning to the remains of the town he defended before becoming a prisoner of war for fifteen years. When their hotel-bound bus crashes in a mountain storm and Joan is injured, the travellers seek refuge in the home, built fortress-like upon the site of a bloody battlefield, of famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig. There, cat-phobic Verdegast learns his wife's fate, grieves for his lost daughter, and must play a game of chess for Allison's life.

Each one of these storylines I used for examples, show some of the typical storylines for a psychological horror. These are all similar since they aim to create discomfort by fears such as the 'shadowy part of the human psyche' which most people repress or deny, for example the believe in ghosts or spirits. 'The Ring' in particular focus on using entities or various creatures as the main 'villain' of the film to create their fear, where as 'Silent Hill' (despite also using a variety of made up horrific 'monsters') rely on the town itself to build up the suspense to create that unsettling vibe. So basically, these films rely more or less on the 'fear of the unknown.'

A classic storyline would have a backstory to set the mood of what's going to happen, therefore immediately capturing the audiences attention. Before then skipping ahead to the present time, showing the main protagonists of the film. The characters will then have some kind of supernatural or just unsettling experience before deciding to investigate further into this, ultimately throwing them into the middle of this whole supernatural epidemic; on the way becoming acquainted with some of the entities and creatures used to create just that little bit more of fear.