Conventions of a Horror Film

The Sub-genre's of horror;

Slasher; such as Psycho

Psychological; such as the Sixth Sense

Religious

Monster / Gore

True Story; Such as The Chainsaw Masacre

B-Movie (low budget)

Serial Killers

Demonic Possession

They are designed to;

Frighten and panic the audience viewing it

Captivate and amuse the audience

Many horrors follow the same sort of pattern with a lead character who is usually the survivor at the end. The killer usually has had something that has happened to them in their childhood to turn them evil. They also use the same method of killing throughout the film including the same weapon, for example; Halloween - Knife, Chainsaw Massacre - Chainsaw etc.

Horror films are usually set in;
Abandoned houses
Warehouses
The woods
                                       Rural areas
                                       Neighbourhoods to make it more realistic


I chose to do psychological, this is because I am interested in psychological illness' and I believe I could efficiently get across one without offending the audience. The sixth sense is something I looked closely at, I liked the idea of it and the way it was through the boys point of view.


The conventions I will use are;
The woods, this will increase the vulnerability of the girl, but also the lack of people around increase the fear as no one is able to help. Danger is creeping around every tree and tight corner. Ours has a knife to kill the victim which stays throughout the film for continuity. Hopefully our film will captivate and scare the audience and the twist in characters should confuse the audience but also increase maximum enjoyment throughout viewing.  She chose to do psychological so are using the mental illness schizophrenia, most viewers would be aware of this illness and hopefully see this in the actions of the girl.