Classic Conventions in horror
Horror films have conventions to make it a horror. This is so it makes it scary and so the audience know what genre it is. There are some conventions that all or most horror films will include, some of these include:
- Ringing phone
- Home alone
- Big House
- Weather (rain, dark)
- Paranormal activity (opening/closing)
- Sound effects (loud, jumpy)
- Jump scares
- Isolation
- Middle-high class characters/house
- Nudity (eg. legs)
The Ring- The Opening Sequence
The opening sequence of 'The Ring' has typical horror conventions involved in it. The first shot includes the outside of a big middle-class house at night in the rain as it slowly zooms into an upstairs window to find 2 teenage girls talking. This is classic horror conventions due to the weather, house and the type of characters used. As well as these the teenage girls clothes are also a classic convention as they show body parts such as their legs which can be classed as 'nudity' which is found in a lot of horror films with teenage girls, there is also references to sex in this. The camera angles are also different as when one girl is relaying the story of the film, it zooms into her face which makes it more tense.
Them - The Opening Sequence
The opening sequence of the horror film 'Them' has classic conventions of horror in. It starts with a mother and her teenage daughter driving down an isolated road in the forest at night time. The conventions of isolation, teenage girl and the time of day are all classic horror conventions. There is then a problem that occurs, the mother swerves off the road and crashes as she sees someone stood in the road. The problem is another classic convention as there is mostly always a situation that endangers the characters in the beginning of the film. During this opening sequence they have also included false scares to play with the audience expectations as the bonnet of the car is up, you expect it to shut and someone be stood there but it doesn't happen. The setting of the isolated forest road makes the scene more tense especially when the young girl is shouting her mum but the only reply she gets is a loud mans voice coming from the trees. There is then the use of sound effects, once he girl is in the car there is a twisting/clicking sound coming from outside, this makes the setting more creepy as you don't know who is outside. The 'man' then starts playing with the girls mind by unlocking the car repeatedly which makes her more scared and also makes the scene more tense as to what will happen.