Horror Genre

The Horror genre has a theme of suspense, which generally puts the audience on edge and makes them frightened. The suspense can stimulate reactions such as biting nails, tugging at clothes, looking away or getting goose bumps. The Horror genre can both have a positive and negative effect, where either someone watching will get an adrenaline rush and want to come back for more, or they will feel unsettled and hate the experience. Research shows that the male gender prefer horror because of their brave characteristics and their idea that they are strong, where as females don’t think like that, so may not like horror as much. The fright factor generally comes from the dark and sinister music, which darkens the atmosphere. The music normally affects the audience, by which their heartbeats quicken or the music is a stimulus that causes shaking or reactions that contribute to discomfort and fear. This music is an effective tool to use in Horror because it is an additional layer that sets the tone more than just the acting and background noise. Along with sound track music, these types of films also use sound effects. Generally, when the sound effects are used, it is for sudden fast paced moments in the movies, which helps to build the tension even more. An example of this would be in ‘Scream’ where when the killer was lurking behind the victim, there would be a sudden sound effect, which in this case signified a warning. In effect, it could also be to signify foreshadowing of future events that were about to occur. Different camera angles are also factors that make the audience watching at home react either with fear or something else entirely. In ‘Scream’, when the camera angle was close up to the character on set, it would create a feeling of claustrophobia to those watching. This feeling would then become creepier and that would result in the audience being on edge. The feeling of claustrophobia also makes the audience feel like they are a part of the story, which in turn grips them and makes them fearful. This is all because the close up camera making a creepy atmosphere helps to mess with the viewer’s minds. In contrast to this, when the camera angle was at a distance, a feeling of mystery would be placed in the viewers minds and it would allow them to ask questions, for example: ‘who was watching in the background? or who was lurking in the shadows?.’ However along with the mystery, there would always be fear because horror movies always have a sinister effect. There are different types of Horror genres which all affect people in different ways. For example, the ‘gory’ and ‘violent’ films such as ‘scream’ have a purpose to make you feel sick and disgusted, which then leads you to question the morality of the characters in the movie. The feeling of being scared for your own welfare isn’t the intention for this genre, however you do get a sense of fear in any horror because of the added factors, such as the music or sound effects. Secondly, another popular style of horror is sinister and demonic genre. These films are about possession and demons and generally, they are linked to the devil in some shape or form. Sinister films do have the intention to scare and mess with your mind. The worst sinister movies can have a bad effect on people watching, where it can lead to them having psychological problems or insomnia. People watch this for the thrill and scared excitement that any other horror style wouldn’t deliver. On the other hand, there is comedy-horror, which is a more lighthearted approach that anyone would cope with. An example of this would be ‘Shawn of the dead’. When people would watch this, their initial reaction would be to laugh and humour the characters because there is limited realism throughout. There is a fraction of seriousness in these types of films, but not enough to scare. Gothic Horror is another type that is more about zombies and ghosts. The more supernatural, the better. These movies are fast paced but can be unrealistic, so it’s more entertaining than scary. In conclusion, no horror genre has the same effect and depending on the type, the reaction will always be different. I thought that ‘Scream’ made me feel some-what disgusted with the killings, and the sound effects and music put me on edge, but I reacted with limited fear, as it was mild. However, I liked the mystery of who was behind the mask because it kept me guessing, which in turn sustained my interest.