CONVENTIONS OF HORROR GENRE:

Secluded Locations:

• Most horror films put their characters in locations where they cannot get any help, and help can't reach them. 
• These include abandoned towns, empty houses, forests, campsites and old amusement parks.

Examples of films:

• Alien - Space
• Parnormal Activity - House
• Blair Witch Project - Forest

Characters forget about danger/threat:

• Characters conveniently forget the danger/events that have happened. 
• Then they go out, expecting nothing to happen. 
• This is often when the antagonist attacks.

Examples of films:

• Jaws - tourist still go into the ocean
• The Happening - They think the attacks are over, a scream at the end signifies that it isn't

Jump scares and fake scares:

• Fake scares are scares in films which are not connected to a direct threat, and jump scares are where something/someone jumps out unexpectedy and scares the audience.

Films:

• Aliens vs Predators - penguin jumps out of nowhere
• Jaws - Head in the boat, shark jumping out to the boat
• The Shining 

Warnings go unheeded:

• This relies on part of human nature;the desire to go where we have been told not to go and do what we have been told not to do. 
  

Films:

• The Final Destination series - Characters don't pay attention to the warnings and prophecies from the protagonist(s).
• Jaws - Tourists ignore Cheif Brody's warning, leading to more deaths.

Technical Codes:

• Camera work is very expensive and not natural; high and low an angle connotes fear.
• POV shots are important because they allow the audience to see the world from the monsters eyes.
• Sometimes framework uses depth of field, makes it harder to see the monster creeping up.

Character Types:

• The main protagonist, often the ‘victim/hero’ of the movie.        
• The villain, often a monster, mutated freak, alien or serial killer – tend to have a trademark characteristic as to how they kill (e.g. weapons, and who they kill)
• The stupid/immoral teenagers that always get killed
• Creepy children
• Police officers (either good or bad)
• Many others: Ghosts, zombies, demons, psychopath, stalker, weirdo, werewolf, cheerleader etc…

Themes:

• Good vs Evil
• Depression
• Religion
• Childhood issues
• Revenge
• Supernatural
• Beyond death
• Science gone bad
•  Zombie Apocalypse 
• Nightmares
• Madness
• Insanity
• Lust
• Envy
• Suicide
• ‘self-consciousness’ – making you question what is real and not.

Special Effects Make-up:

• Prosthetic makeup (also called FX prosthesis) is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, moulding & casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects.

Props used:

• Machete
• Knife
• Axe
• Chainsaw
• Usually weapons that inflict a slow and painful death

Victims:

• The slut (promiscuous girl) gets punished for being sexually active
• A group of people, the audience can relate to