- Slasher Horror
- Psychological Horror
- Gothic Horror
- Science Fiction Horror
- Zombie Horror
- Paranormal Horror
- Creature Feature Horror
- Found Footage Horror
Although all horror films have the horror theme in common, all sub-genres feature different codes and conventions, these include narratives, titles, character types, settings, font styles and colours. I will be researching three popular sub-genres; Slasher Horror, Paranormal Horror and Found Footage Horror.
Slasher Horror
Usually in a Slasher Horror, teenagers or young adults go on a vacation and move into a house or camp out in an abandoned area for a while (Friday the 13th: 2009). Before the main story line however, a prelude is usually seen before that gives the audience knowledge of what may occur in the main film (Halloween: 1978). As well as older teenagers, a masked killer who may never be revealed throughout the film is also a main character as they are the ones who make the film a slasher due to their selection of weapons that they kill people with, for example a knife (Scream: 1996) or a chainsaw (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 2003). Font styles are commonly bold and shown in a serif font suggesting the seriousness of the sub-genre. Red texts are also commonly used to suggest blood, death, rage and danger; all linking to the Slasher sub-genre. White text may also be used on a black background suggesting good vs. evil (the innocence from the victims vs. the rage of the masked killer).
Paranormal Horror
This sub-genre of horror usually centres around the 'perfect' family of a mother, father and children but slowly we realise not everything is so perfect in this family as strange things start occurring around them. Although Paranormal Horror's aren't always set back in time, they normally involve the devil as this links with the dead and paranormal occurrences. In The Conjuring: 2013, the family witness various strange paranormal activity in their new house and then the mother becomes possessed by the devil. The devil is also involved in Annabelle: 2014, a prequel to The Conjuring when the doll comes back to haunt them no matter how many times the family throws it away. Paranormal investigators are also casted in Paranormal Horrors often to attempt to solve the mystery of the devil figure that is haunting them. These types of horror films usually are set in the houses of the family who are being targeted by the devil (The Exorcist) Black text is commonly used for this type of sub-genre of horror as it suggests power, death, evil, mystery and fear of the unknown. Red text may also be used often to suggest blood, rage and danger and also the devil that is commonly involved in Paranormal Horror.
Found Footage Horror
In Found Footage Horror, character types vary throughout film to film and as does the narrative. Usually in this type of horror sub-genre, a group of people visit an abandoned area to either solve urban legends or something that they want to know more about. In The Blair Witch Project: 1999, teenagers set out to make a documentary about the Blair Witch, similar to Willow Creek: 2013, where two young adults set out into a quiet forest in California to attempt to get their own Bigfoot footage as one of them is a Bigfoot believer. In Paranormal Activity however, a family is witnessing strange occurrences in their house so they set up cameras around the house to try to solve what is happening in the night. Formal, typewriter-like font that is similar to fonts in news articles are used to suggest the footage that is shown is real life, not just a made up story. This can be backed up by the opening credits of many Found Footage Horror films; usually a white typewriter-like font appears on a black background telling the viewers what they are about to see is based on true events. For example, in The Blair Witch Project, viewers are told the three teenagers who set out to make a documentary where never seen or heard from again and their footage was discovered a year later. The white text on black background suggests good vs. evil from the innocent victims and the evil characters, whether the be a witch, Bigfoot or a poltergeist.
In Found Footage Horror, character types vary throughout film to film and as does the narrative. Usually in this type of horror sub-genre, a group of people visit an abandoned area to either solve urban legends or something that they want to know more about. In The Blair Witch Project: 1999, teenagers set out to make a documentary about the Blair Witch, similar to Willow Creek: 2013, where two young adults set out into a quiet forest in California to attempt to get their own Bigfoot footage as one of them is a Bigfoot believer. In Paranormal Activity however, a family is witnessing strange occurrences in their house so they set up cameras around the house to try to solve what is happening in the night. Formal, typewriter-like font that is similar to fonts in news articles are used to suggest the footage that is shown is real life, not just a made up story. This can be backed up by the opening credits of many Found Footage Horror films; usually a white typewriter-like font appears on a black background telling the viewers what they are about to see is based on true events. For example, in The Blair Witch Project, viewers are told the three teenagers who set out to make a documentary where never seen or heard from again and their footage was discovered a year later. The white text on black background suggests good vs. evil from the innocent victims and the evil characters, whether the be a witch, Bigfoot or a poltergeist.
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