Conventions of a Horror film

In every horror film there are certain conventions used to build the right atmosphere and suspense.

Conventions of a horror film:

• Creepy music
• Weapons
• Darkness
• Ghosts
• Victim
• Death
• Blood
• Gore
• Zombies
• Masks

We specifically looked at the film Scream and the conventions that are in that. Some I noticed were:

• Empty house in an isolated area
• The victim is a blonde girl who happens to be alone
• The popcorn creating suspense
• It is set at night time
• We hear the doors locking
• We see props like knives

Other ways to build up tension is through the use of sound. The sound in Scream that I noticed involved:

• Creepy music at certain bits to build up tension
• The sounds of the dogs barking
• The doors locking
• The popcorn popping loudly
• Sounds of the wind

Also in scream the character they chose to be the victim was a typical blonde girl who conformed the stereotype. We see she is innocent but also don't really feel much sympathy as she seemed stupid to keep answering the phone.

We see a close up zooming into her which builds up suspense.