Horror film - Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions

This genre intends to inflict fear and panic in its audience. It achieves this by depicting our hidden worst fears into reality situations, whilst at the same time captivating us and entertaining us in a cathartic experience. Every aspect of normal life is destroyed and presented in its most extreme and horrifying form. Horror films usually contain elements of science fiction, thriller, fantasy and comedy.

There isn’t a specific set of codes and convention in a horror film, they vary depending on the theme of the film, for example scary movie is a light horror film based on comedy whilst the exorcist is an extreme horror film full of fear and terror without any comedy elements.

Here are the basic conventions of horror films

- Teenage kids, left unprotected and are an easy target
- Main character are usually young and youthful
- Victim left alone and unprotected
- Strange/Mysterious phone calls
- Dark/Bad weather
- Sometimes unsuccessful acts of heroism
- Conflict between good and evil
- Protagonist character or lead character is usually the survivor in the film – he/she kills antagonist character