Why Horror was Chosen
Sub Genres of horror research
Found Footage
Cannibal Holocaust (1980) is often considered the first found footage film, using the idea that a professor stumbled upon lost film shot by a documentary crew who went missing in the Amazon Rainforest. Few found footage films were made in the 1980s and 90s, but with the success of The Blair Witch Project and the development of handheld video technology, found footage experienced a boom with more than a thousand films being produced in the following decades. Found footage filmmaking is a subgenre where all or part of the film is presented as if it were discovered film or video recordings, often left behind by missing or dead protagonists. Often found-footage films are horror films that employ scares through forces appearing in the frame and then vanishing, with a character appearing to be a cameraman using handheld recorders or video cameras to capture strange events.
Slashers
Slasher films have become defined by rules, with key components including a killer, usually in a mask, who stalks victims, usually teenagers, until only one survivor, the final girl, remains. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is considered the first real slasher, featuring the first horror with violence where the killer is a main character with a backstory and motive. Halloween in 1978 created the plot structure for a slasher, where the first half is usually during the day full of tension and the killer is shown throughout, saving most scares until the second half. The Golden Age of Slashers saw works like Friday the 13th, The Driller Killer, Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine, and A Nightmare on Elm Street receiving response from audiences, with the latter spawning several sequels that helped establish the concept of the horror franchise.
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Paranormal/Supernatural
Paranormal horror is closely related to the demonic subgenre in that it focuses on characters who aren't living beings, with spirits and ghosts creating fear without a presence on screen. Elements of paranormal activity include furniture moving without anyone touching it or a chill passing through the air, which can be from a demon spirit, power, or ghost. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole is widely considered to be the first gothic horror novel and also the first novel of the supernatural. The supernatural horror subgenre got a boost in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and now as we move into the 2020s, the supernatural horror subgenre is thriving with a steady outpouring of books and movies.
Conclusion: Choosing the Slasher Genre
After researching the horror genre and its subgenres, the slasher format stands out as the best choice for my movie opening. Slashers have clear rules and structures that make them easier to plan and execute. The typical slasher follows a simple formula with a masked killer, teenage victims, and building tension that works well for a short opening sequence. The genre also has proven success with audiences, as shown by classics like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Scream, which created franchises that are still popular today. Slashers also work well with low budgets since they focus more on suspense and creative kills rather than expensive special effects, making it perfect for a student production.
For my opening sequence, I can use the established slasher conventions to create something familiar yet engaging. I'll start with an attention-grabbing scene that sets the tone, similar to how Halloween began with Michael Myers' point of view or how Scream shocked audiences with its opening. The color palette will use dark blues and blacks to create unease, with red appearing during moments of violence. For typography, I could use bold fonts like ITC Serif Gothic to make the credits feel impactful and put the audience on edge. Camera work could include high angle shots to show the victim's weakness, point of view shots to put the audience in the killer's perspective, and wide shots to show isolation. The setting could be somewhere isolated like an empty house or dark street to establish that the victim is alone and vulnerable. By following these proven conventions while adding my own creative twist, I can create an effective slasher opening that hooks the audience from the first frame.
Sources:
- https://www.britannica.com/art/found-footage
- https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-found-footage-filmmaking/
- https://www.masterclass.com/articles/found-footage
- https://gatecrashers.fan/2021/10/29/slasher-history-1/
- https://buzzsawmag.org/2022/11/20/evolution-of-the-slasher/
- https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/history-of-slasher-movies/
- https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/subgenres-of-horror-films-explained/
- https://www.cornettfiction.com/supernatural-horror-genre-explained/
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