Horror conventions

Opening Sequence Conventions

Opening scenes are important for horror movies because they provide filmmakers the opportunity to introduce the narrative and set the atmosphere, tone, and message for what awaits, giving the viewer a taste for the darkness, gore, brutality, terror, and hopelessness that is to come. In this case it is also very important for inspiration, which I will use for my movie opening. Some horror movies prefer to go straight for the jugular right out of the gate, delivering an attention-grabbing scene before unwinding the narrative, while other horror movies opt to lull viewers into a sense of comfort before releasing the horror. Halloween's opening scene is often considered the blueprint for the modern horror movie, with the film beginning by taking the audience back to Halloween night in 1963 when a young Michael Myers murders his older sister in a long shot from the villain's perspective. Scream's 13-minute opening sequence shocked audiences everywhere and forever changed the rules of horror, with Wes Craven stating that killing America's sweetheart at the end of 15 minutes was like a body punch to the audience.

Color Palette and Visual Style

The most commonly used colors in horror films are black, blue, green, red, and white, with red often associated with anger or passion and black symbolizing death and darkness. Blue is used in horror films because it makes people feel uneasy, which may have to do with the fact that blue is associated with coldness and even death, while green is often used because certain tones or shades are considered one of the least attractive colors. Suspiria is known for its dominant red movie color palette, with director Dario Argento using vibrant greens and blues as well as blacks and whites to create an effect that was hallucinatory, disorienting, and full of supernatural horror. Horror movies tend to use cooler tones than other genres, such as blues and greens, instead of oranges, pinks, and yellows, with the exception being the use of red for moments of violence.

Camera Work and Visual Techniques

The typical narrative of a horror film is that there is a single or a group of protagonists then a few antagonists such as demons, serial killers, and spirits or ghosts, with conflict involved which leads to one of the characters getting revenge on another. Horror camera work uses extreme close-ups of fear and high angle shots on victims, with high angle shots showing the victim's inferiority in the situation and extreme close ups of fear helping to heighten emotions and show this to the audience. Point of view shots are used in opening sequences to put the audience in the character's perspective and engage them, while over the shoulder shots can be used when the director wants the audience to see something before the character does. The setting used in opening sequences helps to show how alone characters are and how much of an easy target they are for the killer, with constant wide shots of houses from the outside reinforcing isolation.

Establishing Genre and Atmosphere

Establishing the genre of a film is usually done by positioning a character in a situation that is typical for the genre, with the importance of genre and establishing it properly being to target a specific audience that enjoys the produced content. The setting and atmosphere in a horror movie are important in establishing mood, with filmmakers often using dilapidated houses, isolated cabins, dark woods, or abandoned asylums to set the scene. Titles often fit the genre of the movie, with horror having a more serious looking font opposed to a movie for children which will have a childish font. Color grading is used a lot in the horror genre to set the mood or for symbolism, with a common cast being blue which is used to create a chilling effect by balancing white tones to cold blues or blues mixed with purple tones.