Research: Color theory for slashers

 

Red - Blood, Danger, and Violence

From what I found, red is probably the most obvious color used in slasher films since it's the color of blood and danger. In horror, red symbolizes blood, danger, imminent death, an insatiable hunger, and strong negative emotions such as aggression, wrath, and lust. Red is often associated with anger or passion, which can be seen in films like The Shining (1980), where there's a lot of red carpeting and red blood on walls and floors. According to color theory, green and red are complementary colors, meaning red stands out the most against a green backdrop. As a result, one of red's most natural associations is "don't mess with me." In Karyn Kusama's The Invitation, the coloring and the reliance on red—from the blood that pours from the ill-fated dinner guests to the ominous lanterns that blink in the night as they're raised—is a perfect, tangible and exposition-free depiction of the horror. Red filters and casts can be really effective in horror movies as the color red has connotations of danger and violence, which can cause the viewers to feel unnerved.

Pearl (2022)

X (2022)

Malignant (2021)

Black - Darkness and Death

Black is pretty much the most "horror" color there is since it's literally the color of darkness. In horror, black symbolizes death, mourning, misfortune, evil, suffering, bad luck, ill omens, depression, grief, horrors lurking in the shadows, anxiety, wickedness, forbidden pleasures, and witchcraft. Black symbolizes death and darkness, which makes sense since most horror movies happen at night or involve ghosts or monsters that can't be seen during the day. Although movies often use blue to represent night, black is the color of darkness, both physical and intangible. It is the color of nightmares, the color of a dead night with no stars. It is the color of a killer hiding in the shadows. A predominantly dark color palette creates a sense of danger and mystery and can be particularly effective in setting the tone right from the start. It immediately immerses us in the world of the film, and often uses large amounts of negative space—hinting at the unknown horrors that lurk in the blackness.

Skinamarink (2022)

Terrifier (2022-2024)

Candyman (2021)

Blue - Coldness and Unease

Blue is also used in horror films because it makes people feel uneasy. This feeling may have to do with the fact that blue is associated with coldness and even death. In many cultures, blue has long been seen as the colour of mourning or sadness. A common cast that is used in horror films is blue, which is used to create a 'chilling' effect. To create an effective blue cast the white tones are usually balanced to cold blues or a blue mixed with purple tones. In the image from Saw (2004) the cast is more a dark blue with tones of purple, which creates a somber and tense mood. There are also hard shadows with saturated blacks alongside the dark blue cast, which not only emphasizes to the audience that it is night time but creates a darker tone to the shot, thus making the scene more frightening. The blue filter in these examples could be used to enhance the idea that the characters are in trouble. Icy blues and eerie greens create a sense of alienation and distance that is ideal for films featuring supernatural phenomena or the sinister side of our subconscious.

Nope (2022)

When Evil Lurks (2023)

Color Grading and Filters

Color grading is the process of digitally altering or enhancing the colors of a motion picture, video image or a still image to give it the desired emotional impact. The use of color grading has been particularly prevalent in horror movies as a staple of the genre. Directors like George Romero (Night of the Living Dead) and John Carpenter (Halloween) helped popularize this technique by using it in their films to create an eerie atmosphere that would enhance the viewing experience for audiences. Color grading is one of the most critical aspects of creating a horror film. It's a way to make the audience feel something, whether fear, sadness or anything else. It involves adjusting the color properties of an image to create mood, enhance the narrative, and even change the film's tone. Colored lens filters are used to either correct color deficiencies or to add colors for a certain effect. However, unlike color grading, color lens filters don't add noise to an image or video. When creating a horror film, you may use saturation to add or remove color from images. For example, some horror films use desaturated images so that all colors are less vibrant and appear washed out (think The Blair Witch Project). This technique makes it seem like the world has been drained of life and color, which can be very disturbing for viewers.

What Each Color Means:

Based on my research from Slow Burn Horror, each color carries specific meanings in the horror genre. Red symbolizes blood, danger, imminent death, an insatiable hunger, and strong negative emotions such as aggression, wrath, and lust. Orange symbolizes fire, hopelessness, madness, ritual, and witchcraft. Yellow symbolizes hope (though rarely), decay, physical rot, moral rot, suffering, illness (both physical and mental), anxiety, and caution. Green symbolizes suffocation, witchcraft, the natural turned unnatural, disease, immortality, projection, grime, danger (especially when using mint green), and vulnerability (especially when it comes to night vision camera green). Blue symbolizes tension, nighttime, anxiety, cold fear, unearthed monsters and demons, melancholy, danger, and tragedy. Purple symbolizes royalty, exclusivity, otherworldliness, dreams, aliens, femininity, youth, and innocence. Pink symbolizes femininity, youth, innocence, sweetness, immaturity, inexperience (especially sexual), empowerment, and female sexuality. Black symbolizes death, mourning, misfortune, evil, suffering, bad luck, ill omens, depression, grief, horrors lurking in the shadows, anxiety, wickedness, forbidden pleasures, and witchcraft. White can symbolize deadlines, a cult-like mentality, hidden danger, vulnerability, medical experimentation, alien abduction, artificiality, isolation, death, and profound fright. Grey symbolizes death, destruction, decay, amorality, the other, and neutrality. When black and white are combined, they symbolize lurking evil, tension, psychological storytelling, eerieness, amorality, moral and ethical extremes, and order and discordance.

Applying Color Theory to My Film Opening

Understanding color theory in slasher films gives me a clear idea of how to use color to set the mood and atmosphere in my 2-minute opening. Since red is the most obvious color associated with slashers because of blood and violence, I'll probably use red in the atmosphere when the killer is on screen to set him up as a threat. I don't want to overuse it, though, because then it would lose its impact. Black will be important for creating shadows and darkness, especially if I'm filming at night or in a dark location like an empty house. Black will be used to keep the audience in suspense because it is hard to see with black on the screen; using it can hide the killer from the audience. Blue could work well for establishing shots or tense moments before the violence happens, since it makes people feel uneasy and cold. I might use a blue filter or color grade using blue to help create this feeling.

For my project, I'm thinking I'll use color grading in post-production to enhance the mood. I could desaturate the colors a bit to make everything look drained and unsettling, similar to what The Blair Witch Project did. Or I might keep some colors vibrant, like red, while making everything else muted so that the red really pops and grabs attention. The key seems to be using color purposefully to guide the audience's emotions rather than just filming in normal lighting. Since I'll be editing in Premiere Pro, I can experiment with different color grading options to see what creates the best atmosphere. Red and blue can be used in combination with each other to show contrast. For example, I could use red in moments of tense action, but to set that up, I could use blue, which would create the unease that I am looking for without there having to be action on the screen. Overall, color theory gives me another tool to make my opening feel more professional and scary.

Sources:

• https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3567051/suspiria-midsommar-psychology-color-horror/
• https://fotodioxpro.com/blogs/news/the-horror-color-wheel-the-color-lighting-used-in-horror
• https://slowburnhorror.com/2021/09/24/the-meaning-of-red-in-horror/
• https://slowburnhorror.com/2021/09/10/the-meaning-of-color-in-horror/
• https://vusf.wordpress.com/2023/12/05/on-horrors-favorite-colors-technicolor-filmmaking-the-colorized-pre-code-era/
• https://www.fangoria.com/the-color-of-horror-5-horror-films-with-excellent-use-of-color/
• https://strelka.co.uk/the-colour-of-fear-exploring-horror-colour-palettes-in-film-posters/
• https://slides.com/oliviareilly/colour-in-horror-films/embed
• https://slowburnhorror.com/2022/03/17/the-meaning-of-black-in-horror/
• https://lwks.com/blog/blood-red-to-morgue-blue-the-role-of-color-in-horror