The Final Girl

The final girl theory is about a female protagonist who manages to survive until the end regardless of all the vicious combat. The term was identified by Carol J. Clover in her Men, Women and Chainsaws.

According to Clover the final girl must have some key features, they are usually 'pure', have some sort of connection to the killer and have a unisex name.

In many horrors women that are 'sinners' not virgins are quickly killed off and the audience is are lead to believe that this is ok throughout the narrative.

Propp' s Character Theory

Gladimere Propp did studies on fairy tales, however we can use his character studies to with many genres, or we can subvert them.

Character Types

This Theory is useful because it avoids treating characters as if they ae individuals and reminds us that they are merely constructs. Some characters are just needed to progress the narrative.

Camera Angles

A sequence of different camera angles can help add pace, portray an emotion, in many cases they help to keep the audiences attentions. There are a variety of camera angles, not all pieces must include all of them but using different shots can help show the message that the producer wanted to convey, for examples you may use a close up of someones face to show their emotion, if you wanted to show that a character was upset a close up on their face forces the audience to concentrate solely on the emotion. So in a horror trailer this can be used show the fear of a character.

A fast change of shots add pace to piece, if you wanted a build up to and incident many small shots act as a crescendo. Alternatively a variation of fewer shots in a longer time period can be used to show depression and sadness as it gives the viewer time to feel empathy and really have time with the character.

A horror is driven by the pace of the shots and variety used. A combination between fast fast and slow edits of different shots allows the audience to get scared, as it helps to build tension.

Extreme close ups
Close ups
Head and shoulders
Medium shot
Long shot
Extreme long shot
Two shot
Over shoulder
Establishing

Horror Conventions

A convention is almost a rule, it is a method or practice established by usage. The horror Genre has several conventions, some key conventions for this genre are:

- One anonymous killer (usually a repetitive killer, usually male)
- Isolated setting (As thought the person is trapped, unable to seek help)
- Link to reality (based on a true story, filmed in a documentary style)
- Iconography (blood, hand held weapon, dark night)
- Music and Sound (Use of silence, heartbeats, psycho strings

There are many key conventions used within horror, but it is crucial that these conventions are always adapting in order to keep up the social and psychological growth withing horror. for example the setting in a grave yard would have been enough to frighten an audience in 30 years ago, but now it seems to frighten us more if a horrific event happens in a more familiar setting. This id used in Insidious and Paranormal Activity where the films are predominantly shot in the house. It is thought to be more effective as it is more relatable to the viewer.

'The elements and conventions of genre are always in play rather than being replayed' - Stephan

This quote highlights that the conventions of horror are always in use, but they are always slightly adapted.

My First and Most Recent Personal Horror Experience

The first horror film i remember watching at the age of 9 was Jeepers Creepers (2001). At the time this horror prevented me from sleeping and i refused to be left alone. This film truly did its job in frightening the audience. However when i watched this film more recently it appeared more as a comedy horror.

The most recent horror that i have watched is Incidious, although i was with a friend we were unable to travel home so we has to get a cab from the cinema.

Reflecting upon the the two films, it is clear that they both follow the same guidelines of horror, know as conventions. However one is still successful in frightening me, yet the other no longer achieves this.

This shows that as humanity and grows and develops, the conventions used within horror need to do the same in order to be successful in frightening the audience.