Evaluation Question 1

From the very start of planning and researching horror films, I decided that for my own horror film opening, I would conform to the conventions of horror. I made this decision because I wanted to see if I could create a film that had similar aspects to a typical horror film successfully.

The Character: I believe that the main character of my film conforms to the conventions of horror due to the fact she is portrayed as an innocent person, and also as a victim because of the threatening text messages she is receiving.

The Setting: The setting also conforms to the conventions of horror because the film is set at night, on empty streets and dark forests. These environments allow the fear of the unknown to become evident to the audience, which further suggests that I very much conformed to the necessary conventions of a horror film.

Mise-en-Scene: The lamp above the door in my film opening suggests I have conformed to the conventions of horror due to the fact that it gave off very little light, making the driveway dark. The costumes used were casual clothes in order to make the characters seem relatable to the target audience.
The Soundtrack: The soundtrack conformed to the conventions of horror, making it very conventional. The unnerving composition features slow moving violins in order to give off the effect of tension, and waiting for something to happen. There are two soundtracks that featured in my film that were both quite similar in their horror style, intended to help the film scare or unnerve the audience.

I shall write about how I have developed or challenged forms and conventions of horror films within the screenshots above.

Screenshot One: From this screenshot of my film, it can be seen that I have conformed to the conventions of horror in terms of the setting. This is due to the use of a dark forest, creating a fear of the unknown because the audience cannot see entirely what is within the darkness. This is the opening shot of my film, and I think it helps establish the genre once more.

Screenshot Two: From the second screenshot of my film, we can see the lead character, a young female. In this shot, it is known that she is alone and helpless. This is conforming to the convention of how females are seen as weak in horror films. Also, she keeps looking behind her, allowing the audience to understand that she is concerned about being out on her own.

Screenshot Three: In this scene we can see a shadow walk past the female. The fact that no features are shown and that the female does not catch who she felt walk past adds to the fear of the unknown, for we are not sure who walked past.

Screenshot Four: In this shot we can see that the young female is alone, with no other signs of life. This shot was immediately after the shot with the figure walking past, and showed that there was no longer something behind her. This conforms to the conventions of horror because it makes the audience uncomfortable that she has gone.

Screenshot Five: From the fifth screenshot, we can see that a close up is shown. This was used to show her emotions to the audience. She looks not too fazed by being out on her own, therefore challenging the conventions of horror, due to her lack of fear.

Screenshot Six: In this screenshot, the conventions of horror are evident due to the fact that her text message is from an unknown number. This ties in perfectly with the use of fear of the unknown, especially as the text seems somewhat threatening.

Screenshot Seven: Like screenshot four, this shot was created to establish that although she is receiving these text messages, and there appeared to be a figure behind her, that there is nothing actually physically following her close behind, therefore challenging the conventions of horror because it seems as if the threat is gone.

Screenshot Eight: This shot shows that the young female expected the door to be open by immediately reaching to open it without a key. However, when it didn't open, it shows that this situation was not meant to occur, conforming to the conventions of horror in terms of something unexpected happening, and also slightly threatening (due to her being locked out at night)

Screenshot Nine: In the final screenshot, the jump scare of the movie is shown. This jump scare conforms very much to the conventions of horror, for it's main aim was to frighten the audience, something that horror films intend to do.