ASSIGNMENT 1:HORROR SUBGENRESHARRY ELLIS

SUBGENRE: PHOBIA/ISOLATION

• My chosen subgenre is phobia / isolation. • This subgenre is based around the fear of people being stranded, or the

fear of one certain thing,such as spiders, snakes, clowns and so on. • Films from this genre include Buried, Frozen(not the Disney version), It,

The Pack, Oculus, Black Swarm, The Birds, The Descent, Village Of The Dammned, Nightmare On Elm Street and many more.

MY 3 CHOSEN FILMS:

Buried (2010) Frozen (2010) IT (1990)

THE CONVENTIONS OF THIS SUBGENRE

Phobia• One main fear that the characters must face. Some classic phobias include

phobia of clowns, phobias of spiders, phobias of insects and so on.• The plot is often based around everyday life. This shows that scary things can

just happen to anyone• Can include flashbacks, showing why there is such a big phobia of the thing,

explaining the narrative.• Plot relies on the characters fears or beliefs, sometimes showing hidden truths

about characters

Isolation• Based in impossible situations to escape from. i.e underground / hanging in the

sky.• Plot focuses around the characters struggle to survive in the isolation.• Can include something they run away from, for example a monster/ killer, but

can also purely be the struggle of escaping from something, with gorey consequences.

• Plot relys hevily on tension.

PLOT

• Phobia films follow the same general plot. There is a thing – whether it be a spider, bird, snake, plant etc – which a character is made to face and overcome.

• Isolation films also follow a similar plot line to each other. They involve a character or characters becoming stranded away from civilization in an isolated location. They are then picked off one by one, as they struggle to escape.

• One of the characters will always die from the isolation / phobia in the film.

• Often follows a group of teenagers as the main characters.

MES-EN-SCENE

• Isolation films are (obviously) set in isolated areas or places. This is to make it look like the character is all alone and has no chance of escape.

• Commonly very dark lighting to add to the horror effect. This is due to the dark being like the unknown, anything could come from it.

• Props in isolation films are usually bare essentials, for example, a phone that doesn’t/rarely works, a torch etc. In phobia films, they have more weapons to fight off the creature.

• Costume varies in horror films. The plot would very commonly include teenagers, so that would create a general costume type.

CHARACTER TYPES

• Main protagonist- victim/ hero of the movie• The villain/monster• Teenagers that ALWAYS get killed• Law enforcement (cia, police etc) that either try to help or are evil.