Joseph Russo

SECTION TWO – CONVENTIONS OF SHORT FILMS FROM THE HORROR GENRE

ANY SUB - GENRE

• Any sub genre can be used to create a short horror film and there is a wide range of these to make the short film successful.

• An example of this is the 2013 short horror film “Don’t Move”. It could come under many sub genres but the main ones would be paranormal, supernatural and satanic. They link with each other because of the narrative of the film as there are supernatural images, a paranormal storyline and satanic incidents throughout.

FAST PACED

• It is important that short horror films are fast paced because there is a short amount of time to fit in a whole narrative.

• It is effective to be fast paced because it gets the narrative across very quickly and also has elements of horror as well. An example is “Lights Out” where there are many elements of horror used in a short film that is less than 5 minutes. It creates fear to the audience very simply by having a fast paced narrative.

ONE LOCATION

• This is important because there is not enough time to have many different locations. In normal horror films, there tends to be a small amount of locations anyway so this convention is normal for horror films.

• An example of having one location in a short horror film is in “Lights Out” where the film is set in just two rooms of a house. It is important because it would take the fear out of the narrative if it was set in too many locations.

VILLAIN APPEARS QUICKLY

• The villain must appear quickly to add fear to the audience. As the film is short, the villain is usually in it from the start as there would not be enough time to create a sense of fear if they were introduced at the end.

• For example, in the 2013 film “Don’t Move”, the villain is in the film from the start and it creates fear and tension towards the characters in the film and to the audience.

SOUND AND CAMERAWORK OVEREMPHASISED

• The sound and camerawork adds tension as it is overemphasised, especially the sound. As the sound is overemphasised it can create a sense of fear to the audience. A lot of camerawork is used as the directors could be trying to experiment with different shots and angles.

OFTEN FEELS LIKE A SMALL PART OF A LARGER STORY

• In a short film, it is important that the main point of the narrative is introduced quickly as it may feel like the story is ‘dragging’ otherwise. The narrative of a short horror film needs to look as though it is something from a larger story because it creates fear throughout instead of having an introduction etc.

• An example of this is in the short horror film, “Don’t Move”. The narrative is exciting, tense and leaves the audience with a sense of fear instead of having an introduction, main part and an ending.