D.B: Supernatural Horror Research

Common themes in Supernatural-Horror films include the afterlife, the devil, and demonic possession. Unlike Religious Thrillers, Supernatural-Horror films are not limited to specific religious elements and can contain more vivid and gruesome violence.

Some people can disregard the genre as ‘make-believe’ because it is entirely fiction; in order to balance out the fiction with reality , this type of horror is often set in a home or everyday location to establish common ground with the audience to add verisimilitude.

Sound used within a supernatural horror tends to be:

·      Fast paced music for tense scenes or action scenes

·      Common use of choir singing or orchestral music.

·      Common use of a beat in the time of a drum/heart

·      Piano/Organ music – whether it be fast or slow.

·      Creaking door, floorboard or trees to create tension.

·      Recurring sound associated with the supernatural presence.

·      Empathetic sound is used to reflect the mood of the characters in scenes of fear, panic and chaos.

·      Contrapuntal sound (sound that doesn’t match the scene) is used to create a juxtaposition of sound and image. E.g. a sweet sound (music box, nursery rhyme…) is played when the image of the spirit when something terrible is about to occur.

·      Asynchronous sounds of whispering, laughter etc create an ‘other-worldly’ atmosphere.

Location used within a supernatural horror tends to be:

·      Churches – huge relation to supernatural (graveyards) and Christ (main base for supernatural genre)

·      Barns/farms – deserted, dark, old

·      Fields, country roads – deserted, associated with the creepy looking surroundings e.g. tree branches…

·      Set in the location of the protagonist or places close to them (eg, workplace, the garden, the car etc…)

·      Woodland areas

Common plot lines of a Supernatural-Horror film:

·      A family moves into a house where the previous residence has been murdered or died in a mysterious fashion. E.g. Amityville Horrors (Andrew Douglas, 2005)

·      Something has happened to a person that forces a spirit/curse/demon to haunt or posses them. E.g. Drag Me to Hell (Sam Raimi, 2009)

·      A certain character is one the audience is led into believing they can trust them, eventually exposing them to be the cause of the horror. E.g. Paranormal Activity (Oran Peli, 2007)

Conventional characters in a Supernatural-Horror film:

·      The protagonist being a child.

·      Normal, everyday people, conventionally a regressive stereotypical female who is harmless and caring.

·      The lead character can be the victim or the villain. The victim often results as the survivor in the film. The villain tends to have a trademark to whom they kill E.g. weapons used, who they kill. Binary opposition – good vs. bad

·      The protagonist is troubled by something that has happened to them in their past.

·      The spirit is present for a reason and not just there to mindlessly torment.

Costumes and props often used in Supernatural-Horror films:

·      The key to the costume is simplicity so that the audience’s attention isn’t diverted away from the action scene. The costume will change in relevance to the time period the story is set in.

·      Make-up is also neutral so as not to divert attention.

·      An everyday object that is important to the victim.

·      Less blood and violence than other genres so that the story is more focused on paranormal events.

Lighting and occurrences in Supernatural-Horror films:

·      An object moving independently illustrates the presence or entry of the unknown supernatural being. Taking place in the earlier stages of narrative.

·      The protagonist looks into a mirror and seeing not only her reflection but one of an unintended presence.

·      Participation in a séance in an attempt to contact the wondering spirit.

·      The protagonist has nightmares about the spirit.

·      Discovery of the spirits past, and attempting to discover greater detail from clues in their previous residency etc.

·      Light flickering from candles/unknown cause/lightning

·      Peering through a keyhole.

·      Evidence of unknown footprints.

·      Backlighting to create silhouettes.

·      Low-key lighting to cast shadows upon characters faces, causes by hiding in a dark space, using torches, lanterns or candles to create a greater sense of desperation.

·      Cold, wet and stormy weather reinforcing the turbulent, unsettling nature of the plot.

·      Likely to experience a power cut, promoting the childhood fear of the dark making the character appear vulnerable and naïve.

Shots mainly include handheld camera shots, quick zoom in and outs, birds eye for establishing shots.