Horror Cliches

Horror genre

Definition

Horror films are intended to induce a feeling of fear and tension. The horror could be a somewhat realistic event or could be supernatural. The content is unpleasant and has the capacity to terrify or unsettle the viewers.  

Killing the pretty blonde girl

Killing the pretty blonde girl first, who is the helpless victim, causes the men in the audience not to like and admire the hero of the film as much because he didn’t manage to save her. This gets the male audience involved as they are thinking they could do better. The female audience will usually relate more with a pretty girl as they want to be her. This means that they are putting themselves in her position, which makes it a lot more frightening.

Children

The use of children in horror films is very effective as the audience finds them unpredictable and the creepiness of what they are doing contrasts with the innocence of their actions. What also may scare the audience is that they know the children don’t quite know what they are doing and aren’t thinking like an adult would. This means that they don’t know what the children may do next.

Scary location

When choosing a location for a horror film it has to reflect the feel and genre of the film. The film makers usually pick a scary location that the whole audience can relate to. They are often familiar surroundings such as woods or a dark house.

Lonely situation

When leaving one of the characters on their own it makes the film all the more frightening as the character does not have anyone to call on or to help them. The character is therefore more vulnerable when by themselves.

We only see glimpses of the villains face

In horror films they usually don’t show the villain’s face as the unknown is quite scary to people. It causes people to imagine their own villain which fulfils their worst fears. Suggestion stimulates the imagination of the audience and involves them in the creative process.

Tense moments

Tense moments in horror films are used to build suspense and instigate the audience to anticipate that the worst is going to happen. The big build up is also more likely to make the audience jump as it as it builds anxiety rather than getting it over with quickly.

Blood

Using blood in a horror film is very common as everyone has an automatic innate reaction to blood which makes the film shocking and gruesome.

Did I just see that moments?

These moments in a film make the audience think about the plot in more detail and they try to link it in to the story line. This again builds suspense and triggers the audience think something is about to happen.

Dreams

Although the use of dreams in horror films is quite common and could be looked upon as being a cliché the advantages of a dream situation are enormous. In a dream the brain is roaming and out of control. This means that the unreal and totally unexpected can occur. The possibilities for strange villains, supernatural experiences and non sequential events are endless.

The Film: A Nightmare on Elm Street

The main story line of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ is that the teenagers keep having dreams about the same villain. This is a cliché as anything can happen in dreams so they can use extreme scenarios and brutal murders. When the characters are having these dreams they are by themselves which is another cliché as they are in lonely situations and have no one to help them. The audience may feel that they can relate to this as no one can control what goes on in their dreams.

The first person to die is Tina. She is a blonde teenage girl which is a cliché as this often happens in horror films. This causes the audience not to like the villain because the victim is more defenceless. This makes the male audience feel that they would have tried to save her and makes them dislike the villain more.

The normal environment of the street means that people can again relate to the characters and feel that they could be in the same situation. The fact that it is set at night makes it all the more terrifying. This adds to the fear when strange things start to happen throughout the film.

The cliché of using children singing a nursery rhyme in the scary scenes adds to the impact of fright and anxiety.

At the beginning of the film you do not see the villain’s face. This is a cliché as they want the audience be afraid of him and do not want to give too much away at the beginning of the film. People’s imagination is often more scary than reality.

During the film there are a lot of tense moments which are gripping and riveting.  This cliché adds fear to the film and makes sure people are engaged in the story line.

This film uses music a lot throughout to set the mood of the scenes. This plays a big part in horror films as it usually creates an atmosphere which can be tense or scary for the audience. This is done by incorporating sudden changes of loud and soft sounds with unusual instruments.

The use of blood in this film is quite dramatic as when someone is murdered you see a great deal of it. This is striking and eye catching as it draws the audience’s attention in and gives them a feeling of horror.