Horror Movie Conventions

People enjoy immersing themselves in fictional stories, whether that be through books, plays, or movies. No two movies are exactly the same keeping people watching more and more of them. Even though the movies may be very different, each story in a specific genre includes the same conventions, constituting them as part of that genre. Horror movies are filled with darkness, suspense, and anticipation. These conventions keep the audience on the edge of their seat wondering what is going to happen next. Most horror movies take place in the dark because the darkness is associated with the unknown. Since humans don’t have night vision, seeing in the dark is difficult. This can be scary when the characters in a movie know that there is something hiding in the dark but are unable to see it and protect themselves. This can also be scary if the characters in a movie can hear noises in the dark but are not able to tell what they are coming from. This is exactly the case in the movie The Cabin in the Woods. This movie takes place in the woods in the dark. The teenagers that were staying at this cabin did not realize that the basement had zombies in it that were going to kill them because the basement was so dark they could not see but only hear voices. This led

As an audience, we can see bad guys sneaking up behind the characters in the movie before they realize what is happening. In the movie, Halloween, the audience is able to see the character Michael Myers when he is sneaking up on his victims before they notice him. This gives us the element of suspense in waiting for him to attack. In a situation like this, something bad is obviously going to happen so it is only a matter of time until it does. When something finally does happen, the audience is often startled even if it was predictable. The suspense builds up over time but what exactly is going to happen at that peak moment is never actually known till it