Film Opening Task - Elements of mise en scene - Horror

Horror

Setting - Usually isolated, unpopulated and dark which creates suspense and a fear of the unknown. It also gives opportunity for things to be hidden and unexpected events to happen. There's also no hope of rescue which can add to the tension. Typical settings are graveyards, forests, abandoned buildings or potentially more childhood related places like a fairground as this creates a creepy tone.

Hair and makeup - This varies depending on what the film is about. For a gory film, more extreme makeup will be used to create the special effects, like latex wounds and fake blood. In a ghost film, makeup may be used to make an actor look a lot paler and 'dead looking' while fake wounds may also be used to show the audience that they died a violent death. Makeup may also be used to make actors
look like monsters, vampires etc or even clowns as this is a common fear of many people. Prosthetics and coloured contacts are often utilised to really change the person's appearance.





Costume - Can be used to show the audience that the characters are ordinary people, which can add to the scary effect as it's easier to believe that the events could happen to you. They are also useful for characterisation and showing what kinds of people the characters are. For example a 'nerdy' character is one that the viewer will assume gets killed/taken first. The costume will also help for if there's a monster as it will add to the scariness of their appearance and help show what they are: ghost etc.





Props - Often, props used in horror are things like knives and weapons which helps to heighten the tension as it shows that something violent is probably going to happen and someone might be hurt or killed. It can help to show who the 'enemy' is within the film. Other props could be things like haunted objects which add to the plot.





Lighting - To create a mysterious, creepy effect dark lighting is usually utilised as this also adds to the fear of the unknown. It also makes it easy for jump scares to be created as things can be concealed in the shadows. Sometimes red lighting may be used to create a sense of danger, or there may be a general red tone in, for example, a slasher film which involves a lot of blood. Black and white, more muted colours are often used in a very typical horror movie to display the absence of hope and enhance what is happening.



Character expression/movement - The viewer often feels emotions through the characters so their expressions can help to convey their fear and unease which is then transferred to the audience. This can be effective, especially when a character who hasn't been very outward emotionally is then obviously scared of something as it shows that it is something very terrifying. Movement, like running away, flinching, can also create fear and unease. The actors show that there's something wrong that the viewer should be afraid of.