Stereotypes of Horror Films

Killing the pretty blonde girl

In most horror films a very common cliche is when the villain kills the pretty blonde girl first. Most audiences, mainly men, enjoy this aspect of horror films as it makes the them feel like a hero as they think they could have saved the innocent girl from the evil villain. This makes them feel good about themselves. Also the female audience will be interested as they can relate to the 'pretty girl' as they want to be her and think that they are like her. This means the audience put themselves in the characters position, which causes them to be more scared and frightened. 

Children

Children are frequently used in horror films as the audience finds the perturbing and unpredictable. They also may think that the creepiness of what the children are doing is contrasted with the purity of their actions. Another thing that may scare the audience is that they know that the children aren't thinking like an adult and are are unsure about their actions.

Scary location

The scary location for a horror film is always used so that it reflects the feel and genre of the film. The film makers will always pick a very scary and disturbing location for the audience as they want to make them as scared as possible. Another thing they will be looking for when choosing a location is a place that most people can relate to for example a scary house or deserted car park, which are familiar surrounds for people.

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.