Research: Characteristics of the Horror Genre

I have made some primary research observations into the types of characteristics that seem to be present in a number of horror genre films

a) CHARACTERS - There are some key archetypes that an audience expect to see in a horror film. There is a PROTAGONIST who is the vcitm/hero/heroine. This is usually the last surviving cast member by the end of the film. Quite often the character is female. Carol J. Clover suggested that this was a 'Final Girl' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_girl) There will be an ANTAGONIST who is the bad character who will terrorise the protagonist/friends/community. Depending on the film the antagonist will be either a supernatural entity or a human psycopath. An example of a film where the characters are terrorised by psychopaths is The Strangers, here the anatgonists are a gang of three who use a knife and bizarre masks to frighten the couple.(see above image) There will also be a number of STOCK CHARACTERS who will be killed off as a form of monster fodder. A very good example of all of these characteristics can be seen in the opening sequence of Scream http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFCStOMqpfk

b) ICONOGRAPHY - These are visual signifiers which iommediately suggest the horror film. They can range from masks to knives. Often the antagonist will have some type of iconographic weapon. (See previous post on My Chosen Genre)

c) SETTINGS - There are usually two types of horror setting. The first is the dystopian urban city where there has been a disaster of some sort (such as 28 Days Later)

often the city is deserted or living in fear of some unseen menace. The other type of setting is an isolated rural environment. This is often a house in the middle of nowhere and is cut off from civilisation. This means the protagonsits are uncertain where the threat is coming from and have no hope of help coming and saving them. Often this plays on the audience fears of the unknown.