Genre

The sub-genre of horror I will be presenting in my short film: Supernatural 


Conventions of Supernatural horror:

Setting -

• Suburban area
• Isolated
• Dark spaces/forests 
• Protagonist's house - most likely recently moved into - fear of the unknown/new
• Confined settings - plot unfolds all in one area - evokes the feeling of little or no space - nowhere to escape to

Narratives - 

•  Centres around the protagonist - following the story-line of possessions or supernatural occurrences etc and their investigation into it all
• Contrast of the happy experience of moving into a new place/starting a family etc. with the horrific happenings within their location that are unexplained and supernatural 
• There is also usually a trigger that initiates these haunting's; for example, a Ouija board, paranormal investigation, a relic or something of significance to the supernatural entity getting found/damaged/destroyed, a mockery of the past inhabitants - a link to the supernatural entity, a curse etc.

Characters - 

• Protagonist - usually female (final girl theory), a relatable/normal character that the audience can identify with, sometimes troubled by something in their past, the first to notice the supernatural occurrences, usually the individual the supernatural entity targets and connects itself to
• Other characters are usually alliances to the Protagonist - family members, friends, neighbours, paranormal investigators called to help the protagonist 
• Supernatural entity - usually a ghost of past occupants of the house or a demon that is attached to a character or location

Costume - 

• Clothing that matches the time period appropriately - usually casual clothing - relatable to the audience - nothing overly distracting from the main plot or setting image - usually dark tone clothing to match the tone of the horror
• As the film progresses the character's clothing usually becomes more distressed or covered in blood etc. to represent what they have experienced/gone through

Lighting & Sound - 

• Shadows 
• Profile lighting 
• Under lighting 
• Minor key non-diegetic music - orchestral 
• Amplified diegetic sound effects - screams, doors slamming, floorboards creaking, a storm, heavy breathing/heartbeat etc. 

Films within this genre:

• The Conjuring 

The film follows a supernatural entity of a ghost who previously died in their new house. The film also follows the conventional theme of moving somewhere new and then the supernatural occurrences begin. The ghost affects all members of the family. The alliances of the family are the paranormal investigators that go to help them investigate.
Synopsis:    'In 1970, paranormal investigators and demonologists Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren are summoned to the home of Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and Roger (Ron Livingston) Perron. The Perrons and their five daughters have recently moved into a secluded farmhouse, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. Though the manifestations are relatively benign at first, events soon escalate in horrifying fashion, especially after the Warrens discover the house's macabre history.' 

• Paranormal Activity 

This film follows the plot of a demon that possess the female protagonist within the film; there is a lot of physical harm inflicted by the demon onto the protagonist. There are two protagonists who experience these occurrences; although it is not because they moved somewhere new, but the supernatural entity attached itself to the female protagonist as a child and has reappeared in adulthood. The film shows the female protagonist experiencing sleep paralysis, sleep walking; as well as objects moving within the house and the female protagonist being dragged around the house by the demon. The characters also do extensive research on what the demon is and put cameras etc in place to record what happens. In this film the demon overpowers the couple and entirely possess the female protagonist, forcing her to kill her boyfriend; the film is open-ended leaving the audience to question the character's whereabouts and the outcome of it all. 

• The Sixth Sense 

This film follows the idea that a young boy is in touch with the afterlife; being able to see and speak to the dead. His psychiatrist helps him through this and the boy leads him to believe in the supernatural. Although it is defined as a horror, there is little gore and scare, so it could be more defined as a supernatural thriller, although the content of the supernatural is significant in my research for my own supernatural horror. 

• The Babadook

This supernatural horror presents the idea of a possessed item of a picture book; this book retains the 'Babadook' a ghostly figure that then comes to 'life' and haunts a mother and son in their home. This ghost leads to the mother becoming aggressive and violent, resulting in her killing the family dog. Despite attempts to contact the police or get rid of the book, the ghost remains. The ending is unconventional of normal horror as the family end up living with the 'Babadook', keeping it in the basement and living almost peacefully alongside this evil supernatural entity. Within my own film we are incorporating with the idea of a possessed item, and The Babadook's eerie representation is influential in what we wish to convey.   

• The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror presents a more satanic, demonic supernatural entity, that leads a man to kill his whole family and when arrested he explains the entity made him do it. The film follows the plot of a new family moving into the house, unknowing of the previous owners claims; the cyclical nature of the film is something I also wish to incorporate within my own film as well as the demonic possession that leads to such violence.

• Annabelle 

Possession of a doll is the main theme within this film; the doll is obtained by a couple starting a family, although strange occurrences begin once they bring it into their home. This is conventional of supernatural horror to use something like a doll as it is simplistic and represents a sense of childhood and innocence to the audience, although by having it be a binary opposite of a demonic entity the audience are more likely to be afraid and shocked at what is to come, which is a factor I want to attempt to incorporate into my own.