Horror movie props

In the horror genre many props are used, commonly weapons. One of the most infamous props ever seen in a horror movie is the chainsaw from 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. The chainsaw is truely frightening, with its loud, harsh sound, and the ferocity of the saw. 

 In the film, whenever we hear the saw start we expect something bad to happen, usually a gruesome death of an innocent victim who has no chance of survival. This expectation  even happens when we just see the chainsaw sitting alone in a barn. It is an extremely foreboding image, making it a very effective prop. The image of the blood splattered chainsaw to the left looks very scary and foreboding and creates the perfect atmosphere for a horror movie.

The mask and knife used in the horror Halloween are just as infamous as the killer. Like the chainsaw above, they are used to create fear and foreboding, and have became a horror icon. The knife is very large and sharp and looks as if it could slice through almost anything, especially a person. The mask is very pale and looks almost like the face of a corpse, with dark, evil eyes. Together, they are amazingly effective at creating fear.

The finger blades found in A Nightmare on Elm Street look scary just as they are in this picture, even when they are not viciously killing someone. The long, sharp blades and the rough leather all make for a chilling weapon. They, like the chainsaw from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the mask and knife fro Halloween are some of the most iconic horror movie props ever. This is because of their threatening image.





In our own horror movie we did use any major props. While props, such as weapons similar to these, can be very effective in creating a scary film, but we felt that they did not fit in with the idea of our film.

Horror Genre Target Audience

The target audience of modern day horror movies are older teens and young adults, and both male and female. A typical viewer of horror movies is usually middle class. 

Males who enjoy horror usually also enjoy listening to music. They like rock, and any other music that is popular. They also enjoy watching tele, doing sport and playing video games. Other film genres they like are comedy and action.They usually dislike reading. They usually wear clothes that fit the current fashion as they like to look nice.

Typical female viewers of the horror genre may also enjoy  pop music, but will listen to other popular music. They like fashion and most like animals and pretty colours. They like watching romcoms aswell as horror. Typical female horror fans dislike sport and videogames. Like males, they too wear the latest clothes and care about their appearance.

These examples are not the same as the stereotypical horror fan. A stereotypical horror fan is seen as having dyed balck hair and wearing black clothes. They also enjoy heavy rock music and hate other popular music. Stereotypically, they are seen as being a dark character, who enjoys watching people who are scared and in pain. They are seen as having a dark outlook on life. Not many horror fans fit this stereotype. Most people watch horror because they enjoy a scare, and not because they are dark inside.

Preliminary Task

This is my preliminary task. From doing this I learnt very much, such as different types of shots that can be used to make an effective and realistic film and the importance of using a tripod to keep the camera steady. By doing the preliminary task I not only got a chance to learn about filming but had a chance to actually film, so I found doing it helpful.

Horror movie planning

Plot:

• A cursed book is delivered through the letter box of a house.
• Every new occupant of the house recieves the book.
• Once the book has been delivered, the people who live in the house start to see strange things.
• The cursed book brings along a ghost that haunts the house.
• The ghost that haunts the house is the author of the book.

Production company:

• We thought that 'Big Scream Productions' would be good because it relates to the 'big screen'. THe 'big screen' connotes cinemas, Hollywood, and, most importantly, movies. We changed 'screen' to 'Scream' because it would specialise in the horror genre.

Title:

• We think that the title of the book should also be the title of the film. A few ideas were Removal, Squatters Rights, Revenge by the Book, Household Vengeance, Provoked Removal and Chapter 4.
• We have now decided on Chapter 4.

Characters

• Author of cursed book/ Ghost - Elizabeth Jones - Amber Kibble
• Man - Ryan Jakobson - Oliver Roberts
• Woman - Emily White - Laura Browning
• Newsreporters - Male - Adam Thompson, Female - Shara Hobbs

    Settings

• The main setting in our movie will be a house. A house or home is usually seen as a safe environment, so by filming our horror movie in a family home destroys the comfort people may feel about being at home. Paranormal Activity also used a home as a setting and it was very effective.

Filming style

• We will film our movie using a steady camera. This is standard really, a filming style that most movies use.

The Italian Job opening sequence

Like 'Se7en', we watched the opening sequence of the film 'The Italian Job'. It was quite similar to 'Se7en', using quick cuts and different images which gave small hints about the movie and genre.
1) Paramount logo appears - shows highly rated production company.
2) Images of Italian streets - highlights the setting of the film.
3) Images of maps and plans - suggests there could be a well planned heist
4) Title sequence ends after 2 minutes 21 seconds.
5) Introduces characters by using cross cutting between them.
Like in 'Se7en' this quick images hint about the type of film this is. We can tell from all the maps and intricate plans that this is clearly going to be a movie about a robbery or heist.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

At the beginning of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' we can see the production company logo of 'New Line Cinema'. This shows us that this film has been made by a well respected film production company, so encourages us to watch the film.

The film has a very dark setting. We cannot see much light at all, which is typical of the horror genre. Most of the film is at night. Again, this expected from a horror movie. When we do see shots of day time, we see three little girls skipping. Because of the quick cuts though, this seems to be a foreboding shot, and not a happy one. Light is used very effectively in this film. One shot, in a basement of some kind, is very dark, but there is an orange light in the background. In front of this light stands the antagonist, Freddy Kruger. Because of the dim light behind him all we can see is a very imposing black figure, with blades for hands. This works well to create fear in the viewer. Any light we do see in this film is usually quite dim and flickery, creating a sense that you cannot escape from the darkness, and darkness connotes fear and danger.

In the film we hear a lot of screams and cries. We can hear a song about Freddy being sung in a disturbing child's voice. It echoes, again sounding disturbing. This, like the lighting, is effective at creating fear.

The infamous bladed hands appear often in the film. There is usually a close up on them, used for emphasis. Whenever we see them we know something bad is going to happen. They are rusty knives attached to the fingers of a killer's hands, so are very distubring. It seems that this film attempts to be as disturbing as possible. Freddy isn't just a killer, he is a killer with a completely burnt face, and the infamous stripey jumper and hat, who attacks you when you are most vulnerable. All these add to the experience of watching the film, and do well to increase tention and terror.

Movie Questionnaire

Name:
------

Age:
12 - 56.

Gender:
5 males and 5 females.

What is your favourite movie genre?:
Most people answered action, with horror being the second favourite.

What is your favourite movie?:
------

How often do you watch a movie?:
The most common reply for this question was twice a week, with some people replying with once every two weeks.

Where do you watch a movie?:
The most common answer was at home.

Where would you prefer to watch a movie? Home or cinema?:
People would rather watch a film at the cinema.

How often do you go to the cinema?:
Some people said once a month, but most said, on average, 3-4 times a year.

What do you look for in a film? Famous actors/ actresses? Price? Genre?:
Genre plays a big part of what we look for in a film, but famous actors can also encourage us, despite genre.

Horror Genre Research

The horror genre has been one of the most popular and successful movie genres. Millions of people enjoy watching horror. Top horror films include The Shining (1980), The Exorcist (1973), Psycho (1960), Jaws (1975), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). These films will be remembered forever because of their clever storylines and frights and have provided some of the biggest scares ever!

Despite the popularity of the above horror films, only one appears in the top 5 highest grossing list of horror films. The Exorcist (1973) sits at number 1 after grossing a massive $2,170,120,000. In second is The Sixth Sense (1999), which made $882,150,000. I Am Legend (2007) made $616,630,000 and sits in third, while in fourth is Van Helsing (2004) after making $347,260,000. In fifth is Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), after grossing $336,140,000. As you can see, a successful horror movie will make millions and will go down in history.

Despite being around for decades, in recent years horror has been most commonly watched by teenagers and young adults. This is due to recent horrror movies being made as 15's, and an increase of younger actors in films such as Final Destination and Scream. This is not to say that only younger people watch horror movies, as many older viewers still find much entertainment from the genre, but are ususally not as interested in blood and gore, but opt for a cleverer storyline.

Opening title sequence of Se7en

00.02 - Extreme close up on a book
00.03 - 'New Line Cinema presents'
00.08 - Distorted hands shown in black and white
00.13 - 'Brad Pitt' shows name of big actor in the movie
00.16 - Fingers holding a razor and cutting off own fingerprints suggests that this film is a bit creepy and nasty
00.18 - 'Morgan Freeman' shows name of another big actor in the movie
00.23 - 'Se7en' title of film appears on a black screen and flashes bigger
00.29 - A book opening suggests that the book could play a large role in the film
00.34 - Close up on a pen writing in the book
00.36 - A red filter appears over the picture
00.39 - Scissors cutting out camera negatives
00.43 - Image of black and white photos
00.52 - A view of pages in the mysterious book suggests that the book is a scrap book
01.01 - Marker pen crossing out words which would be seen as unholy suggesting a religious theme
01.11 - Marker pen crossing out a boys eyes in a photo
01.13 - The whole of the boys face has now been crossed
01.14 - Again a red filter appears over the picture
01.19 - photo negatives being put into the book
01.25 - Close up on dirty hands handling hooks creates a disturbing feeling and dark imagery
01.28 - Bandaged fingers
01.30 - A view of pictures stuck into the book
01.34 - Extreme close up on dirty hands playing with a needle
01.41 - Needles being thread
01.47 - We see pages of the book being sewn together
02.01 - A view of someone cutting out the word 'God' from an American dollar note again suggests a religious theme
02.07 - The film starts

The opening sequence to the film Se7en contains many disturbing images that create a dark setting for this film. Because of the opening sequence we can tell that this film is going to be disturbing and perhaps shocking. The opening sequence is very good at catching the audiences attention and making them want to watch the film to see what is going to happen. The opening sequence is so well done that even the book that appears throughout seems quite scary and foreboding.