Introduction to Horror Sub-Genres
I will be discussing five different sub-genres found in the larger genre of Horror. These sub-genres include Possession, Slasher, Psychological, Supernatural, Gothic and Zombie.
Possession
The Possession sub-genre is very relevant in today's society. More and more people are going to the cinema to watch the latest Possession films. These films are usually about an object or a person becoming possessed by an evil spirit or entity. The possessed being then proceeds to show very abnormal, scary and horrific behaviour as if manipulated by evil itself.
One reason why it is so popular is because of the typical conventions that the sub-genre uses to draw in the audience; these conventions include an unknown evil spirit that commits unpredictable actions to keep the audience on their toes, iconography such as blood, religious symbols and antique items.
Possession films use religious imagery, particularly Christian and Jewish religious items, to build a connection between the audience and the film. These items are seen as objects that can defeat evil so then audience are drawn to these objects with hope that the evil can be destroyed. The great history of the religions depicted in Possession films leads the audience to believe that the evil spirit has also had a great history, meaning that it is very hard to get rid of it.
One example of this is in "The Possession" where a Rabbi is asked to perform an ancient Jewish ritual to stop the evil being possessing a grown man:
Possession films are usually located in isolated locations with lots of dark history, normally a large house or even a place of worship. The place of worship ties into the religious imagery conventions of the genre. The films are set in those isolated locations because it means that the characters cannot get help if they are in trouble. These places have lots of history because it gives the audience a sense that the evil being has been there for years and will continue to be there at the end of the film. In the clip above the action is taking place in an abandoned hospital.
Examples of Possession film posters include: "The Possession" and "Insidious 2".
The Slasher sub-genre has produced some of the most famous Horror films such as "Halloween", "Friday the 13th" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Slasher films primarily feature a masked killer, lots of gore and blood, and iconography such as knives, axes and machetes. The weapons that the killer uses are items usually found in the home, making the audience believe that their own possessions can be used against them. One example of this is in "Scream" in which a masked killer murders a girl with a kitchen knife. This scene features lots of conventions of both the Horror genre and the Slasher sub-genre. The main character is in an isolated mansion in a wealthy suburbia, meaning that that there are a plenty of rooms for where the killer can hide. Since the mansion is isolated there are no other towns or neighbours nearby to help the main character. As a result of all of these conventions, this scene is one of the most iconic scenes in Horror film history.
Slasher films usually start with teenagers going to an isolated location and then get killed by the masked killer. It gives a hidden meaning that you will get punished if you do what the teenagers in the film do, which is usually partying, drinking lots of alcohol and having casual sex.
The reason that Slasher films are popular is because they provide a way non-Horror fans to ease themselves into the whole Horror genre and its different sub-genres. One criticism of Slasher films is that they are cheesy, however the do create some very scary sequences, like in "Friday the 13th" when the masked killer, Mike Myers, is creeping up to his next victim, creating a tense, dark and scary atmosphere.
Slasher films became popular in the 1980's and have been popular ever since.
These are some examples of Slasher film posters, "Friday the 13th" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre":
Zombie
The zombie sub-genre has had a great influence on popular culture today. There are many films within the Zombie sub-genre such as "28 Days Later" (and its sequel, "28 Weeks Later"), "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dead Snow". A Zombie is a dead human being that has been risen from the grave and has a blood-lust for the living. There have been many variations of what a Zombie is, but everyone follows this same principle. In some films, the Zombies can only move very slowly while in another films, they can sprint much faster than any human being.
Key conventions of the Zombie sub-genre include massive crowds of Zombies in various locations, a group of 'survivours' who are trying to live through the Zombie outbreak and also try to find a cure or a way to stop the Zombies. Another convention is that most films are very gory; with huge piles of dead bodies, lots of blood and human organs.
These are some examples of movie posters that promote films within the Zombie sub-genre:
Possession
The Possession sub-genre is very relevant in today's society. More and more people are going to the cinema to watch the latest Possession films. These films are usually about an object or a person becoming possessed by an evil spirit or entity. The possessed being then proceeds to show very abnormal, scary and horrific behaviour as if manipulated by evil itself.
One reason why it is so popular is because of the typical conventions that the sub-genre uses to draw in the audience; these conventions include an unknown evil spirit that commits unpredictable actions to keep the audience on their toes, iconography such as blood, religious symbols and antique items.
Possession films use religious imagery, particularly Christian and Jewish religious items, to build a connection between the audience and the film. These items are seen as objects that can defeat evil so then audience are drawn to these objects with hope that the evil can be destroyed. The great history of the religions depicted in Possession films leads the audience to believe that the evil spirit has also had a great history, meaning that it is very hard to get rid of it.
One example of this is in "The Possession" where a Rabbi is asked to perform an ancient Jewish ritual to stop the evil being possessing a grown man:
Possession films are usually located in isolated locations with lots of dark history, normally a large house or even a place of worship. The place of worship ties into the religious imagery conventions of the genre. The films are set in those isolated locations because it means that the characters cannot get help if they are in trouble. These places have lots of history because it gives the audience a sense that the evil being has been there for years and will continue to be there at the end of the film. In the clip above the action is taking place in an abandoned hospital.
Examples of Possession film posters include: "The Possession" and "Insidious 2".
Slasher
Slasher films usually start with teenagers going to an isolated location and then get killed by the masked killer. It gives a hidden meaning that you will get punished if you do what the teenagers in the film do, which is usually partying, drinking lots of alcohol and having casual sex.
The reason that Slasher films are popular is because they provide a way non-Horror fans to ease themselves into the whole Horror genre and its different sub-genres. One criticism of Slasher films is that they are cheesy, however the do create some very scary sequences, like in "Friday the 13th" when the masked killer, Mike Myers, is creeping up to his next victim, creating a tense, dark and scary atmosphere.
Slasher films became popular in the 1980's and have been popular ever since.
These are some examples of Slasher film posters, "Friday the 13th" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre":
Zombie
The zombie sub-genre has had a great influence on popular culture today. There are many films within the Zombie sub-genre such as "28 Days Later" (and its sequel, "28 Weeks Later"), "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dead Snow". A Zombie is a dead human being that has been risen from the grave and has a blood-lust for the living. There have been many variations of what a Zombie is, but everyone follows this same principle. In some films, the Zombies can only move very slowly while in another films, they can sprint much faster than any human being.
Key conventions of the Zombie sub-genre include massive crowds of Zombies in various locations, a group of 'survivours' who are trying to live through the Zombie outbreak and also try to find a cure or a way to stop the Zombies. Another convention is that most films are very gory; with huge piles of dead bodies, lots of blood and human organs.
These are some examples of movie posters that promote films within the Zombie sub-genre:
Supernatural
The supernatural sub-genre features a very diverse film library and is becoming increasingly popular in today's society. The supernatural sub-genre can be split up even more into sub-genres such as Possession, Poltergeist and Ghost. The main way of defining a supernatural film is that an unknown being haunts innocent people. This can range from simply scaring the characters to harming or even killing them.
Supernatural films often feature secluded and isolated settings like a large house out in the woods. These locations often have a lot of dark history that relate to the plot of the film. An example of this would be: "A ghost has haunted this house for 100 years comes back to haunt whoever stays in the house overnight".
Conventions of Supernatural films include a family or a group of people go into an isolated location, horrific imagery such as blood, dead bodies and possessed beings.
Examples of these films include "Paranormal Activity", "Insidious" and "Sinister".
Psychological
The Psychological sub-genre is an interesting genre because of the diverse narratives that each film has. While many films in the sub-genre have very different narratives, they normally try to play mind games with the audience. Many of the films make the audience believe something that isn't true (or vice versa), leading them to realise a big twist in the narrative while scaring them at the same time. They usually create very tense, quiet and scary atmospheres throughout the course of the film, leaving the audience on the edges of their seats.
Psychological films were very popular during the 70's because of one main convention. The killer or the psychopath was someone who seemed very normal to the audience, like a father in a loving family or someone with a stable job, making them think that anyone can be a cold hearted killer. In "The Shining" the main villain, Jack Torrance, is a father and a loving husband that kills his family. In "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock, the main villain, Norman Bates, reveals his dark secret and kills people.
Examples of Psychological films include "The Shining" and "The Grudge":
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Psychological films were very popular during the 70's because of one main convention. The killer or the psychopath was someone who seemed very normal to the audience, like a father in a loving family or someone with a stable job, making them think that anyone can be a cold hearted killer. In "The Shining" the main villain, Jack Torrance, is a father and a loving husband that kills his family. In "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock, the main villain, Norman Bates, reveals his dark secret and kills people.
Examples of Psychological films include "The Shining" and "The Grudge":
Gothic
Gothic Horror films were some of the earliest Horror films made but became very popular in the 1930's, 40's and 50's. Gothic films have very specific and obvious conventions that are easily identifiable. Vampires, werewolves and ghosts usually appear as the evil force and they all try and kill or haunt people. Gothic films are usually set in isolated locations such as a dark, misty forest at night, or a huge house/mansion in the middle of nowhere. This is to show that the characters have nowhere to escape the evil force and cannot get help from anyone.
The first ever Horror, "Nosferatu" (1920's), is considered a Gothic Horror and many other classic Horror films are as well such as "Dracula" (1958), "Frankenstein" (1931) and "The Mummy" (1959).
Gothic Horrors are still alive today with very popular films such as "The Woman In Black" (2012) and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (2007). They follow the typical conventions that were in place back in the early days of Gothic Horror.
Posters of Gothic Horror films include:
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