With reference to these three films, what are some of the key conventions of the horror genre?

When watching Halloween, The Shining and Eden Lake it is clear to see there are many different conventions that represent the horror genre. 

The setting in horror films play such an important part where normally, we find the victims in a small community or in an isolated place. The film Halloween presents this where their small neighbourhood appears very isolated. The sense of isolation comes from the quietness from the start of the film and where the dark atmosphere surrounding them appears eery. When watching horror films, a convention that we see repeatedly is a small, isolated village and a big, old house. The house we see in this film, is a large Victorian one. 

The fact that it is Victorian could imply that there might be a story or a 'past' which will return. 


In The Shining, the idea of the isolated place is really exaggerated where Jack, his wife Wendy and son Danny move to the Overlook Hotel. Jack takes on the caretakers job, where he must look after the hotel while it is out of season. The audience realise how the hotel is from the beginning where we watch Jack's car travel through the mountains and this shot is exaggerated over a long period of time in order to present the length of the journey. I feel this also presents isolation as he travels further and further away from home.


Eden Lake is also set in the woods, where the main characters, Steve and Jenny spend a weekend away. We find that Steve wants to propose to Jenny, however, the audience know that something is going to ruin this due to the spooky surroundings of the enclosed woods, remote lake and the general feeling of an isolated location.

Here, there is room for the camerawork to develop a strong iconography of a 'monster' watching them from behind the trees. The quiet setting also risks noises that appear when they are 'alone', for example the sound of footsteps, or trees rustling.

At the start of Halloween, the audience watch a very long duration shot, tracking around the house as somebody watches them through the window. This camerawork makes us feel as if we are in the eyes of the monster, looking around the house at the two teenagers kissing. However the audience feel scared as they do not know who this person is or who they are being put in the eyes of. This is a typical convention used within the technical code of the horror genre. Depth of field is also used, with the monster outside in the background, looking through a mask and the victimised girl and boy in the foreground. The Shining also has POV shots where Danny sees visions of the twins and this puts us in Danny's position, making the audience feel sorry and also scared for this poor boy. 

Sound in this film is most important as we hear screeching noises that follow throughout the film. We hear this sound repeatedly which is unpleasant and it puts the audience on edge. Eery, screeching sounds are common in horror films due to the fact that it makes the audience feel tense and therefore making them believe something is going to happen. 

Iconography is strong throughout all three films. Lighting in Halloween is dark and low key throughout. However, there is high contrast to emphasise shadows, for example, where the monster approaches whoever he is going to kill. There is a typical shot in films where we see just the shadow of the monster in the doorway. Low lighting, almost darkness in many scenes is a key convention within the horror genre as this is what creates the scary factor and I feel it also adds a sense of secretiveness.  

The theme of evil hidden inside becomes apparent in all three films. This is also a narrative theory of Claude Levi-Strauss where he looked at narrative theory in terms of binary oppositions. 


When looking at The Shining we see that Jack starts off appearing to be a good person but then turns evil as he goes mad, wanting to kill his own family. Also, keeping with the same binary oppositions effect, we see the natural (Jack, Wendy, Danny) facing the supernatural, (Grady, Tony, The Twins, The old lady in the bath).


Todorov said that films start with an equilibrium which is then interrupted by a dramatic event, however there is equilibrium at the end. Horror films may often use this narrative structure and if we look at Eden Lake, we see there is an equilibrium at the start, where the happy couple set off for a weekend away together. Steve prepares to propose and each time gets interrupted and I feel this where the audience know that something is not right and makes them wonder, will he ever actually get to ask her to marry him? The disequilibrium starts however, when the gang of teenagers start torturing the couple and eventually capture Steve. They cut him with knives repeatedly, leaving him laying there in his own blood.

As the dramatic events carry on and the chase to catch Jenny continues, we finally receive satisfaction when she escapes. She manages to steal a car which she then drives off to freedom. However we soon find out, could she really be free and could she really be the 'final girl'? 

When looking at character types within the film Halloween we see the main protagonist and also 'final girl' Laurie and we see a repeat in the iconic androgynous character. This concept is also presented in The Shining where Wendy and Danny are the victims and are trying to escape from Jack. Could they also be the hero's too? Eden Lake however, contains a 'have a go' hero, Steve, where he tries to protect Jenny but yet he then becomes the one to get tortured. 

The key horror conventions include a range of things from different categories such as setting, technical code, iconography, narrative structure, character types and themes. The particular conventions presented in horror films help to create the frightening, dramatic scenes and story line.