What is Gothic Horror?
Gothic Horror is a dark genre of films which is to create tension for the audience, this can result in them getting scared from the film. Gothic Horror comes from Gothic fiction novels from the 1800s. The two most popular gothic novels are Mary Shelly's Frankenstein (1818) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). Gothic Horror is much more important than just ghost stories and horror. They usually tales of mystery and horror which was to make the audience experience a chill down the spine.
Conventions
Gothic fiction uses wild and desolate landscapes, dark look and style, low key lighting, graveyards, ruined buildings, medieval buildings and they often use spooky effects with ghosts and spectres. The weather is used a lot when making a Gothic Horror it can vary from Mist to having Storms or Sunlight.
Mise-en-Scene
Mise-en-scene is used a lot in Gothic Horror because the little details of Mise-en-scene can create a Gothic Horror really well if it is done correctly. Within any film Mise-en-scene is taken into account as films need each element of Mise-en-scene.
Gothic Horror films, often are set in graveyards or near buildings which have been destroyed, this creates mystery in the film and it makes the film entertaining for the audience and makes them want to watch more of the film. Sometimes the setting along with music can scare the audience or make the frightened to watch the rest of the film or to find out the ending.
Usually, Gothic Horror clothing is black or red and it is normally ripped on the bottom of the costume, they also tend to have a lot of blood on them which shows the horror in the costume and the audience can start to speculate about the character they are by their costume before they have even spoke.
Performance
The performance in a Gothic Horror genre is extremely important because if it isn't done correctly the whole thing wont look good and it will look more like a comedy. In this genre its good for the characters to not show a lot of emotion through their performance as it will create a uncomfortable feeling for the audience.
Make up
Make up in a Gothic horror is important as it creates the Gothic theme from the film. Makeup on a character in a Gothic Horror Genre is usually supernatural. It shows faced in a different way which is scary to some viewers. they often have a lot of blood on the characters face so the audience are attracted to the blood on the face as it often tells a story about it.
Props
Props are used in Gothic Horrors, but the props are usually knifes, or things similar to them, baseball bats and other types of items that can be used as a weapon. Little kids toys are also used, for example teddy bears are often used when there is a child involved in the film, this makes the audience start to think something bad is going to happen to the child or that they are going to do something bad themselves.
Colour
In Gothic Horror films there isn't
a lot of colour shown through
the film, but when there is colouring
on the frame it stands out so it draws in
the attention of the audience and they focus on the colouring
as the films are
usually in black and white to create effect. The characters are usually always
extremely pale skin tone then their clothing is dark colours to create a binary
opposite of their appearance.
Hair
The hair of a character in a Gothic Horror based film can represent a dark feel towards the character. The usual hair in a Gothic Horror is normally messy and it looks like they have had it back combed and it is wild, I believe that this shows that they are scary and you do not know what they are capable of and to stay away from them as they are unpredictable and could be dangerous.
Camera Shots
Camera shots are important in any film but they do play a big part in this genre as the camera shots are used to make the audience feel like they are there and that it is happening to them. When filming a Gothic Horror film its good to do some close ups and extreme close ups so that the audience get a good idea of what is happening in the film.
Close Ups and Extreme Close Ups within a Gothic Horror Genre of fil are important to use as it makes the audience feel like they are within the film and they create an attachment to characters.
Using a Point of View shot is also effective within a Gothic Horror, for example if the POV shot is from a killers eyes you can see everything which the killer is going to see while taking part within a kill or afterwards.
Sound
The sound in a Gothic Horror creates a lot of tension and mystery as it is normally fast music going to the rhythm of a heart beat. As it goes on it usually gets faster and louder which may scare the audience more to hide before something happens.
Within Gothic Horrors, stings are used a lot. This could be when there is a large part of action about to take place or a significant moment within the film.
Editing
The editing of a Gothic Horror film has to be quick, static shots are used alot as it just jumps onto another character this creates tension which increases the thrill for the audience.
There are slow editing within a Gothic Horror which creates tension, this is affective to the audience as if there is a large action scene and it is slowed down it creates larger affect.
This is an Extreme Close up, this is where you can only see a close up of someone’s face, this is to show characters emotions, and no background images. This is effective because the audience cannot see anything else apart from the face so the emotion is clearly shown, but due to there being no background it is unknown why the characters facial expression is happy.
This is a Close Up, it is alike to an Extreme Close up but you can see more of the face and you can also start to see a little bit of the background behind the character. This is effective because the audience can see the characters full face and some of the background which shows where the character is and it could be the reason behind the facial expression of the character.
This is a Medium Close Up, this is where you can only see from the shoulders upwards. This is effective because the audience will wonder what is in the characters hands. This is usually used when focusing on a character.
This is a Mid Shot, this is where you can see from the waist and above of a character. This is effective because the audience can see half of the characters body and they can also see the background of where the character is, which could represent the character or it could be why the character is acting in a certain way.
This is a Medium Long Shot, this is where you can see from the knees upwards, this is effective because you can see a lot of the character and a lot of the background image which shows the audience the facial expression, body image and it shows if they have a open power house or not. This is usually used when focusing on a character or a scene.
This is a Long Shot, this is where you can see the full body of a character and you can also see a lot of the background. In Long Shots the photos show more of the background than the characters. This is effective because you can see the whole of the background of where the characters are but you cant see much of the characters so that the audience look at the background more than the characters.
This is a Extreme Long Shot, this is where you can see all of the characters body its similar to a Long Shot but in an Extreme Long Shot is at a really far distance, so you see more of the background image and it makes the character look really small. This is effective because you see more background image than the character, the characters facial expression is harder to see but it leaves it to the audiences imagination of the characters facial expression.
This is a Two Shot, this is where you see two characters in the same shot. This is effective because the audience can see the two characters together in the same shot, this could be the first time they see both characters in the same shot so it makes it more effective. A Two Shot is usually used in a main or important scene.
This is a High Angle Shot, this is where the shot is at a higher angle which makes the character look smaller than they actually are. This is effective because the characters are made to look weaker, for example in the photograph above there is two girls running down stairs and there is a werewolf coming down the stairs after them but due to him being higher up the wolf looks like he has more power and a more open powerhouse.
This is a Over the Shoulder shot, this is where the shot is taken over someones shoulder but the side if the characters face and shoulder are in the shot to show that they are looking at them. This is effective because the audience knows that there is someone else there. This is usually used during conversation shots.
This is an Low Angle Shot and Point of View Shot, an Low Angle Shot is where the shot has been taken at a lower angle which makes the characters look bigger and it makes them have a bigger power house. A Point of View Shot is when the shot is taken in front of someones face to show the characters point of view, for example in the photograph it shows that the characters Point of View was his hands.
This is a Tilted Shot, this is where the shot has been taken at an angle, and its been tilted or turned slightly. This is effective because the audience sometimes have to move their heads slightly due to the shot being taken at an angle.
