Codes and Conventions - Gothic Horror

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. 

Setting

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.

Costume

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.