Codes and Conventions of Supernatural Horror Films

Settings

Supernatural Horrors are usually set in the home of the protagonist, or a place where the audience would feel at their most safe, this could be from their house to the suburban area in which they live in.  Supernatural Horror’s biggest appeal is its ability for the audience to question the world in which they live in and also to question if there are others among us, they successfully achieve this by setting the story in a place which is close to the character and would eventually make them fearful of their surroundings. The setting of a house within horrors is common however it within Supernatural horrors, the home almost becomes a character itself, it emphasizes the fear of the unwanted and unexplained in which the character cannot control or escape from making the audience feel frightened in the one place in which you should feel at most safe. The popular revival of ‘Supernatural Genre’ has been one of particular interest within the past two decades, with television programmes such as ‘Ghost Hunting’, ‘Psychic Stories’ and ‘Supernatural’ all zoning in on its cult status.  In order to balance out the ‘make-believe’ with reality, this type of horror is set in a person’s home to establish common ground with the viewer, making the narrative seem more realistic. 

 House from The Others

Basic Plotlines

Other conventional features to the plotline involve the audience being led to believe that a certain character is one that we can trust, when eventually it is exposed that they are the cause of the horror. For example, in “Paranormal Activity” the couple believe they are being followed by a spirit, when in fact; the female character turns out to be the one possessed. This involves also, in “Insidious”  where the audience is led to believe that it is the hosue that is causing much of the distress when in actual fact it is the couples child Dalton who is cursed. Another basic plotline includes the protagonist being a child, one that was murdered and has come back to seek revenge by tormenting the main character.

Characters

The main characters appear to be ‘normal’ people, who live their lives in a normal average manner. Conventionally female, they are harmless, caring and loving beings. Supernatural Horrors differ to slashers because, the main characters are not being punished by experiencing the horror and in most cases have done nothing wrong to deserve the visit from the spirit. This type of main character occurs in the films, “The Unborn", "The Uninvited" and "Drag me to hell". The main characters are likely to be troubled by something that has happened in their past, which leads other characters to view them as mentally unstable once they speak of supernatural interaction.

Usually the first impression of the audience on the paranormal is negative, however, as the narrative progresses, the audience come to realise that this spirit is actually present for a reason and that it is not just there to mindlessly torment. Usually, the paranormal presence is there to help the protagonist unveil a mystery, to guide them and help them understand something more clearly.
 
 The Exorcism Of Emily Rose
 

Costumes

In supernatural horror, the key to costume is simplicity, this is so that the audience’s attention is not diverted away from the action in the scene, so we can identify the mood of the character and distinguish between different character personas.
The main character is likely to wear simple plain clothes, nothing provocative or revealing. The main female character is likely to be a grown woman and so she wears clothing that is smart and sophisticated when leaving the house, whether that’s for work or play, and is also likely to wear casual garments, such as jeans when relaxing at home. She is likely to wear neutral, pastel colours, such as light greys, baby blues, soft yellows, nudes and creams. The make-up of the female character gives her a natural, fresh faced look.
During the more horror-induced scenes we are likely to see the character looking erratic, with dishevelled appearances and unkempt hair and make-up.

Events/Occurrences

The creaking of a door and the curtain blowing in the wind by the open window are common occurrences, as they symbolise the entry of the unknown. These tend to take place in the earlier stages of the narrative, as their occurrence only minutely indicates the presence of a ghost or spirit. In supernatural horrors, there is always the scene that involves the protagonist looking into the bathroom mirror, to see that beside her own reflection is the reflection of the ‘ghost’.

Often we see the main characters participating in a stand off of exorcism in an attempt to contact the wondering spirit, to find out what it wants. Often, we see scenes of the protagonist in the bath or asleep in bed, having some kind of vision or nightmare of the spirit during relaxation.

The discovery of the spirits past: this involves the protagonist exploring their house and finding clues that further inform them of the life the spirit once had, why they are being haunted and what they can do to solve it. For instance, in “The Unborn” the main character searches the attic in order to find out more about her childhood and she finds video tapes of her family but soon discoveres that she had a twin who dies when they were very young.

Other conventional occurrences include flickering of candles, peering through the ‘key-hole’, evidence of unknown wet footprints, squeaky noises such as creaking doors or floorboards, dripping water and the protagonist hiding in a darkened corner like a vulnerable child.

The Woman In Black

Weapons

Uses of weapons in supernatural horrors come out of what is surrounding the victim, for instance, household appliances, kitchen utensils, ornaments, and garden equipment anything that is sharp, long and or heavy. This subgenre tends to have less blood and violence as it is more focused on paranormal events. The antagonists greatest weapon one could argue is the power to invade the mind of the protagonist and control their thoughts and emotions.

Sounds

For the musical soundtrack, it is conventional for this subgenre to use orchestral music as it suits the narrative of scene. Empathetic sound is used to reflect the mood of the characters in scenes of fear, panic and chaos. Contrapuntal sound (sound that doesn’t match the scene) is used to create a juxtaposition of sound and image, for instance, in this genre, especially ones that involve a child-ghost, you can create contrapuntal sound by adding sound  that is supposed to be sweet, innocent and endearing to a scene where something terrible is about to occur. Adding child’s laughter to a scene like this can make it appear sinister.
Other uses of sound, usually asynchronous and parallel include faint whispering, children’s laughter, crazed laughter, an old woman cackling, sounds like these are usually presented to us as we view the protagonist hearing them as if they are coming from another world.

Lighting

It is conventional to use backlighting in scenes where the spirit will not be exposed, we can only see the silhouette that has been created. Profile lighting is also used to make a character appear sinister; it indicates to audiences whether or not this person can be trusted. Under lighting is lighting that comes from a light source below, used in scenes of desperation, during blackouts of light, characters resort to torches, lanterns and candles to help them see.

In supernatural horrors it is conventional for the protagonist to experience cold, wet and stormy weather, as it re-enforces the turbulent, unsettling bluster of the plot. The main character is also likely to experience a power cut in their home, this promotes the childhood fear of the dark, making the character appear vulnerable and naive.