horror films

Horror films are set in irrational, supernatural worlds to distinguish them from other genres like thrillers which for obvious reasons can be confused with one another. although the horror is set in an irrational world they often have rigid rules like werewolves can only be killed by a silver bullet or vampires a steak through the heart. their are often a lack of morals in a horror, in some cases the viewers may be encouraged to identify with the 'monster' and have sympathy towards him, thus enjoying the deaths of his victims. sub genres show certain conventions like isolated settings, indistructable monster and the themes at forbidden pleasure although alot of sub genres have conventions of their own.
APPEAL
while thrillers or gangster films can use conventions like suspense or cliff hangers, the aim of a horror is to frighten its audience and play with their emotions which are not typically associated with pleasure. this is the reason a horror should be well researched. what is the attraction of a horror? why does the audience enjoy being scared?

Play theory - Audiences enjoy the adrenaline rush
psychoanalytic account - allows audiences to grattify repressed desires.
fantasies of power - the reading suggests that we enjoy the power of the monster and are attracted by the monster's violation of social conventions.

Horrors are some of the most financially successful films in the industry, especially in the British film industry where films are generally unsuccessful. They tend to have a medium to l0w budget (in British cinema) but still tend to make a substantial amount of profit.

Audience
the audience for a horror film is often based upon by age and gender, when thinking about the audience for a horror it is important to consider the different audience members found in the same genre or film.

Defining a genre is never an easy thing to do, genres are constantly changing throughout hybrids and sub genres. a horror can be categorized through institutions and nationality. the recognisable category British horror shows that horror films are part of a national cinema which deals with the British audience in a distinctive style.