Researching Subgenres

 Let's Explore Subgenres 

    Hello! Since the last time I posted, I have come to a conclusion on what genre I am picking for my film. Between romance, action/adventure, and horror, I picked..... horror! 

    I decided to make a horror film because I myself have always loved watching them. So, I thought it would be amazing and such a great learning experience to be able to create one myself and discover everything that goes into creating a horror film. The first step is to pick a subgenre, so today I will be researching some subgenres that go with horror films.

~ Slasher

    Slasher films commonly include a masked killer, a group of vulnerable people, and graphic on-screen violence. They reached peak popularity through the 70s and 80s due to films like Halloween and Friday the 13th. 

    Unlike most movie genres and subgenres, the masked killer (antagonist) is the one who drives the action in a slasher film instead of the protagonist. Because the killers typically receive the most character development and the audience is often convinced to subconsciously root for the villain instead of the victims, film historians and theorists suggest that these killers take major roles in slasher films. For example, the most well-known characters in a slasher film are the killers, like Michael Myers (Halloween), Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and Ghostface (Scream).

Examples:  Scream VI                                                            Time Cut 

     .                             

Sources:

- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/film/slasher-film

- https://blogs.bsu.edu/dlr/2017/03/28/the-slasher-evolution/#:~:text=One%20could%20say%20that%20the,supernatural%20and%20paranormal%20(Wee).

~ Paranormal/Supernatural

    The paranormal/supernatural subgenre is the typical ghost, spirits, and demons in a horror movie. This deals with the supernatural and things that go outside the normal laws of nature. This started in the 1930s and 1940s, but it wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s that the standard trope of demonic possessions and haunting began to take off.

    The difference between this and a slasher film is that instead of going against normal human killers, the protagonists go against supernatural forces like unseen threats. Because of this, it leaves imagination to the audience, building up tension and fear. 

     These films usually include a common setting like haunted houses, abandoned places, or isolated locations. They often follow the same plot of confusion about what is going on, discovering, researching the paranormal, and then finally understanding and fighting it off. 

Examples:    Insidious- The Red Door    /    The Conjuring- Last Rites  

                                                                                                                                      

Sources:

- https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/subgenres-of-horror-films-explained/#:~:text=Paranormal%20horror%20is%20closely%20related,examples%20from%20the%20Paranormal%20subgenre.

- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/horror-stories

~ Comedy

    The subgenre comedy in a horror movie is meant to make the audience not only scream, but laugh as well by mixing humor with scary, suspenseful, or graphic moments. It works by mocking well-known movies, defying stereotypes, and using comedy to offer emotional relief from extreme fear. By doing this, a horror film can become more than just scary, but it can also take viewers on an emotional rollercoaster and increase the feeling of terror. The unpredictable emotional rollercoaster is part of what makes horror comedies appealing to viewers.

Examples:

       Boo! A Madea Halloween                                         Scary Movie 5

                              

Sources:

- https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199791286/obo-9780199791286-0077.xml#:~:text=obo/9780199791286%2D0077-,Introduction,the%20later%201980s%20and%201990s.

- https://simplyshocked.com/horror-comedy-slaughter-and-laughter-at-the-movies/#:~:text=Comedy%20comes%20in%20many%20forms,plenty%20of%20funny%20horror%20movies.

~ Rapping it up

    Overall, being able to research these horror subgenres helped me better understand the wide variety of different types of horror movies. Each one creates fear in a different way, from masked killers to unseen supernatural forces. Doing this research has given me a clearer idea of the direction I want to take for my own horror film. Now, I feel more comfortable choosing a subgenre that I could put my newfound research into.