The lighting of a horror film usually centres around darkness, gloomy rooms and nightfall portray this well. Lights are often used carefully to throw mysterious shadows.
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| Shadow play in Nosferatu (1922) |
The threat or antagonist in most horror films usually remains hidden for some time only shown in half darkness, a mask or simply a disguised voice in some examples.
The costumes of the protagonists conventionally are average common clothes, making them relatable and increasing the fear that the horrific situation could happen to someone just like you. The antagonist on the other hand varies. In the past the villain would mainly be as weird and abnormal as possible and their costume reflects this, real monsters or the deranged. Nowadays the dynamic of the horror film antagonist is diverse; it is not unusual to see commonly costumed villains with hidden psychotic intent. This could increase how scary they are too though, putting fears into people that the villain could be any usual person so the threat is unexpected.
Costume make up also plays a large role in how a villain is represented; paleness and dark shadowy eyes are a common convention depending on the type of antagonist.
Props in horror films have become important for the genre’s symbolism such as the knife signifying the sub-genre slasher films entailing blood and murder. The Christ’s cross symbolising the anti-evil that the horror contains.
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| The Chucky series is a great example of using horror conventions to create a gruesome looking antagonist. The film also shows knives prominently a icon of a 'Slasher' film. |
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