Gothic horror codes and conventions

Gothic horror codes and conventions

What is Gothic horror?

Gothic horror is a dark and mysterious genre for films that is mainly used in films where the main goal is to create tension and make the audience scared and frightened of what's going on in the scenes, it usually relates to either death, afterlife, or other supernatural ideals.

Conventions of a Gothic horror

• wild landscapes  
• remote or exotic locales
• dimly lit, gloomy settings  
• ruins or isolated crumbling castles or mansions   
• crypts, tombs  
• dungeons, torture chambers  
• dark towers, hidden rooms  
• secret corridors/passageways  
• dream states or nightmares  
• found manuscripts or artifacts  
• ancestral curses  
• family secrets  
• damsels in distress  
• marvellous or mysterious creatures, monsters, spirits, or strangers  
• enigmatic figures with supernatural powers   
• specific reference to noon, midnight, twilight (the witching hours)    
• unnatural acts of nature (blood-red moon, sudden fierce wind, etc.)

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is used a lot in Gothic horror because the use of all of its features, if used correctly, can really create a horrific atmosphere and a lot of tension.


Costume- The costume for Gothic horror is actually quite religious in one way or another, its mostly items to do with horror ideals, for example there is a lot of leather within the outfits and the main colours are black and red which to most people symbolize Gothic ideals like satanic views of similar ideas, they create a dark and mysterious feel to the characters in these costumes and can really apply a lot of drama to the performance.

Props- Props are also used a lot within the Gothic horror genre, things like knifes, baseball bats and other weapons are common props in this genre because it can show violence which is also another common theme of Gothic horror. Furthermore things like toys, teddy's and any other objects which could hold memories to someone are also used within this genre because it can really build a story and is very common when they story involves ghosts or haunting. They could also hold some insight to the story-line, for example, if a deceased child is the one haunting someone, but this hasn't been made clear to the audience, the excessive use of children's toys could suggest that a child is involved somewhere within the story. This could add to terror if a child is involved because not only could some people find it disturbing, but children are stereotypical innocent and seeing them completely contrast to stereotypes could really make the audience be on edge about what is going to happen next.

Make up- Make up isn't as clearly seen as much as the other sections of mise-en-scene, however it can also be really effective in certain types of Gothic horror, for example, ones that include vampires, ghosts or things related to people from the afterlife is very effective because it can make people look inhuman which is the whole idea, also it can really be useful in highlighting certain parts of the body like the eyes of someone to create a creepy and scary feel to them.

Setting- Setting is probably one of the most important things when it comes to creating a Gothic horror film. This is because its the thing that is always on screen, pretty much 100% of the time you can see the setting and in Gothic horror films, the setting is typically dark, gloomy, old and abandoned locations like a old mansion like the woman in black or the woods in the middle of no where with tall trees and no lights.

Hair- This can also be used to represent quite a dark and horrific feel towards characters because crazy/dirty hair and hairstyles can show these people are not ordinary or have something wring with them and can also imply a atmosphere of horror because they're unpredictable.

Colour- This is quite a simple yet effective feature of Gothic horrors, typically we see a lot of dull and dark colours like black, grey, brown and so on. This creates a dark and gloomy feel to the movies and can leave an audience scared and also creeped out because anything bad could happen when a lot of dark colours are on screen, also most villains, monsters in Gothic horrors wear a lot of black clothing because it creates a sense of mystery and also a edgy atmosphere.

Performance- Performance is quite key in Gothic horrors because this genre relies a lot on characters which don't show much emotions and also can create a uncomfortable atmosphere for an audience without even speaking, a performance which doesn't show any emotion makes a character hard to understand and also makes his/her actions unexplainable at times which can really make the audience on edge because this character is unpredictable and un-human. It can even make some of the audience uneasy and uncomfortable with that character. This could be useful because when they are on screen because you as a view could tell something bad is about to happen but you don't know what. Without a good performance this genre would not create a horrific atmosphere and would spoil the horror filled side of these films.

Editing

The editing in this genre involves quite quick and fast paced edits like jump shots, wipes and montages, this is because these fast paced edits create tension which is key to the Gothic horror genre and it also allows the audience to keep up with some of the fast paced events going on within the scene. Making a scene slow paced is also another common feature within this genre because of the tension and spooky atmosphere it can create, usually moments before something bad is going to happen or someone/something is about to jump out at the main protagonist, the shot will go into slow motion, this is so the audience can not only see whats going on, but also so they can see emotions through characters facial expressions and also to prolong someone/something entering a scene just a little bit longer so everyone in the audience can see it and see whats about to happen.

Sound

The sound in Gothic horrors plays a big part in creating atmosphere and tension within this genre, usually the sound within this genre is fast paced and quite loud because it makes the audience jump and also represents the events going on within the films because things can change from good to bad in this genre very quickly, this is also why sound is useful, because it usually represents a event that is going to happen. Typically a choir or piano is used.

Camera shots

Finally camera also plays a big part within this genre, handheld, zoom and birds eye establishing shots are typically most used within this genre to make the audience really feel a part of the film and to create a horrific atmosphere for the audience and makes them feel closer to the characters and therefore closer to the emotions portrayed by the actors and the genre itself.