A convention is something that you would typically see in the film/tv show/movie etc. It is what you expect from the type of movie you are watching, (E.g. A vampire can not tough sunlight ; A demon can not enter a church.) You would expect a horror movie to be scary. You would expect a Comedy film to be funny. But for this task, I must look at more specific conventions for horror movies, more specifically, Supernatural Horror movies.
What would you expect to be in a typical supernatural horror movie?
- The first impression of the paranormal spirit (antagonist) is negative and confusing as to why it is tormenting seemingly 'normal' people. Later on in the film, we will, with the aid of the protagonist(s), discover the purpose and reasons behind why this spirit is doing this.
- During the movie, we will expect to meet a wide range of characters. Typical character for a Supernatural Horror movie can be 'the non-believer' ; 'the believer' ; 'the innocent child(ren)' ; 'the priest' ; 'the old lady' ; 'the paranoid teenager(s)' ; ' the idiot' and, of course, 'The haunting Spirit'.
as arrogant or naïve.
The believer: This will be the person who believes there is a spirit/somebody haunting a specific area, typically an old, abandoned house within the area.
The innocent child(ren): These children will be there to represent innocents, and will usually result in their deaths. Producers choose to use children in these movies as the audience will be more fearful for the child, than they will for an adult.
The Priest: This will be the person, usually a guy, that the believer will turn to, in order to get rid of(via
something along the lines of an exorcism), or communicate with the/that spirit. However, in a typical supernatural horror, the haunted character/believer will not be able to purge themselves of that spirit.
The old lady: This will be that old lady that warns everyone of the threat, but has been deemed as
crazy or mentally ill. As you get further into the film, you will realize that everything she had been saying has come true.
The paranoid teenager(s): These characters will be the first ones to find the spirit trough something like a dare to go into the haunted building, or being dared to play with a Ouija Board- summoning the spirit to their location.
The idiot: This will be the person who walks right into the danger, or the person who does something to deliberately annoying the spirit. This character will usually end up dead by the end of the movie.
The haunting spirit: This will be the spirit/supernatural being, typically a female, that will haunt and mess around with the other characters in the film. The film will be based on he discovery of both the spirit, and the spirits schemes, ideas, actions and reasons.
