Sub-Genre: Supernatural Horrors

Supernatural horrors are relevantly new in today's society, however, they are an interest of mine which is why I have chosen to base my horror movie around this genre. I enjoy all aspects of the horror genre, however, delving into super natural ideas such as spirits and witch crafts is something which I feel I will find much more enjoyable. Whist primarily provoking fear within their audience's with unkown threats, they also stimulate the audience's mind with physiological narratives and this is why I will find it extremely interesting to work with.

I have chosen to use the posters above both because they are very successful supernatural movies, but the first, paranormal activity has inspired me to choose this sub-genre. I am a big fan of the way in which the supernatural films create more fear due to the threat of the unknown, the characters behaviours become unpredictable because they loose the ability to fight back in anyway, the ability to escape becomes much harder, making this form of horror lead to a rise in my adrenaline whilst watching. I was fond of 'Paranormal Activity' because I thought the use of a unknown spirit was very effective and created tension extremely well. 'Insidious' appealed to the characters emotions as the narrative is based around a small child, I found this kept me locked into the narrative as I wanted to find out what the outcome of the child was and so I hope to achieve the same emotions with my trailer. 

Codes and Conventions of Supernatural Horrors

Location

Usually in a supernatural horror the torment takes place in the protagonist's home because it promotes fear of something unwanted and scary, invading your personal space and ironically causing you to feel terrified in the one place which is meant to comfort you and provide you security. This location also adds a sense of reality to the movie allowing the audience to carry their fear from the cinema to their homes.

< This is the location of 'The Amityville Horror' remake 2005, and it is also an example of a typical supernatural horror movie location.

Along with the protagonists house, other locations tend to be psychiatric hospitals as in horrors people who are possessed may be kept in one and also they are said to be haunted due to the terrible treatments the patients may have received.

< This is the location from grave encounters and is an example of how hospitals are also a popular venue for supernatural horrors.

Characters

The main characters are always 'normal' or 'everyday' people, this is so that the individual watching can feel closer, they can bond with the protagonist, which increases the fear of the audience knowing that this could happen to them. The reason that the supernatural genre stands out from all of the others is because the character has often done nothing wrong, they may have children or live in a suburban area which has never had any troubles before, this is why it may differ from another sub genre such as the slasher, in which the victim is chosen for some reason specifically. It soon unfolds that past experiences of the protagonist lead to the people in the town outkasting them, leaving them alone to find out the reason that the spirit it out for revenge. 

The character is also usually a female, this is due to the audience accepting a crying and emotional woman over a male, when the problems get too much, it would not be seen  as acceptable to some social groups if it was a male crying.

Costumes

The costumes in the supernatural horror tend to be non-existent, the protagonists clothing will be casual, wearing jeans and a t-shirt to show normality, this all adds to the idea that the spectator will become more afraid.  The main female will not wear anything provocative or any bright colours, she sticks to neutral tones or black clothing. Also the make-up of the female lead looks natural however when she is in a scene with the supernatural threat she tends to look unstable with messy hair and make-up.