the deluge

Our  finished product, the deluge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSQlxHguq0

In what ways foes your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what ways foes your media product use, develop or challenge forms and  conventions of real media products?

After my research into various teen horror films I have come to understand a large amount of these genre conventions. For example, a girl alone in I her own house is often a staple of the genre. Films such as scream depict this, with Casey home alone when the killer strikes. We have gone with a similar approach for our horror opening. Another convention of the horror genre that I have learned is the use of foreshadowing. If a character drinks, smokes, does drugs or has sex, they will die. Another good example is a nightmare on Elm Street where Tina and rod have sex, and are later killed. Another key convention of the horror genre is the final girl. As the title suggests, one girl survives the antagonist’s attacks and overcomes him. She usually doesn’t break any of the horror convention rules, such as drinking and smoking.

For our horror film, I planned to conform to the conventions of horror. As the audience we have aimed at is between the ages 16 and 18, we didn’t want anything that was to challenging to horror conventions, as this could alienate the audience. It would be best to keep to these conventions, as they also give a foundation to build a story and the murders that take place on. If we leave the conventions as they traditionally are, we can focus more on making the death scenes interesting and the scares more shocking.

The title of our horror film, the deluge, links in to the events that happen in our film. For example in our opening the protagonist Marie gets stabbed and then drowned in her bath. The deluge can have the definition of ‘to flood, as with water; soak, swamp, or drown’. In this case, the deluge translates to ‘the drowning’, as this state’s what is happening to the killer’s victims. Naming the film after events that take place or the subject in question is a very conventional technique. For example films such as the Blair witch project and a nightmare on Elm Street do this, the titles mention on events or aspects of the film.

We have also gone with very conventional character types in our opening scene. We are using a antagonist who’s identity is kept secret using a cloak. We also have a female victim who is home alone and subsequently gets killed.  In the rest of the film we are also going to use a final girl, a typical convention of the horror genre.

We have also used a very conventional location for our film, an isolated house. This is very conventional, as a large amount of horror films have an emphasis on being alone, as it makes for a scary atmosphere. We also filmed the death scene in the bathroom. this is significant as the bathroom is an area of the house where most people feel secure. By having the protagonist brutally murdered here makes this once safe area of the house scary. It is also a slight reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s psycho, where one of the characters is famously murdered while showering. It is also a slight reference to the shining, which features a protagonist hiding in the bathroom while the antagonist tries to break in using an axe.

Overall, I feel that our horror is successful in setting out what we intended to do with the conventions of teen horror. This is primarily due to our film conforming to the genre in order for the audience to be able to understand its themes better. By conforming to the conventions, the audience can focus more on the deaths of characters, as well as the fear that the antagonist brings to the scenes he is in.

prelim task

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2n3qRE6L38&NR=1

this is a link to our preliminary task that we did at the beginning of the year

Marie’s costume:

Marie is not going to be the final girl she needs to be established as the victim opposed to Stacey who will be the final girl. Marie is going to a party and we have put a shot of an alcohol bottle in one shot this establishes that she is not innocent because of this I feel we need to dress her in clothes that suggest this without being to over the top.

As we want to represent the teenagers to be good, although Marie is slightly more rebellious we don’t want to establish the teenagers in our film as rebellious. Due to this we decided although it is a party we do not want to dress Marie in clothes that make her look promiscuous,  a red coat to go over the top of Marie’s clothing looks casual and realistic as she will be walking to the party. The colour red also indicates blood, romance and femininity which we want to be a sharp contrast to Stacey who will be wearing white to connote her pureness.

Leggings are common clothing staple for many teenagers and they also are quite glamorous, these make Marie look confident as this type of clothing is tight but also she doesn’t look over the top against her peers.  

      

A black vest top is also a staple in any teenager’s wardrobe, it is dark so it suggests Marie is slightly dark that she has a dark streak, it also connotes death as this is the colour that people were at funerals traditionally. The vest top is also revealing of the shoulders which suggests Marie’s need for attention as she want people to notice her. This top matches her leggings and will look like she is going out rather than just staying in.

High heeled shoes are common in party clothing, they are slightly promiscuous and will connote that Marie is slightly more rebellious than her peers.

We are not yet sure if we are going to include what Stacey is wearing, if there is no shot of her outfit we have decided that she will type to Marie a description of her outfit e.g. a white dress. If we do decide on including a shot we are going to have her dressed in an outfit like this:

This white dress is floaty and white; white suggests purity which is what we want for Stacey as she will be the final girl and conventionally the final girl will be virginal and innocent.

Blue denim jeans are a common item for any teenage boy, we do not want to make the boyfriend appears suspicious as we want to rule him out as a suspect immediately but still have an element of did he have do it? Involved.

This t shirt is similar to one we are going to use as it is generic of a male’s casual clothing and is also young and fashionable so it will suit our character of Marie’s boyfriend; the t-shirt suggests a sort of rebellious party boy he suits Marie as it is suggestive of her rebellious nature also.

These trainers are generic and a standard item of footwear for trainers this doesn’t suggest that the person wearing them is sporty as many teenagers do still wear these as a fashion item.

This is the killer’s watch that will signify him and can bring in other characters as suspects of the killing. The killer will wear this watch however many characters will also have this watch as it is popular amongst young people and doesn’t look to out of place against general clothing.

This dark black cloak is vital in masking the villains identity it also puts the audience on edge and it makes them feel insecure as not knowing who they are looking at creates an enigma.  A cloak is stereotypical of vampires and villains such as the grim reaper which signifies death; Dracula (1939) is an example of a horror film which uses a cloak.    

Dracula                                                                    

            The grim reaper  

                                                                                                 

Question 6 what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 6 what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Using blogs to upload our work and track others work is a very useful tool to have. It has allowed us to easily change our initial film ideas to newer, more refined ones. It has allowed easy feedback from teachers and students, which has the ability to increase the quality of my work. By having all of my work together in one place I can see what I've done and what work I still have left to do.

Youtube has helped me a great deal while making this product. It has allowed me to view film openings and endings, which I have written pieces of work on. It has also allowed me to listen to soundtracks and try and find the right one for my film. Furthermore it has allowed me to watch my own product after editing had finished, which make acquiring screenshots for other pieces of work simple and hassle free.

 

IMDB has given me a wealth of info concerning teenage horrors and there ratings from various age groups. It has helped with institutional information. It has also helped me identify what subgenre of horror a film is classed as. Overall it has been a great support to my research. I have learned that IMDB is a very respected source of data, as it almost always accurate, making it my go to choice for information about this project.

Without the cameras, we couldn’t have shot our footage; they are an essential part of this project. They are very user friendly, and work without fail, capturing high definition 720p footage. They’re small and light, and don’t take up much room, ideal as some of the locations that we filmed at were quite cramped. The most helpful function that these cameras have is the ability to instantly rewatch footage. This allows for the identification of mistakes which can then lead to a quick retake. It is a lot more effective than having to schedule another shoot because one key shot went wrong and it was only noticed in editing. I have learnt the importance of using a tripod with them as well, as this makes filming easier and gives a better finished product.

For our editing procedure we used adobe premier elements. I have learned to do a great deal of things from this piece of software. Some of these are, editing, fading in and out of a shot, adding titles, adding sound and effects, adding tints to specific shots and adjusting lighting and contrast in specific shots. The editing tool is just as important to the production of our horror opening as the camera. Without it, our footage would look very basic and would lack any dramatic effect. This is due to not being able to puts shots together in a way that allows the pace of the footage to be controlled.   

Question 5 how did you attract / address your audience?

Question 5 how did you attract / address your audience?

In order to attract our audience we used many elements in our film. For example, to allow the audience to relate to the character of Marie (the protagonist of the opening 2 minutes). This is because she is a regular teenager about to go to party, like most teenagers do. This relation will be sure to attract our teenage audiences, as it appeals to them directly. Another way we have managed to attract our audience is to focus the film on the subgenres that they prefer. These are slasher and psychological subgenres. By doing this and catering to their desires, we have increased the likelihood of them watching the film, and getting more people to come and watch it.

In order to gain extra attention to our film, we have included various intertextual references to various other well known horror films. One of these is the naming and fate of our opening protagonist Marie. This is short for Marion, the name of the first victim in Alfred Hitchcock’s psycho. Also in a reference to the film psycho and Marion crane, Marie dies in a bathroom, just like her namesake did. Another intertextual reference we have made is to the film scream. Just like our film, there is a killer in the house, who wears a cloak similar to ghost face. In a subtler reference to scream, our killer tries to get in contact with the victim, but she is away from her phone at the time, so cannot pick it up.

 

In our opening 2 minutes of footage I think that there are a few themes that are portrayed very well. One of these is perception. As the world is just the figment of one of the other characters imagination, we have put a strong emphasis on eyes. We have a shot where Marie puts on makeup, with the focus of the shot on her eyes. This is showing that the things the audience is seeing aren’t actually real. Another example of this is when the killer runs behind Marie from left to right. When she goes to the right outside the hall to investigate, the killer comes from the left again. This looks like a continuity error, but is actually showing that the world in which the characters exist can be altered in ways that defy the laws of physics. Themes of escapism are also featured, although cannot be seen, as the final girl Stacey is in an insane asylum. The film plays out in her head as she is insane, and she lives in this world to escape reality, a life she hates and has lost control of. This gives the film a postmodern feel, the audience watches the film as a form of escapism, while the world they are escaping to is a world that the main character of Marie is also escaping to. It allows parallels to be made between the audience and the final girl.

We have received lots of feedback regarding our 2 minute opening. A good aspect people told us was how the death scene was done, the use of camera angles and music. They also noted on the fact that the colour drained out of the scene where Marie was getting stabbed. The negatives included some bad sound effects (such as Maries gasp when the killer runs past her) as well as irregular pacing just before the killer strikes. The strengths of targeting 16 to 18 year olds are that they are very willing to give constructive criticism on how to improve our product. They are also easily pleased, as simple ideas can be enough entertainment for them. Conversely, if they are given a film that is too complicated and some of the more subtle features may be lost on them, lessening the films potential.

Engaging the audience through the opening sequence is essential. It needs to draw them in and immerse them into the viewing experience. If they aren’t interested from the first 2 minutes, chances are they won’t connect with the film, and this might end up in them disliking it. If the audience isn't immersed, they will also have trouble connecting with the protagonists, making their plights less terrifying.

Question 4 who would be the audience for your media product?

Question 4 who would be the audience for your media product?
To find out who our audience should be for our horror film, I have studied similar horrors and discovered the age of those who have seen them. To do this I am using IMDB’s user ratings section a film that is similar to ours is scream. With this post modern film, the younger the viewer, the better received it was. Both genders under 18 scored it with an average of 8, whereas both genders over the age of 45 scored it a 6.7. This might be due to scream being a teen horror, enticing teens to it more as they can relate.

Another film teen horror that I have collected audience viewer rating for is a nightmare on Elm Street. Just like scream, the younger the audience, the better the review scores. Users under 18 gave it a score of 8.3. Conversely users over the age of 45 only gave it a 6.9. Again, this difference in scores can be associated with the fact that ‘nightmare’ is a teen horror film, allowing teen audiences to relate to it.







 Another teen horror that I have collected viewer data on is prom night, a teen slasher. For audiences under 18, females preferred it more than males. This is most likely due to being able to relate to the films protagonist. Throughout all of the age ranges, females rated the film higher than men.

These results that I have gathered have actually had very little effect on the audience I planned to target with my horror film. As our film is fundamentally a teen horror (despite elements of slasher and psychological) it will be aimed at a teen audience, around 16 to 18 years of age. By doing this we can have an audience that can relate to our product in ways an older audience cant, making the fear the film makes people feel more personal.

With reference to the data I have collected with my questionnaires, I believe my horror film would target a very specific age range. This would be teens between 16 and 18, as they would be able to relate to the films events more than someone who is a lot older. It would also focus on a male audience more than it would a female one. This is due to having primarily female victims, which is what males prefer. They also prefer elements of the slasher subgenre and violent murder scenes. This is a contrast to the females in my questionnaire results, who preferred male victims and more focus on the psychological side of horror. This would be appropriate as the results of my questionnaires show that this is what the audience would prefer to see. The other way in which we could classify our audience is by their social status. The social status that would be most suited to our horror film would be mainstreamers. People who visit the cinema a lot and choose to watch films that are heavily advertised or by what a friend has recommended.

Question 3 what kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

Question 3 what kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

despite our low budget and lack of tools such as mics, lighting rigs and sets, our horror film is undoubtedly mainstream. Our film would be considered mainstream for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it follows many of the conventions of a teen horror. One such example of this is our main character for our opening (Marie) being completely isolated from physical communication. While she does text someone near the beginning of our footage, we don’t know who it is to. She has no bonds with any developed characters in the footage, as she (other than the killer) is the only character. We portray her house as empty by having almost the entire upper floor of the house in our footage, providing visual evidence that she is alone. This is backed up by the fact she gets a phone call from her own home. This make the audience think something is wrong, as getting a phone call from your own house while you are in it is a strange occurrence. The victim of the killing in our opening is female, again, going by the conventions of the teen subgenre. She is stereotyped as a vulnerable defenceless female, unable to defend herself.

Another convention of mainstream teen horror is subtle foreshadowing to upcoming events. Mainstream films such as scream foreshadow Casey’s death by being stabbed in a shot where a knife block is what the shot is focused upon

scream also has foreshadowing for caseys death, where there is a shot that focuses on  a swing from a branch outside of her house. This indicates that Casey will be hanged from here.

scream opening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsksjUVpWcg

For our horror opening we decided to utilize similar foreshadowing. On Maries computer there is an image of a waterfall, signifying she will be drowned. She also makes frequent trips into the bathroom, to add make up and to collect things for when she goes out. The third time she enters the bathroom, she is killed. 

On the other hand though, our film could be perceived as independent. This is due to complete lack of budget (we spent nothing), one HD camera, one tripod and some average editing software. We had no paid actors or anyone with actual experience; it was also set in one of our group members houses, using only 3 rooms. We also had to add a great deal of sound effects in editing, as we had no mic for recording. Overall, our film is very much mainstream due to the content of the footage, but the equipment we had would represent an independent film.


To gain interest from production companies, we could enter various film festivals to attract attention. As our film is a horror, the screamfest horror film festival would be an ideal festival to be able to show our film at. In its 10 year history, it has introduced some major horror films to the world. The most notable of these include paranormal activity, 28 days later and wrong turn. One of the positives about using the screamfest horror film festival is they are prepared to take on films that many other festivals turn down. The best example of this is paranormal activity, which only got accepted by the screamfest festival, as no one else would show it.

Another way to try and get our film recognised by potential production companies is to enter in a bigger named festival for example, the Cannes film festival. This festival is very popular and attracts a great amount of potential from production companies. Films that manage to win the coveted Palme d’Or always gain lots of hype and word of mouth about the film’s success has the potential to attract companies to our film. However, it would be more likely for us to win the Cinéfondation award (prizes for student films). This award fits our film and we would have a greater chance of winning. Just like winning the Palme d’Or, this would gain our film lots of hype and word of mouth would get it recognized.

There are multiple ways in which we could generate buzz or hype for our film. To do this we could post our 2 minute opening on a well known site such as YouTube or a social networking site such as facebook. The buzz that this would generate could be increased by using these sites to our films advantage. We could post a status that asks for a specific amount of likes or subscriptions (for YouTube) to unlock a full trailer with another minute or so of footage.  

We could also utilize viral marketing to gain buzz for our film. We could have an interactive ‘uncover the killer’ style Easter egg hunt, spread out over multiple websites. This not only fits with our theme of a serial killer, but could also be used to add backstory to our plot. This technique was successfully used by cloverfield, where information that could be linked to the monsters origins was available for those who looked into the various websites enough. This could successfully generate buzz for our film. 

Question 2 how does your media product represent particular groups?

Question 2 how does your media product represent particular groups?

For our horror film we decided to try and represent a normal teenager, as opposed to a specific social group. This is due to the fact that the audience would find it easier to relate to an average teenager, as that character would be very similar to them. This would then make the events that the characters endure much more horrifying, as they could relate and put themselves in their position. This was based on evidence I collected from other teen horror films such as scream, where the majority of the cast are just regular teenagers, going about doing what regular teenagers do ( go to parties, go to school etc). we have represented Marie as a generic teen by outfitting her in usual teen clothing. She is wearing sparkly top, tights and blue shoes, items of clothing that most teenagers would wear.

Despite being very black and white, the representations of good and evil in our film can appear to be quite deep. Despite the fact that she is now about to go to a party (which will involve drink and drugs) the protagonist in the opening scene Marie hasn’t actually done anything wrong. All she is doing is getting ready to go out, and isn't seen drinking, smoking or doing drugs while she is on screen. She is definitely the personification of the innocent victim. The killer and antagonist is represented as soulless and evil. He breaks into an innocent teenagers home and proceeds to kill her, with little motive shown at this point in the film. The killer wears black to symbolize his antagonistic role, which can also represent death. His cloak and hood make him very similar to the grim reaper in some ways, as both take lives with little remorse.

 

Marie, the protagonist and victim of our opening scene, is depicted very stereotypically as a vulnerable and unintelligent female. Despite being home alone, she fails to lock her doors, allowing the killer to enter easily and kill her. The killer is considerably stronger than her, as he manages to attack her and knock her to the ground with ease with so much force that she can’t get back up. She is ultimately defenceless and at the mercy of the clearly superior killer.
Overall I believe that we have created a positive representation of the general teenage social class. At no point while on screen does Marie drink, smoke, do drugs or break any of the rules of horror films.

Questionnaire analysis

Questionnaire analysis

I handed out my questionnaire to 20 people in order to collect data for analysis. I hope to use this data to create the best footage I can for my horror opening.

How old are you?

By learning the gender of the people doing my questionnaire, I can understand why they have chosen the answers that they have. Generally, males like lots of blood and gore in there horrors, while females like more psychological films which also make the audience think. For example, the gender of the victim was chosen to be female, with 18 people preferring this. This shows that the results being dominated by more males than females, as every one of the males who gave their opinions chose a female victim.
Do you prefer the victim of a horror to be male or female?

Based on the data collected, I have decided it would be best to have a female victim in our horror opening. If many females are killed throughout our film, and we utilize the final girl, it would make her look stronger; as she would be the only female overcome the antagonist and survive. This would allow the final girl to look strong, and make our victim in the opening suited to the audiences taste, as she would be female.

 Are you an internet user?

As our desired audience is between 16 and 18, using the internet to advertise our film would be a very strong idea, and an easy and cheap way to gain publicity. However if no one of that age range uses the internet then the whole idea would be pointless. Thankfully, everyone who took part in my questionnaire was in the age range and all used the internet. This would allow us to advertise and generate buzz for our film a lot more easily.
 What is you favourite horror film, if any?

While almost half of the people asked said that they didn’t have a favourite horror film, those that did provided excellent data for me. 3 people said nightmare on Elm Street and 5 said scream. As both of these are teen horrors, these results have given us 2 films to draw inspiration from. The majority of both of these films also take place in the common home, giving us a great setting to shoot our footage in. 3 people also chose independent hit film paranormal activity. This is useful for us as paranormal activity is also set in a house, and plays on a fear of what isn't seen, a technique our film could use to add to the fear.

Do you visit any of these websites on a daily basis?

Knowing what sites our age range visits most on a regular basis allows us to choose which sites we use our advertising. As the data shows, sites like MySpace and bebo would be pointless, as none of our participants use them. On the other hand, facebook and hotmail wound be excellent, as they are used by all of our participants and are often visited many times a day to check for status updates etc.

Do you own any of the following?

Knowing what items people own that are capable of video playback is very useful. It allows us to make trailers and advertising that the audience is able to watch at any time. This is especially apparent for mobile devices, as people can watch them on the go, as well as share them with their friends.
Which subgenre of horror do you prefer?

By understanding what subgenre our age range prefers, we can create a film which suits their tastes, resulting in a more enjoyable viewing experience. The most preferred subgenre was slasher; this is most likely due to the large amount of males who took part in this questionnaire. Second was psychological, due to its complex and involving narrative. Monster films were least preferred, which is useful, as making a costume for a monster would be difficult and time consuming. Apocalyptic was liked, but not enough for me to choose it as the subgenre for our footage. This is due to needing lots of extras to play zombies, as well as having to prepare all their costumes.
Identify the main conventions of horror films

When the questionnaire asked the participants to write down the conventions of horror, all of them wrote down blood gore, death and false scares. As this is what they perceive to be fundamental conventions of the genre, it would be best to include them in our film. Including a death would be good, as it allows our opening scene to build to the death of a character. Just over half of them said a villain who’s identity was concealed. This is something that we could also incorporate into our film, as it would make our antagonist stand out more, and add a layer of suspense. This could be used to tie into a psychological theme as well.

With the information collected, I have now decided that using a female victim, concealed killer, and elements of the slasher and psychological subgenres. This should help the film appeal to the audience that it is aimed at. Furthermore, the choices made are all easy enough to do, unlike making a monster horror, which involves making the costume and is time consuming and expensive.

Sub genres of horror

Sub genres of horror

Like all genres, horror can be categorized into many different sub genres. Using research and our questionnaire results that I have analysed, I have found the most popular sub genres of horror. Using this data we have also decided on what subgenre our horror film will be.

Subgenres

Slasher

The slasher subgenre of horror is often defined by its killer. Ask a regular film watcher to name characters from a nightmare on Elm Street and chances are the first person they will mention will be Freddy Kruger. The same can be said for Friday the 13^th, Jason is iconically known, whereas his victims are often forgettable characters. They often appear as unstoppable and superior, making them a formidable foe. Their desire to kill what seems to be anything with a pulse is often associated with a childhood trauma or mental disability. The weapon of choice for the killer is often something that allows them to get up close and personal, such as a knife. This adds to the fear factor, as it forces the protagonists into situations where they are confronted and must escape imminent danger. The killer would be far less menacing if he used guns, as it would take away the need to confront his victims.

The killer’s victims are usually those who break the ‘rules’ of the horror convention. Drinking, smoking, doing drugs and having sex almost always results in death. The victims are also often young attractive teenagers, and the slasher subgenre often overlaps with the teen subgenre in this respect. Slasher films often star a heroine who becomes the ‘final girl’ who goes against her drinking smoking friends and doesn’t break the conventions ‘rules’ resulting in her survival. Plot and character development are rendered relatively meaningless, as characters are often killed quickly, sometimes within minutes of appearing. To counter this, deaths almost always contain lots of blood, gore and creativity.
Examples of the slasher genre

A nightmare on Elm Streetthe teenage victims drink and have sex, leading to their deaths. The killer is iconic (Freddy) kills with a glove of knives and is perceived as unstoppable. This is due to the fact that he kills in his victims dreams, effectively making him not real. His killings are to avenge his own death, and are very creative and bloody.


Psychodespite having elements of psychological horror, psycho is definitely a slasher film. Marion has sex at the beginning of the film with her boyfriend, foreshadowing her death. This is because she has broken one of the horror ‘rules’. The killer viciously stabs his victims with a knife. He performs these killings due to trauma when a child, where he flipped and killed his mother and her lover. Like most slashers, the killer gains for fame than the victims, and becomes iconic of that series, his victims are often forgettable.

Apocalyptic

The apocalyptic subgenre is defined by character development and unfavourable odds. Often, the virus comes about, with the protagonists unaware of what it does (eg turns people into zombies) how it does it and what the cure is.  Zombies are often the primary antagonists, and in contrast to slasher films, there are usually hordes of enemies opposing the protagonists. This puts the heroes in situations with unfavourable odds and, while often physically and mentally superior, they are almost always outnumbered by a vast degree. The objective is never to try to eradicate the opposition; it is to survive, often while waiting for a savior to their plight. These unfavourable odds are often coupled with lack of supplies (eg food) poor conditions for survival and a lack of ways to defend themselves. Almost always the protagonists are in a group which dwindles in numbers as the film progresses. The ‘leader’ of the group is often an average person (such as an office worker) who steps up to the challenges and hardships that they’re faced with. They are often more competent than those with actual training, such as police officers and soldiers.

Often in the post apocalyptic sub genre, the zombies aren’t the real antagonist. The real foes are the survivors, betraying each other for personal gain; the zombies are merely an allegory for humanities self conflict, even in times of desperate need.  

Examples of apocalyptic horror
28 days laterthe small group of 4 aim to travel to Manchester (there savior) the protagonist knows very little about the virus as he has awoken from a coma. After meeting the soldiers, they fight against them with the zombies as an allegory for self conflict. This is because the soldiers are the real antagonist.



 I am legenda man believes himself to be the only remaining survivor in the world after a cancer cure gone wrong kills or mutates everyone into creatures called dark seekers. Despite being a scientist, he is well trained and armed, but is focused on survival against unfavourable odds. Despite knowing what caused the virus, he doesn’t initially know that there are other with immunity too. The savior that he is waiting for is using his blood to find a cure to the virus. The mutants represent mans desire for control and try and play god.

Psychological

Psychological horror has a strong focus upon the protagonist’s mental state, with significantly less focus put upon gore or bloody killings. It can relate to the audience, due to the ability to play on common fears and phobias to great effect. Gore and cheap jump scares aren’t used, but genuinely disturbing fear of the unknown or something that the protagonist wishes to repress, such as bad memories and regrets. Supernatural elements can feature, but the majority of psychological horror takes the form of realistic locations, antagonists and scenarios. Realism is strived for, and locations like schools, warehouses, hospitals and the woods are all staples of the genre. This is due to their everyday use in society, they seem ordinary and normal which makes them scarier when negative events occur in them.

Huge emphasis is placed on what isn't seen and what could be lurking in the shadows. Emotionally unstable protagonists build up suspense as their own perceptions and fears overcome them, as well as the audience who can relate in various ways. The killer is more often to be a child than other subgenres, destroying their stereotyped image of cute and harmless.Examples of psychological horror:
the Blair witch projectthe killer (whoever it may be) is never seen, no one gets stabbed, there are no jump scares or cheap tactics, just 3 students lost in the woods. The fear of what is in the dark is heavily played upon.

Paranormal activity

The demon that haunts Katie is invisible, as only torments them during the night, playing on the fear of darkness. The safety of the home and the bedroom is destroyed by the demons attacks.