I did some research as to how the audience view the horror genre and what they think makes a good horror film. The aim is to see how we could improve our production in the future and to see how we can appeal to the audience.
I first asked multiple people the following questions.
Do you watch horror films?
If No: What is your favourite genre?
If Yes: What is the main thing you like about horror films?
Which is your favourite horror film and why?
Which is your least favourite horror film and why?
What do you think makes a good horror film?
Where do you prefer watching films? e.g. Cinema or Home
Do you prefer watching them alone or with friends?
If they watch films at home: What do you watch your films on? Do you use any services? e.g. Netflix on PS3 or Pc.
I asked a total of 28 people quick questions on if they like horror films or not, these are the results from that.
Most males like horror films as do most of the females I asked, however more females also disliked the horror genre compared to the males as shown above.
One person who I interviewed was Georgia Sharp who said she enjoyed horror films and her favourite series of films was the Chucky films. She liked the idea of a twisted doll with a sense of humour that killed people, creating an awkward situation in which the audience should be against the killer doll, but instead end up laughing at how he performs his kills.
She also talked about her least favourite film that she has seen lately called The Last Excorcism. She talked about how the film was more of a documentary with 15 minutes of actual scares, the film overall bored her and did not do a good job in retaining interest or tension.
She also believes that horror films need to be more engaging and apply more to the current audience. Varied sub-genres can also be coupled with the genre but need to be done so carefully. Creating a good balance where the sub-genre breaks up the tension during the film can make for some very effective horror moments. Georgia prefers watching horror films at home, and if she could she would use a movie rental system such as Netflix.
Her opinions on the films how ever conflict with the critical reception. The chucky series has been noted for being funny but nothing scary after the original Childs Play series, although the first Child play film did gather positive reception, scoring 63% on Rotten tomatoes. The last Exorcism has a better critical reception of 73%, being noted for using clever techniques to scare the audience. Being noted for its interesting characters.
Critical Reception and the audiences reception differ greatly, personal opinion often conflict amongst other personal opinions and sometimes with movie critics opinions. A film I could also compare to chucky that utilizes comedy within horror is American Psycho. A film about the twisted son of a wall street financer, who does a variety of terrible things to victims, without provocation. The film uses comedy to develop the characters insanity and set apart sequences, making the audience laugh at disgusting moments of the film.
To further develop on personal views Emma, Georgia and Myself talked about the horror genre and our personal favourite films.
I also discussed films with some other friends, consisting of boys we all found watching films together was mainly for laughs, therefore we have never watched a serious horror film together, rather bad horror films to laugh at. We preferred watching horror films alone or in small groups. Usually a good horror film sets everyone up to watch other movies that don't require as much focus as a horror film does. Watching a horror film with a mixed gender group can also ensure some scares during the film.
Another thing I would like to compare horror films to is horror games. Games such as Amnesia The Dark Descent rely on the helplessness of the player who must avoid danger at all costs because they cannot fight it. If a monster or danger is encountered then the player is forced into hiding or running, films could utilise this as well. Having helpless main protagonists is the usual deal with a film, however more often then not these characters fall to the danger at hand. Using phobias such as claustrophobia the main character could be forced into a position where they must hide in a tight spot while the danger approaches and searches for them. Although the more cliché scenario this can explored further, exploiting other phobias or creating phobias, exploring multiple fears in a film will appeal fear wise to a wider audience which will in turn be a much more enjoyable film. Much like a game where lots of scares are explored, such as a mod for the pc game Half Life 2 called Nightmare House 2, which delves into many different categories of fear and phobias.
Film makers also must make sure they are not afraid to produce their film for a mature audience, as of late films have been toning down certain aspects of the movie so that the rating allows for a wider audience, this can lead to a negative reception if the plot does not suit it.
I first asked multiple people the following questions.
Do you watch horror films?
If No: What is your favourite genre?
If Yes: What is the main thing you like about horror films?
Which is your favourite horror film and why?
Which is your least favourite horror film and why?
What do you think makes a good horror film?
Where do you prefer watching films? e.g. Cinema or Home
Do you prefer watching them alone or with friends?
If they watch films at home: What do you watch your films on? Do you use any services? e.g. Netflix on PS3 or Pc.
I asked a total of 28 people quick questions on if they like horror films or not, these are the results from that.
One person who I interviewed was Georgia Sharp who said she enjoyed horror films and her favourite series of films was the Chucky films. She liked the idea of a twisted doll with a sense of humour that killed people, creating an awkward situation in which the audience should be against the killer doll, but instead end up laughing at how he performs his kills.
She also talked about her least favourite film that she has seen lately called The Last Excorcism. She talked about how the film was more of a documentary with 15 minutes of actual scares, the film overall bored her and did not do a good job in retaining interest or tension.
She also believes that horror films need to be more engaging and apply more to the current audience. Varied sub-genres can also be coupled with the genre but need to be done so carefully. Creating a good balance where the sub-genre breaks up the tension during the film can make for some very effective horror moments. Georgia prefers watching horror films at home, and if she could she would use a movie rental system such as Netflix.
Her opinions on the films how ever conflict with the critical reception. The chucky series has been noted for being funny but nothing scary after the original Childs Play series, although the first Child play film did gather positive reception, scoring 63% on Rotten tomatoes. The last Exorcism has a better critical reception of 73%, being noted for using clever techniques to scare the audience. Being noted for its interesting characters.
Critical Reception and the audiences reception differ greatly, personal opinion often conflict amongst other personal opinions and sometimes with movie critics opinions. A film I could also compare to chucky that utilizes comedy within horror is American Psycho. A film about the twisted son of a wall street financer, who does a variety of terrible things to victims, without provocation. The film uses comedy to develop the characters insanity and set apart sequences, making the audience laugh at disgusting moments of the film.
To further develop on personal views Emma, Georgia and Myself talked about the horror genre and our personal favourite films.
Another thing I would like to compare horror films to is horror games. Games such as Amnesia The Dark Descent rely on the helplessness of the player who must avoid danger at all costs because they cannot fight it. If a monster or danger is encountered then the player is forced into hiding or running, films could utilise this as well. Having helpless main protagonists is the usual deal with a film, however more often then not these characters fall to the danger at hand. Using phobias such as claustrophobia the main character could be forced into a position where they must hide in a tight spot while the danger approaches and searches for them. Although the more cliché scenario this can explored further, exploiting other phobias or creating phobias, exploring multiple fears in a film will appeal fear wise to a wider audience which will in turn be a much more enjoyable film. Much like a game where lots of scares are explored, such as a mod for the pc game Half Life 2 called Nightmare House 2, which delves into many different categories of fear and phobias.
Film makers also must make sure they are not afraid to produce their film for a mature audience, as of late films have been toning down certain aspects of the movie so that the rating allows for a wider audience, this can lead to a negative reception if the plot does not suit it.
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