Scream - A Focus On Horror Stereotypes

As a satirical horror film trying to rejuvenate a dying genre, Scream made use of every stereotype the genre had to offer, but made the audience aware of this through the character Randy, by doing this the film became a joke that was played on the Horror films of the late 80's and early 90's.




Masks

The villain of a horror film produced in the late  80's and early 90's almost always wore a mask or concealed there identity in some way. Producers believed that the masks would heighten the fear in the audience through their fear of the unknown, this was shown in many films such as "Halloween" and "Friday The 13th" that while initially successful, dwindled in popularity when the same conventions became used over and over again. The mask used by "Ghostface" in the film broke away from the stereotypical masks often used in films as it had abstract and distorted features. The mask for the film "Scream" was based on the painting of the same name by Edvard Munch. The painting represented insanity and the lack of control of oneself, characteristics that define the wearers of the mask in the film.

Knives

The knife is the stereotypical weapon used by the villain of a horror/slasher film. It has been immortalised in the genre through "Psycho" and "Halloween" and has since been the staple of a villains arsenal of death. The knife creates fear through the act of penetration and is symbolic of death through entry into the victim. It is for this reason that it is often seen to create more fear in the female species and as such they are often the ones targeted by the wielder of such weapons. Scream defies this by giving the woman in the film Sydney the knife in the closing stages, transferring the power to her and the women in general, symbolising the change in the times.

Sex

A long standing theme of the horror genre included the death of any who had or were presumed to have had sexual intercourse during the time line of the film. This concept had been exhausted in almost every horror film around the time of Scream's initial conception. The audience is made aware of the fact that the rule of sex in the films has been exhausted and that it will result in a characters death. Defying this idea the main character Sydney has sex with her boyfriend during the film but does not die by the time of it's conclusion. By doing this the film not only rejuvenated a dying idea but also thrilled audiences by doing the unexpected.

"I'll Be Back"

A running joke in the horror genre, this line would alert the audience to that characters death just moments later, a concept that Scream chose to keep but with a twist. Normally this line would come when the characters were already well aware of the killer being near them, however when the line is used in the film it is done when the characters are relaxed and unwary, shocking the audience as they did not expect it. Upon hearing the line Randy utters "Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen with a knife." pre-empting the death while also acknowledging the stereotypical weapon used in the knife.

Alcohol/Drugs

As a typical rule, alcohol and drug takers in horror films were usually killed as per the ones that had sex. Scream was different however in that it didn't reinforce or completely discredit this rule as a whole, instead
it neither supports nor opposes the rule as some individuals in the film that do drugs and/or drink survive the film while others are brutally murdered. This connotes unpredictability that makes the audience's sense of fear heightened as they never know what will happen.

Low Key Lighting

A staple of any horror film, darkness in general is used to insight fear and paranoia in the audience. This is done through the view of the audience being restricted as detail is limited and only form is prominent, making the shadows that follow us appear threatening. Night is used to create the unknown and therefore build tension as the audience has no idea what is around in the setting rendering the audience and characters helpless.

Young Characters

By using young teens they can exploit the vulnerability of the characters, who are naive and helpless to the machinations and sinister nature of the villain and other threats. The target audience for horror films is between 15-30, by casting characters of this age group the audience is able to relate themselves to the characters so the sense of fear and worry produced by the audience is heightened.

Prolonged Silences

The use of silences create an expectant reaction in the audience as we then foresee a sharp end to the delicate sensation, as the popular phrase 'calm before the storm' emphasises, and usually in horror a silence is a foreshadowing of immense terror and suffering to come shortly. The silence itself suggests that something is not quite right, therefore the action is more exhilarating when it takes place.

Screams 

As the title of the film suggests, screams play a pivotal role in creating horror, the bone chilling hight pitched sound is so unpleasant that it is instantly associated with fear and pain as it is the humans last desparate response to disjoint their attacker. While these may be exagerrated and highly overused in most films, the sparing and well timed use of an effective scream will still cause suspense and a sense of realism mixed with utter terror.