Iconography

Psychological Horror Movie Research

Iconography -

An image or symbol which indicates a certain genre or topic.

An example of iconography in horror films are bloody and weapons, such as knives and axes. However in a psychological horror, the fear caused for the viewer is mental rather than jumpy, therefore shadows and darkness are used to make the film more mysterious. This is because it makes a character look more trapped, creating a chlostraphbic feeling, making the viewer feel panicky.

Iconography of shadows

This is from the original Dracula film.

This is used to show the viewer that someone or something is coming, leaving them to predict what it is and what will happen, which is why it is a mentally scary film, rather than a classic horror.

Iconography of darkness

This is a still from the film 'Session 9'.

The fact that the viewer cannot see the other end of the corridor adds a sense of foreboding as to what will happen to the character if they continue forward.

We could use shadows and connotations of darkness in our film to show the difference of our character in her nightmare state, in contrast to reality.