Cinematography

 

Cinematography

 

Horror movies often like to set the scene, especially if the setting looks scary or haunted. These establishing shots are usually extreme long shots in order to emphasise the size of the setting or, if its dark, create an eerie atmosphere.

 

This is an establishing shot from the film 'Woman in Black' which is an extreme long shot in order to show the haunted house in which most of the action takes place in the film. It also uses focus pull to make the gates and trees in the front of the shot look blurry, so that the viewers attention is drawn to the haunted house. 

Close-ups are a popular choice of shot in horror movies, because, as well as giving a clearer shot of gore and blood in the film, it also means the audience cannot get away from what they are watching, intensifying their fear.

 

This is a close up shot of the villain from 'The Ring' and it is also one of the only times in the film that her face can be seen. As a result the fact that her face is seen in a close up clearly shows her scarred face and evil stare, which would cause the audience to fear her even more.

Depending on what type of horror movie is being produced, sometimes hand held cameras are used. This makes the film more lifelike and therefor scarier for the viewer, as it increases the feeling that it could happen to them.

 

This shot from 'Paranormal Activity 4' is clearly meant to be shot by a hand held camera as is it low quality and would be shaky. The fact that she is a normal girl videoing herself with a normal camera caused the situation of her being haunted to become part of normality. This is why the Paranormal Activity films are so popular, as they are meant to be based on true stories, therefor making the films scarier and more realistic for the viewer.

What makes this shot even scarier though is the fact that it is a two shot, as it makes the girl look vulnerable. This is because only showing the girl and the villain emphasises the fact that she has to face the killer on her own.