R9 - Codes and conventions of Psychological Horror

- A common convention of this genre is that they tend to involve ordinary people who end up exerting the horror onto other characters (though this is generally established at the end of the film).

- Generally, the killer tends to appear normal: there aren’t any physical signs that would make them appear as a killer.

- When it comes to the use of weapons in psychological horror, they tend to not be physical but rather there is a focus on the killer’s twisted mind, which is used to frighten the victims. Visions, ‘jumpy’ moments etc. are used instead of physical weapons such as guns and knives.

- Common settings for psychological horror are as follows: big houses, woodland locations, warehouses, schools and hospitals. These settings create a sense of realism in relation to the audience as they would be able to relate to some elements of the film as they might have seen/been or live in such surroundings. This would increase fear as they would be able to picture themselves in the position of the victims.

- Another common convention of psychological horror films is that there tend to be flashbacks which inform the audience of why the killer has reached such a state.

- Often the sounds/music used in psychological horror films is contrapuntal sound (i.e. the sound does not match the action that is onscreen). This is effective because it is used to contradict what is taking place on screen.

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