Codes and conventions of horror films - Narratives

Slasher - This horror sub-genre includes a psychopathic killer, in which they usually wear a mask to cover their identity and also to scare their victims , whom stalks his/her victims  in which is occurred in a series of killings which are brutal and gruesome, which the killer uses their signature weapon (usually a knife or blade) to add more effect to the killings.This sub- genre could have the narrative theory of Vladimir Propp's narrative theory which there are eight character types which this sub-genre contains some of the character types such as: the hero (who fights the villain and saves the day or restores the equilibrium), the villain (who opposes the hero and creates a disequilibrium), the helper (who helps the hero), the donor (who helps the hero by telling them what the villain's weakness is and also them giving the hero a tool or weapon which will aid them to restoring the equilibrium by defeating the villain. Another narrative that could be applied to this sub-genre is the narrative theory from Tzvetan Todorov which his theory suggests that there are five stages to a narrative which are the equilibrium (the balance, which everything is going okay/normal), a disruption to the equilibrium by an event (a problem has arisen and is caused by the antagonist by them affecting victims lives in a negative way), a realization that a disruption to the equilibrium has occurred ( the protagonists has discovered that something is wrong which is being caused by the antagonist/ antagonists), an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption of the equilibrium ( the protagonist(s) try and stop the disruption being caused by the antagonist/ antagonists), a restoration of the equilibrium - which may create a new equilibrium ( the protagonist(s) have fought against the antagonist(s) and have won in which the disruption has ended and the equilibrium is restored or a new equilibrium is created by sometimes this may be temporary due to a potential opportunity for a sequel, i.e. the villain is defeated by the hero, everything has been restored but the villain may be still alive and will return to cause a disruption to the equilibrium once again).

Also another narrative theory that could be used in this sub-genre is the narrative theory from Claude Levi-Strauss which his theory suggests that our world is described in binary opposites, which is also applied to the structure of narratives. there is such binary opposites within this sub-genre which are good/evil, light/dark, young/old, intelligent/stupid, strong/weak, and city/village. Here is some examples of films that portray this sub - genre: Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, Texas chainsaw massacre, Nightmare on Elm street, The strangers, and Psycho. 

Paranormal/Supernatural - This horror sub-genre includes the antagonist which is usually a ghost or supernatural beings tormenting a family or a town/ village which has been caused by a curse or by revenge. There is series of mysterious deaths in which the hero/heroes tries to resolve the situation. this sub-genre could also coincide with religious and Sci-Fi.Here are some examples of Paranormal/Supernatural films: Paranormal activity, The grudge, Ring, Insidious, The conjuring, Sinister, The Blair witch project, Woman in black, Amityville horror, The last exorcism, and Haunting in Connecticut.      

The narrative structure for horror has a antagonist which wreaks havoc and chaos in which the hero/heroes try to solve the dilemma which is being caused by the antagonist. The cause of the antagonist may be that they have had a cruel life or have had something tragic that has affected them or have been murdered and seeks revenge on the people who were involved.

The horror genre tries to connect to the audience. The audience may become attached to the characters within the film which may become the victims and throughout the film, there will be tension and suspense as the characters which the audience have become attached to, are in danger.