Key Icons in Horror

Key Icons in Horror

In the horror genre, there are many stereotypical conventions and icons that help to make a succesful horror film. Not all of the following elements will be seen in every horror film amd there are also a few more mentioned to explore, however they will all at least contain a few as they are essential and create great meaning behind a storyline. 

Religious symbols are used in a wide variety of movies, such as "The Devil Inside" and "The Conjuring" where there is a strong link to god or other spirits that have come back to punish victims. In each of these films, there are also many props such as crucifixes and bibles which are used to perform exorcisms on possessed beings. Each of these reinforce the strong sense of morality that is focused on within the film and the battle of good vs evil.

The light and colours within a film and even simply a trailer are extremely distinct to the horror genre as stereotypical ideas have caused us to feel scared or at risk for the victims of the movie when the lighting starts to dimmer down or infact black out. As well as when colours like reds, blacks and whites appear throughout scenes, since each connote a specific meaning. For example, the idea of pure and impure characters links in with the white colours, whilst red generally is associated with death and blood.

Weapons within a film are also extremely important as a large portion of the horror genre has been sexualised and weapons now tend to relate to phallic and yonic imagery, since many plots of films explore the idea of masculinity and the power of the dominant male protagonist, such as Freddy Cougar in "Nightmare on Elm Street". However, in the film "Teeth" this is subverted as the woman immasculates other male characters and the storyline chooses to create a woman antagonist, which challenges stereotypes.

Furthermore, additional icons such as tunnels and corridoors tend to create a sense of life and death within a film as it can be implied that these things symbolise either the birth canal, and therefore is the way to bring new life or they can either be used to highlight to audiences that the light at the end of the tunnel is where you die and your life ceases at the end of it.