Mise-en-scene in horror films

Setting

Any typical horror film will set the main action in an abandoned house or a forest- somewhere where the audience will feel isolated and alone. This is famously used in Friday 13th. This gives the audience an idea that they have no way of help and will exaggerate the idea of someone being after them. Furthermore, setting the scene when it is dark makes the audience feel as if they are unable to see the full picture and be scared of the unknown.

Props

Most props used in horror films are linked to murder eg. a weapon, the devil/possession eg. crucifix that probably gets turned upside down and some type of object which links the protagonist to the evil character, for example, in Scream this would be the phone in the opening. Blood is also used throughout horror films to either foreshadow death or to suggest that someone has already died. This makes the audience feel as if there is danger around them and possibly that they cannot escape.

Examples of these props are used in Amityville Horror when the door handle gets turned around which has a cross on it and below:

Costume

The types of clothing differs with each character and what personalities they wish to portray. A typical young girl would have dark hair, pale skin and dressed in a pretty dress even though she will be covered in blood. Antagonist clothing makes it very clear to the audience who the baddie is. In The Woman In Black the woman is dressed in black, ripped gown which shows that she is dead and evil with the connotations that the colour black introduces. Using connotative colours are commonly used as it suggests to the audience what to expects and so that they have an idea of who the murderer (for example) is.

Makeup

The makeup used in horror films is mainly used to show the difference of characters. The protagonists usually have minimal/no makeup so that they look as natural as possible whereas the antagonist is most likely to have dark, dirty or bloody makeup. This makes the audience realise what the antagonist is going to do eg. murder or kidnap etc.