Deconstruction of locations in horror movies - Natasha McGill

Deconstruction of locations in horror movies

Supernatural horror movies:

Usually in supernatural horror the main location is a house. A typical detached house which is either completely abandoned or on a street with other houses surrounding it so it looks normal. A house is the typical location with the house having various of rooms, it will usually include an attic or a basement at which the supernatural figure or the ghost or spirit would usually emerge form and use as a hide out. Also another common location is deep in the woods, where there maybe an abandoned building which is usually haunted as woods are usually seen as creepy and in the woods there are trees which could easily hide anything lurking. Also with the woods being a large area this could mean they could be followed, watched and possessed. The images below shows some typical houses that are used in supernatural horror films and the images below shows that they are either a normal house but with the lighting making it look eerie or abandoned buildings found in the woods.

  

Slasher horror movies:

The common location in slasher films is in a suburban area, mainly focusing on a house. Usually it is a large detached house, rather large which looks normal. Some other locations is in abandoned farms or buildings, small towns or in the forests. Forests being a big setting for slasher as there is a wide area at which someone could be attacked which is typically what happens in slasher films. There are quite a lot of dark streets and alleyways and is usually in a run down area. Haunted houses and graveyards are also a typical location. The location maybe in an area which is lonely and away from any help, this sets the scene at the start and makes it more eerie. This would also suggest like a forest that there is no where to run so its endless.

Our location:

As a group we are going to use the location of the woods. As this conforms to both genres of horror so it doesn't matter which one we chose in the end. However inside the woods there is going to be an abandoned army bunker, this is different from the usual house setting but it still conforms. The army bunker will be part of our location and within the whole film opening as a group we was thinking of having different locations.