There are many different sub-genres of horror movies. Each has defining characteristics yet still shares similarities with the others. The following are some of the main sub-genres that come to mind when discussing horror movies:




Psychological

The plot twist for these movies seems to always happen at the end of the movie with neither characters nor audience knowing what is going to happen or what is actually going on. Some of the best examples of movies like this are from M. Night Shyamalan. Take The Sixth Sense for example, Bruce Willis’s character does not find out he is dead until the end of the movie and neither does the audience. In The Village, the children born into this village do not know that they are actually living in a commune set in a previous time period. In the end, they find out that they have been living in the modern world the whole time. Often times in movies falling in this category, there is usually not a visible or seen villain. This is especially the case in those filmed in the first-person perspective like the Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. In the Blair Witch Project, college kids go into the woods searching for the Blair Witch. There are signs shown that the witch could exist but audiences only have the actions of the characters to make them believe that she actually exists. In Paranormal Activity, the demon stalking Katie, one of the main characters, is never shown. Audiences just see a gradual worsening of conditions in the house and in Katie herself as she becomes possessed. The ending leaves audiences to believe that Katie is still possessed and still missing.






Possession/Religious

In movies about possession, there is always some type of religious figure present, usually Catholic. Sometimes exorcisms are performed or attempted, but this is not always the case. The storyline always shows some type of progression of conditions worsening for the character who becomes possessed. In the beginning of The Exorcist, Regan is depicted as the happy daughter of a famous actress. Throughout the movie, you see the happiness deteriorate and strange things start to happen with her as she becomes possessed. In possession and religious horror movies, the religious figure present usually gets badly injured or killed. In The Omen, lightening strikes a spire which falls and impales Father Brennan because of Damien. In The Exorcist, Father Karras is thrown out a two-story window and tumbles down a whole flight of stairs while trying to exorcise the devil out of Regan.

Childhood Fears

These movies play off of common fears that kids have, some of which can even carry over into adulthood. Whether it is clowns, dolls, monsters hiding in the closet or under the bed, or nightmares, these movies tend to linger in memories more than other horror movies. A lot of times, these films have inanimate objects becoming animated. The best example of this is the Good Guy doll in Child’s Play. The spirit of a killer named Chucky is transferred into one of these dolls by voodoo magic. While he seems harmless at first to Andy, the boy in which he is given to, things start to get hairy when he shows his evil ways by killing the babysitter. In movies like this, most of the time the authority figures do not believe the stories about what is happening, until they get killed or attacked by the antagonist.






Serial Killers

The premise of the serial killer sub-genre is that it plays on the fact that there is a reality to these movies because serial killers actually exist. In the movies, the serial killer has become what he is because of his childhood or psychological problems caused by it. In Psycho, Norman Bates kept his dead mom in the basement, wore her clothes, and imitated her voice to hold conversations with himself while killing Marion and the private detective who was supposed to find her. In Silence of the Lambs, Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb kills women to make himself a “woman suit”. In the film, his history is not really discussed, but in the novel, readers find out his mother was an alcoholic prostitute who abandoned him when he was very young.






Slashers

The most stereotypical horror film sub-genre is the slasher movie. The plot normally involves partying and sex and killing. There are usually no parents in these types of movies, they have either gone out of town or are just not discussed. The main characters portrayed are young adults, ages ranging from teenagers to mid-twenties. The settings tend to be in the woods or abandoned amusement parks at nighttime. The following quote are rules for surviving a slasher movie as discussed by a character named Randy in first of the Scream films (which is a slasher movie itself). Randy said, "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie! For instance, Number One: You can never have sex. Sex equals death, OK? Number Two: You can never drink or do drugs. No, it's the sin factor, it's a sin, it's an extension of Number One! And Number Three: Never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, say 'I'll be right back', 'cause you won't be back."

Sub-genres have similar characteristics. The creepy feeling created by these movies comes mainly from lighting, sounds, and special effects. The lighting in horror movies is important, and in most films you will find that a majority of the scary parts happen at nighttime. Buildings, in which horror movies are set in, have to be dimly lit and sometimes have the typical flickering lights. Lighting is key in conveying the feel of the setting. Sounds and music are also important in horror movies. Right before something is going to happen, some type of music starts playing softly in the background and increases in volume and intensity as the action occurs. Silence also plays a major part in creating the scary situations. If the music playing before dies out without anything happening, only to be replaced by silence, then something scary happens, the audience is more likely to react because they did not expect whatever happened to happen. Special effects and make-up can help make or break a horror movie, but regardless, they are a necessary part of all horror movies. There is a fine line between scary and cheesy.