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Devan McElveen
Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1101
An Analysis of a Horror Film
The movie industry has been around for at least a hundred years. And as these
years have progressed, movies have become crafted to fit into specific genres to appeal to
different audiences expectations. Genre films have become more common because of
their ability to give audiences different expectations. One of the most distinct genres of
film is horror. They are made to terrify an audience, capturing their imaginations and
take advantage of their vulnerabilities. They create an outlet of fear and give a sense of
danger in the unknown without actually putting anyone in danger. As strange as it
sounds, people usually find more of a thrill in being scared or watching disturbing,
horrific images on the screen rather than reading about it in a book. There are many
different sub-genres of horror, but this genre analysis focuses specifically on the subgenre of supernatural-horror by analyzing the movie, The Conjuring.
The movie focuses on two American paranormal
investigators named Ed and Lorraine Warren who assist the
Perron family when they begin to experience disturbing
paranormal instances in their farmhouse. When they first
moved into the house, the youngest daughter of the Perron
family found a small music box while playing outside and
one of her sisters discovered a boarded up door to a cellar.
Over the next few days, the paranormal experiences began consisting of clapping noises,

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children giggling, shattered picture frames, spirits who attack the children, and eventually
the mother of the family found herself locked up in the cellar. The Perrons then
contacted Ed and Lorraine for help. They discover that the house was once owned by a
witch who tried to sacrifice her one-week old child to the devil and then killed herself.
The Perrons took refuge to a local hotel where the mother is then possessed by the
witchs spirit and tries to sacrifice two of her daughters. Finally, the Warrens complete
an exorcism to rid the mother of the spirit.
Supernatural-horror is a sub-genre that consists of ghosts, demons, or other
supernatural creatures. There is almost always some sort of death involved in the
storyline and the deaths are usually linked to the paranormal events occurring throughout
the movie. And if there isnt a death, then there is a possession involved.
Another convention of this genre is the setting where the supernatural events take
place such as an abandoned or haunted building. The most common setting used in a
good supernatural-horror film is a house. This adds a sense of reality because it can make
an audience scared in their own homes. The Conjuring takes place is a farmhouse where
the suicidal witch had once lived.
The use of sound and noises are conventions that play a huge role in creating a
successful horror film. They are often used to create tension and suspense in a movie. As
expected by the audience, the sounds and noises are used at the same time as something
appearing unexpectedly on the screen to make the audience jump. Or the noises are used
to make the audience anticipate that something bad is about to happen. For example, one
of the things that make The Conjuring so scary is that it consists of many menacing tones

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that lead to thinking something is coming. When nothing comes, the audience relaxes,
only to be hit by a fright when they least expect it.
The final major convention of a supernatural-horror film is the use of lighting and
shadows on screen. What is usually expected is for a disturbing event to occur when the
characters of the film are in the dark. One of the famous scenes in The Conjuring is when
the mother of the family is by herself looking down into the cellar in the dark, holding a
single lit candle. It is then that two arms appear out of the dark and clap next to her.
A constraint of a supernatural-horror film could be a story that involves the
demonic figure falling in love with the main character. Romance like this would
definitely go against the expectations an audience has for a supernatural-horror film.
Typically, romance isnt expected at all in any kind of horror film.
The purpose of every horror film is to scare and entertain the directed audience.
They offer people a thrill and a rush of adrenaline. Their ability to induce and raise
tension is central to the appeal of horror. They are aimed toward sensation seekers who
feel like they are a part of something horrifying, without actually being in danger. The
Conjuring consists of multiple haunted house tricks to increase expectation of fear such
as the noises heard throughout the night, stopped clocks, bad smells, children whispering
and giggling, and constant clapping by someone who is never there. The movie is able to
produce fear into an audience without using as much violence and gore. The director
chose to only show minimal demonic figures, which makes them all that more scary
when they appear.
The purpose to scare an audience through a film can similarly be done through a
novel. A movie provides the visual appeal of fear into an audience and a novel provides

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fear by targeting the audiences imagination. For example, you cant control what the evil
monster looks like on the screen in front of you, but in your mind, you can control what
kind of image the description produces in a novel. Also, the jump-factor commonly used
in horror films cannot be added into a novel. Movies are generally quick and novels can
contain more detail. The Conjuring contains many scenes that cause quick jumps, so a
novel of The Conjuring would contain more detail about the demonic figure that jumped
out at one of the daughters. This kind of detailed description in a novel would produce an
image in our minds that are just as scary as it happening on screen.
By analyzing the movie, The Conjuring, this genre analysis focused specifically
on supernatural-horror films. These types of films are made to terrify the audience and
give them a sense of danger in the unknown through depictions of supernatural
occurrences, ghosts, demons, or the devil. The people who actually like watching these
movies are not looking for a compelling or complicated story, they are just looking to be
shocked and entertained. We all love horror for the same basic reason: the potential for
fear intrigues us.