Horror sub-genre

Sub genres are important in horror films as they have their own unique and different ways of scaring the audience.

The main sub genres which will be focused upon are: Action horror, comedy horror, gothic horror, psychological horror, sci-fi horror, splatter films, supernatural horror, slasher and Japanese horror.

Within these certain sub genres they can be divided again. For example in a paranormal horror, the film could based around: spirits and ghosts, haunted houses or the supernatural. This means that within the sub-genre a certain way of scaring audience is focused on in order to fit the certain demographic and psychographic which the director is hoping to attract.

The definition of a paranormal horror is that it is beyond "normal scientific understanding". An example of a paranormal horror is the film series paranormal activity.

Action horrors are films such as The Blade series or The Alien Series. Usually in these films the horror of the film is accompanied by a lot of action. This means that the film is more frantic and the audience become a lot more apprehensive due to this.

Comedy horror is exactly what it suggests. The horror genre is combined with a comedic tone in order to give the audience a nostalgic feeling about horror films.

Gothic horror is usually thought of as the first type of horror due to the association with English Literature. These type of films usually include things such as castles, magic and the supernatural.

Psychological horror mostly use the characters emotions and feelings in order to scare the audience. These films usually include many 'jump scares' as well as intense music in order to build tension throughout the film.

Sci-fi horror is the horror genre used in a hybrid with science fiction and is most commonly know for its association with extra terrestrial life forms.

Splatter films are usually the most gory of all of the sub-genres as they focus on the weaknesses of humanity and also uses CGI in post production in order to incorporate special effects.

Slasher films focus in on the mentally deranged who are serial killers and murderers. This sub genre mainly contains gory scenes and a lot of blood.

Supernatural horrors usually include exorcisms, ghosts, the devil and people being possessed.

Japanese horrors are very similar to psychological horrors and are based around keeping the audience in suspense. This is usually done through the use of ghosts and poltergeists.