{"id":14557,"date":"2020-05-06T21:34:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T21:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmconnection.com\/blog\/?p=7622"},"modified":"2020-05-06T21:34:21","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T21:34:21","slug":"how-to-make-a-horror-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/filmconnection.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/06\/how-to-make-a-horror-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Horror Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_7624\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7624\" style=\"width: 550px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/FC_s_Arronn_Lepperman_Into_the_Haunt_scar_makeup_2019_s.jpeg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7624\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/FC_s_Arronn_Lepperman_Into_the_Haunt_scar_makeup_2019_s.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"366\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7624\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actor with scar makeup on set of Into the Haunt by Film Connection grad Arronn Lepperman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Horror movies are a universe unto themselves when it comes to making movies.\u00a0There\u2019s a segment of the general audience that just loves to be scared by a movie!\u00a0Additionally, horror movies are a tried and true path to launching a director\u2019s career with the production value bar being lower than most movies (think <em>Blair Witch Project<\/em>.)\u00a0 Done right, they can become a franchise (think <em>Friday the 13<sup>th<\/sup><\/em>, <em>A<\/em> <em>Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em>, or <em>Scream<\/em>).<\/p>\n<h2>Remember, a Successul Horror Movie Feeds on our Fears<\/h2>\n<p>All those demons, zombies, maniacal killers and fears and phobias that are housed in our imagination are locked securely in the successful horror movie director&#8217;s and screenwriter&#8217;s toolboxes.<br \/>\nThe more universal the fear, the better. Common fears and phobias include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fear of death.<\/strong> This is the most basic, common fear.\u00a0 Can you think of a horror movie where someone isn\u2019t killed?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fear of the dark.<\/strong> What is hiding in the dark that we can\u2019t see?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nasty, creepy crawlers.<\/strong> Spiders, snake and rats make up many people\u2019s phobias.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Places that are scary in and of themselves.<\/strong> Graveyards, old spooky houses, dungeons, deep, dark overgrown forests, attics and basements are all places where evil can lurk.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Disfigured antagonists.<\/strong> From the classic Frankenstein\u2019s monster or a pack of zombies we naturally fear disfigurement.\u00a0 Jason<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scary film.<\/strong> The right soundtrack can intensify the visuals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fear of the unusual.<\/strong> This occurs when something that is normally not scary is made to be scary.\u00a0 Dolls, possessed children, clowns have all been used to great effect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7625\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7625\" style=\"width: 550px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/FC_s_Arronn_Lepperman_Into_the_Haunt_fight_scene_1_2019.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7625\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/FC_s_Arronn_Lepperman_Into_the_Haunt_fight_scene_1_2019.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"367\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7625\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fight scene rehearsal on Into the Haunt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A staple of horror movies is to have a villain that is memorable and scary and a hero that is an average person like a college student (<em>A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> and <em>Scream<\/em>) or a baby sitter (<em>Hallowe\u2019en<\/em>.)\u00a0 Often, the hero has a sidekick who turns from the hero\u2019s best friend into someone who ultimately betrays the hero.\u00a0 When a sidekick is involved, there&#8217;s usually a moment when they die. Other common horror movie elements include some form of nightmare\u2014something in the future that the hero is afraid of.<\/p>\n<p>Locations play a big part in horror movies.\u00a0From a practical point of view (to keep production costs down) many horror movies take part in one location.<\/p>\n<p>Another common element of horror movies is they create a relentless and constantly building suspense that leads to a <em>big but unexpected<\/em> reveal.<\/p>\n<h2>The Standard Horror Movie Formula and Screenplay Structure<\/h2>\n<h3>Act One<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Opening:<\/strong> This should be a scary scene.\u00a0 Usually this revolves around the villain\u2019s first victim and reveals the villain\u2019s style.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Introductions:<\/strong> This is where you establish your main characters (the hero and sidekick for instance) and how they came to be in the horrible, scary location.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The first instance:<\/strong> This is where something wrong happens.\u00a0 The audience sees it but most of the characters in the movie are oblivious.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Act Two<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7224\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7224\" style=\"width: 498px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/filmconnection.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/FC_s_Arronn_Lepperman_crew_2019.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmconnection.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/FC_s_Arronn_Lepperman_crew_2019.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"499\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7224\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7224\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Film Connection student Aaronn Lepperman and crew of Into the Haunt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The realization:<\/strong> This is the moment when something really bad happens and the characters realize they are in a terrible situation.\u00a0 The hero decides to escape or fight back.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The setback:<\/strong> The villain has gained the upper hand.\u00a0 Characters are dying off like flies.\u00a0 This often plays out where the hero believes they\u2019ve won, only for the villain to triumph and reveal they are stronger than ever.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Act Three<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The climax:<\/strong> This is where the hero makes an all-out effort to escape from, or defeat the villain.\u00a0 It needs to be the scariest part of the movie so far.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The resolution:<\/strong> The hero finally escapes or defeats the villain\u2014or does he?\u00a0 Leaving some wiggle room or uncertainty here is a great help if you plan on making a sequel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here\u2019s an exercise for you to try. Your goal is to create a story outline for the following scenario.\u00a0Our hero (who like many of us is afraid of the dark and suffers from claustrophobia) is trapped in an elevator during a power outage.\u00a0 \u00a0This could lead to a lot of interesting questions and scenarios to explore and exploit. Who is in the elevator with our hero? Who or what is the villain? Do they get rescued?\u00a0 How is the villain defeated?\u00a0 What do they see when they get rescued?\u00a0Let us know what you come up with.\u00a0 And don\u2019t forget, there are many horror film festivals every year.\u00a0 If you get as far as a finished horror movie, make sure you submit to them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Arronn Lepperman Gets Mentored <a href=\"http:\/\/filmconnection.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/07\/student-shoots-feature-film\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shoots Feature Horror Film<\/a> in 16 Days!<\/p>\n<p>Rewriting the script: Film Connection student Adam Howell, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmconnection.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/24\/stereotypes-horror-films\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Breaking stereotypes in Horror<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Unvarnished Advice from <a href=\"http:\/\/filmconnection.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/22\/straight-talk-film-connection-mentor-ron-osborn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Script mentor Ron Osborn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Horror movies are a universe unto themselves when it comes to making movies.\u00a0There\u2019s a segment of the general audience that just loves to be scared by a movie!\u00a0Additionally, horror movies are a tried and true path to launching a director\u2019s career with the production value bar being lower than most movies (think Blair Witch Project.)\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":14482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,173,165],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-launch","category-featured","category-research-201"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmconnection.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}