Psychological Horror

We decided to complete research on psychological horror, so all the group members have information on this specific sub-genre. Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror, film, and video games which relies on the characters' fears and emotional instability to build tension throughout the film.

Some Psychological Horror Examples:

• Black Swan
• The Sixth Sense
• The Others
• The Silience of the Lambs

Characters
Antagonist: This character normally is a human, unlike other types of horror like paranormal where the antagonist can be a doll or spirit. The antagonist in psychological horrors tend to look for revenge and targets and plans out ways to kill or torture his/her chosen victims. In these type of horror films the targeted victim is stereotypically female as female characters are often seen as weak and damsel in distress who cant defend themselves. 

Setting
Some common settings for psychological horrors are both urban and rural areas, but they tend to have the feel of isolation which makes them feel cut of from the rest of the world. Some common urban areas include warehouses, hospitals, schools and apartment buildings. Whereas in rural areas, common settings include large houses and woodland. Most psychological horrors have settings where most murders or crimes probably wouldnt occur in real life, for example schools and hospitals as these are seen as innocent areas as children and vunerable people are present.

Sound
Most sound in Psychological horrors is contrapuntal sound. Contrapuntal sound is sound that doesnt match the action in screen. This is very effective because it contradicts what is occuring on screen and confuses the audience and makes them more tense. The music also tends to be very eerie and sinister, which is used to build up suspense and tension for the audience.


Themes

• Reality
• Existence
• Identity
• Death
• Perception
• Isolation