Genre - Theories
“Demure” fits into the surreal sub-genre of horror, it uses conventions such as dream scenes, blurring the line between reality and the subconscious. The first example of this is the character’s speech in the beginning of the film opening, he speaks as a narrator but the last few words can be heard without him moving his mouth. This intrigues the audience from the very beginning, creating confusion about the role of the character, as a narrator or as a subject of what will happen in the story. We wanted to suggest that he isn’t really in control of his thoughts. The uncertainty and mystery that is characteristic of the horror genre is meant to give the audience something familiar yet intriguing so that they continue watching.
Furthermore, the dream scenes we used are similar to images of his reality, as he wakes up from his bed and gets to the wall in front of him. His struggles are suggested through the jump cuts and fast-paced editing we used, to create tension. We also used a spot light to exaggerate shadows and give a more dramatic effect to the shots that were representative of his dreams.
We also broke several conventions of the horror genre and its sub-genres. Respecting all aspects of a genre would not keep the audience as engaged. So we tried to also come up with new and original ideas. Keeping the audience curious was not difficult as we only had to produce a film opening, we did not give any clues about the plot, having only a fragment of the narrative.
Audiences try to decode the genre of the media they are consuming, so even with a film opening, they will expect something specific. We satisfied these expectations with the general dark atmosphere and images, editing the colors in adobe premiere pro and using dramatic shadows. These are general conventions of the horror genre. We also used some audience expatiations of psychological horror, suggesting the characters issues through his speech and the location.
Genre is also often used to produce consistency in the production of media texts so that it relates to the expectation of audiences. Our film opening was not meant to be a big production or reach a large audience, which is why we allowed ourselves to break conventions and be creative. We did not create a generic horror film that would appeal to many people by having a somewhat predictable plot. We only suggested the atmosphere and the idea or themes of the film, for example the characters struggles through the short monologue in the beginning. Usually, films such as these, do not reach a large audience, indie movies do not follow convention because they do not intend to sell their product on such a large scale, they focus more on the art of making films and creativity, just as we did.
The horror genre has changed a lot over time to transform into the sub-genre we approached in “Demure”. People tried to come up with new things and go further inside the minds of the audiences to create new kinds of horror that would have an impact and be remembered. Visual art has also played a part in the development of horror, and we used the location, props and light to create a form of art.
The themes we approached in our film opening are those of youth, dreams and psychological issues. Each of these was presented in a way that is characteristic of the horror genre. The main character is shown alone, with his own thoughts, not in relation with wider society or friends, which is more conventional for dramas. The dreams are not presented in a clear way, they are mixed with reality, creating mystery and the surrealist feeling we were looking for. The issues that the character struggles with are not presented clearly either.
All these themes also appear in dramas but we focused on horror by expressing them in more abstract ways, rather that realistic as in dramas.
