Typical Camera Work in Horror

In horror films, the camerawork is not necessarily used with a naturalistic aim, but with the aim of making the audience feel as though they are involved in the horror, thus causing the audience to feel fear. Examples of the shots used to do this are:

Low angle (Frame from Scream 4)

A low angle shot is often used when displaying the ‘villain’ in the film, so that the audience feels as though they are underneath them and therefore inferior to their power, thus provoking fear.

Extreme Close-Up (Frame from The Blair Witch Project)

Extreme close-ups are used to display the intense emotions that the characters are feeling, making the audience completely involved, possibly leading to the same emotions of fear or panic from the audience themselves. It can lead to sympathy to the victim, making the audience evermore fearful of the ‘villain’. They can also be used to show the ‘villain’ to make the audience jump.

 
Point of View (Frame from Saw)            
 
A point of view shot is often used to show the audience what the character is seeing, making the audience feel part of the action and the horror. In this frame, the woman is kneeling over the man and about to stab him, allowing us to see his fear in her eyesight.
    



Canted (Frame from Paranormal Activity)
 This is when the audience is made to feel that the characters are using hand held cameras. This is an extremely effective way to create fear in the horror, as the audience feel as though the events are actually happening and not just part of a film, as the clips appear as more of a video diary.

By Emili Hone