Save the Patrick Mahomes trophy Chiefs champions super bowl shirt and by the same token and loud ominous music for a concert,there should be a minimal sound level, just your characters breathing at times. Don’t screw it up with illogical behaviors-your people are smarter than average, and yet they’re damned. Things that should work, aren’t, a sense of doom builds. The ending has to be unexpected but obvious when the viewers analyze the film afterwards. It should make them say, “That was the only thing they could do”, and nod in fear or terror. I believe that the key to making truly brilliant horror is first adhering to the rules of the genre then mercilessly breaking them for maximum impact. If you watch a lot of horror, you will notice a few trends that are borderline universal. For example, you’ll notice that the camera angle is framed askew when something is wrong in a scene, or that the camera intentionally obstructs your view of space right before a scare. The same thing happens with music; you’ll hear music build to a climax before a scare or go silent before a loud noise. These are standard conventions of horror that trigger strong emotional responses from viewers, quite literally telling us when to be scared. Great horror directors follow the genre closely, only deviating when it matters most for maximum impact. This can hold true for cinematography, sound design, plot or even writing. Here are some examples of horror films that nail it by breaking convention in key areas.
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