Competitor Research

Competitor Research

I decided to research 5 different horror films, each film resides in its own vein of horror.

Resident Evil (2002) � A very typical Zombie Survival Horror, this film based on the video game series of the same name relies on a lot of action, however it definitely a survival horror. I would place it in this sub-genre due to it�s inclusion of zombies which are a popular and a partially defining characteristic. Resident Evil�s survival horror attributes are not only due to the appearance of zombies; another dimension that is added to the film is that the location where the film is set (An underground lab) is also trying to kill the main characters.


The Blair Witch Project (1999) � Presented as a documentary pieced together from amateur footage. Three student filmmakers hike out to the woods of Blair, hoping to find evidence of a local legend "The Blair Witch". At first, they find nothing except a pile of stones arranged by hand. One night after the last ray of light had left the forest, they were never to be seen again. One year later, a bag full of film cans, DAT tapes, and video tapes were found.

Paradise Lost/Turista (2006)- A vacation horror film, A group of friends are on a trip to Brazil, whilst they are in unfamiliar surroundings they are tricked by locals and soon become entangled in the black market trade of human organs. The movie contains scenes of gory operations and a tense escape scene.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) � A remake of the 1977 horror film of the same name. A family is travelling though Nevada and fall victim to a trap set by mutants. The film draws most of its horrifying effect from the remoteness of the family as it�s trapped in such a huge unfamiliar open space. The victims need to fight against the mutants in order to survive.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) � A group of friends are travelling through Rural Texas and they quickly become the interest of sinister cannibals. For various reasons each of the friends is attacked by a Chainsaw/Sledgehammer welding manic. The film creates a sort of remoteness similar to The Hills Have Eyes as it seems almost every other character in the film outside of the group of friends are all part of a plot to kill them.

To summarise, it seems that most of my competitor films contain aspects of desolation and loneliness whilst typically the protagonist is being pursued by a villain or multiple villains through an unfamiliar landscape. Although the plots, locations and characters of all the films are different, the idea of an unfamiliar landscape and the constant threat from pursuing antagonists is a very obvious convention that appears in some form throughout all of the films I've researched. I Would ideally want to incorporate such conventions and use them to create greater suspense which from what I have found out during my competitor research is responsible for a great deal of what makes a film scary.