Deconstruction of Mise-En-Scene in Horror Films (Thriller, Psychological and Slasher)

One of the main goals of thriller horrors is to entice the viewer into believing what is occurring in the film could potentially happen in real life. This is especially true of the hybrid genre of psychological thrillers, which is the genre we are aiming to use for our film opening. As a result, the mise-en-scene of thrillers often consists of regular, everyday locations, props and costumes.

An example of this can be seen in Orphan. The mise-en-scene in the film reflects normality, as can be seen from the ordinary house the lead family live in.

The same can be said for the props and costumes used and worn by the main characters. Each of the family members wear regular clothes, making them seem as if they are an ordinary family. All of the mise-en-scene within the film is nothing other than ordinary, apart from the props and costumes surrounding Esther, the little girl who is the villain in the film. Her costume is from another era, and is obviously not normal.

This isolates Esther as a character who is different, and is the irregularity in the seemingly perfect life of the normal family. The miss-en-scene of the clothes being older than the child also acts as foreshadowing for the ending of the film, where Esther's true past is revealed. The contrast between Esther's Victorian style of clothing and the modern day miss-en-scene of the remaining characters highlights that Esther is out of the ordinary and is the threat in the film. This is further supported by her Eastern-European accent, showing she is an outsider and is different from the other characters.

The use of mise-en-scene to differentiate the villain is also used in slasher horrors, as can be seen in Scream 4. The majority of the characters in Scream 4 are just regular students, and so they have ordinary homes and dress in regular clothes. The settings used are common, everyday locations such as houses and a school. 

All of the characters are dressed in regular costumes and are perceived to be regular people. This supports the idea that this could happen to anybody, and that the audience can relate to the main characters. 

The antagonist of Scream 4 wears the classic Scream mask. This makes it clear that they are the killer, as masks are a common convention in slasher horror films. From this point onwards, the audience knows that whenever the mask can be seen, a character is likely to be injured or die.

Other props that are commonly used to associate the antagonist in slasher horror films are melee weapons, such as knives or axes. This can be seen in many horror films such as Scream 4, Texas Chainsaw and The Purge.

Common locations for horror films vary slightly based on the sub-genre, however the general setting remains the same. It is common across all three sub-genres for the film to be set within a house. The type of house (abandoned, just moved into, etc) varies based on the sub-genre, however normal, everyday places are commonly found within all types of horror. This can be seen from the slasher film Carrie, which is partially set in the protagonists home, in comparison with the supernatural film Insidious which is also set in the home of the protagonist. 

Carrie's home in Carrie

The family home in Insidious

It is also common within slasher horror films for the primary location to be an abandoned area, such as a cabin or forest, as can be seen in the slasher Texas Chainsaw 3D.