I am a Media student and have to make a Final Major Project. I have decided to make a 10-15 minute horror film and would like to know what really scares you? When I say scare I mean to the point of screaming! Many thanks.
people eating live frongs a la bear grylls on saturday night
people having theor limbs sawn off whilst still conscious a la pan's labyrinth (saw on sunday)
people getting snuck up on
Why not shoot the whole thing from a "watched" perspective, so your characters are seen through the eyes of a stalker. A bit like Blair Witch in reverse. The psychological suspense will be enough to have everyone on the edge of their seats without the need for blood guts and gore, and you'll probably get brownie points for creating a film in which the audience are forced to view events through the villain's perspective - very uncomfortable viewing if you can pull it off.
Nah good idea though. I need to show what shot types I can do etc. See if I keep to rule of thirds, and make sure jump cuts don't occur, as well as showing off my editing skills. Cheers anyway!
I think scenes where something flashes past the screen are quite creepy. Also stuff like the Ring where the girl actually steps out of the tv is good, or where someone rushes towards the screen but their movement is more of a glide, as if they were on wheels.
In my opinion a good horror is not about how much blood and guts there are (although it sometimes helps) it is more about what you cannot see.
The music is the key. Get the pace of to correspond with how you want the audience to feel and you have cracked it. eg. Jaws and Pyscho. If you took the music out of a film you would take it's power.