Gore Deconstruction

Setting

• Some of the common settings for the sub-genre of gore include small communities and/or isolated places. Villages located in isolated areas such as on the outskirts of a woods are commonly used, an example of this is an old abandoned village or house and they have connotations of ghosts and death. However highly populated areas are also used to make the film appear to be more relatable to the audience, for example cities or estates. When located in these areas the victim is seen   down dark streets and narrow alleyways as these areas are usually associated with danger and isolation.

• Often areas that have a history of deaths and danger are used, for example abandoned houses and insane asylums as the villain could be the victim   many years before bringing a sense of realism and reasoning in to the  killings.
• The setting is usually very dark to help create suspense and mystery as it limits the audience vision. It also creates the enigma of what is hidden in the dark as the producer and lighting directors remove areas of view. The Saw franchise uses this to their advantage as seen in the image from Saw 6. The trap in which the victim is in is completely covered in darkness, the audience is not able to see the room in which the person is in or anything other then the trap itself. This creates a sense of complete isolation and becomes disorientated.

Iconography

• The visual style of the film is a large convention of the gore horror sub-genre. Commonly 
  darker colours such as reds and blacks are used as they have links to evil, death, blood and 
  danger. The dark style creates tension among the audience and it removes, what are considered, 
  happier and relaxing colours such as blues and greens. However these light colours can be seen 
  at the beginning to show to ‘calm before the storm’.
• Lighting is very important within film, low key lighting is regularly used to make shadows and 
  unfamiliar shapes. Not only this, hand held torches are used to give a cold white light, it also 
  directs the light in to a specific area keeping majority of the shot in the dark and creating 
  mystery. 
  
  
• Sound is important, with both diegetic and non diegetic sound playing a huge factor within the films. Non diegetic sound helps to heighten the emotion felt within specific scenes, during fast pace running scenes with the villain chasing the victim parallel music will play as it links to what is happening on scene. Low and deeper tones are commonly used within the horror genre as they create an scary atmosphere. Diegetic sound is the sound in whose source is visible on screen and/or the characters would be able to hear the sounds in the certain situation. An example of this is the sound of dripping blood or water, another example could be the sound of the weapon being used. By hearing these sounds within the film it makes the experience more realistic and believable.

Props

• Some common props used within the gore sub-genre consist
  of fake blood, guts and deadly weapons. Some of the more
  common weapons used within the horror/ gore genre are 
  shape blade and/or chainsaws as these are reasonably 
  mundane objects, this intensifies the fear within the audience
  as it identifies that the weapons are easily accessible and 
  increases the possibility of it happening.
  
  
• The weapons include: Chainsaw, common house hold knifes, drills and larger blades such as a hatchet. Smaller weapons such as scalpels are used to intensify the gore factor of the film as extreme close ups are used to make the details appear more realistic.
• Disturbing masks are regally used to distort the audiences view of the villain to make the characters appear twisted and dangerous. The idea of the unknown is a familiar fear within people, therefore producers use this to their advantage to increate the fear created. Not only this, it created the enigma of who the killer is and could be keeping the audience interested, this effect could be achieved through the use of lighting as well. However masks are usually seen within slasher/ gore horror films as these two sub-genres are seen with one another.