Production Techniques used in Horror

There is a range of techniques used in the horror industry that are designed to scare the audience.

What scares us
Horror films often pick very common fears to use, they use things that scare us like spiders, the supernatural and feeling powerless.By choosing such a generic fear it will apply to almost all audiences.

Atmosphere
Atmosphere plays a big part in horror films and are key to a decent film.To create a good horror film it cant just be jump scares there needs to be a good build up to jump scares and a greater variation in scary features such as quick glimpses of the fear(whatever scary thing it is in the film),flashbacks,gore and foreshadowing.

Suspense
Atmosphere differs from suspense as atmosphere is tonal and visual whereas suspense is the unnerving feeling something bad is going to happen. Suspense is normally built up using darkness, dramatic shadows, glimpsing something moving in the background and not being able to see what it is and The Dark Voyeur ( a framing shot used to make it look like a character is being watched or haunted etc.)

Writing
A good horror film needs to be well written.From my experience I believe that the best horror films are character driven rather than plot driven although a good combination of both can also lead to a good film.For a horror film you don't just put in the gore and scary features it all needs to be linked in to a well written and intricate plot.

Effects
To create a good horror film you don't need lots( if any) special effects.A key part of horror is the music and the sound effects as they are key to the build up of tension and atmosphere.