Research On Sound Used in Horror- Jennifer

The types of sound effects used in horror, have become more and more effective over the years. The reason for adding sound effects in horror, is that it adds an element of fear to the audiance, as it heightens the impact of the scene.

Diegetic Sound- 

This is the kind of sound that happens in the film itself, and this sound is heard by the audience and the actors/ actress.

Types of Diegetic sound that can be used in Horror could be footsteps, and dialogue (speech) maybe a character in the film is whispering to scare the protagonist or even sound effects. This creates  suspense in Horror and it also portrays the kinds of characters in the films personality and behaviour. For example, a piano can be used when an antagonist is coming for its victim, which shows they are not good characters. Diegetic sound contributes to the realism of the film this is important as it creates a perfect or not so perfect atmosphere for the audience.

Non- Diegetic Sound- 

This type of sound is only heard by the audience, it is usually created during the post production of the film, and a certain soundtrack is created to match the action that is going on in a particular scene. This kind of sound provides the audience with an emotion, a mood that adds realism to the scene.

Voice overs- 


In horror many producers tend to use voice overs, especially when spirits are in the film, or when a frightened character is thinking. This allows us as the audience to know more about the characters on screen than the other characters who are in the film.

Incidental Music- 


This is used to add emotion and rhythm to the film, so the audience are drawn to it from the beginning till the end of the film. Background music usually foreshadows a change in the mood in horror, which is important as it may indicate trouble is ahead or a disaster has happened. It also allows the audience to link scenes from the film to one another, and example could be a situation that may have occurred earlier on in the film which reminds the audience about the idea of the film.

I usually find that in many horror films static effects are used. This also create suspense in horror film, in scenes such as when there's a thunder storm, or a phone and the TV starts to frizz out.

Disturbing sounds are very important in horror, as it excludes any threats if we are unable to see them in the film, but it makes us more aware of what's going on in the actual scene. However, we need to be careful when creating types of sound as it may create an unsettling tension and suspense. So the pace of the music added into the scene needs to be appropriate so it terrify the audience too much.