In order to get a wider perspective on the audience of horror films of a similar genre to ours, I decided to research into the reviews films of the paranormal/supernatural genre in order to get an idea of what the audience of this genre like and dislike about these films.
Insidious Reviews
Insidious is an overall successful film with a 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 62% rating from the audience. After reading the reviews on the film on amazon, I have found that the majority of the audience liked the film because of the eerie atmosphere, music and the likeable characters, as this added to the tension and suspense created through the films narrative. The audience also appreciated the lighting and use of shadows in the film to increase the atmosphere and tension of the film. However, a lot of the negative reviews focused on the laughable narrative, the use of loud sounds to emphasise jump scares and scare the audience.
Paranormal Activity Reviews
Regarding the reviews of critics, Paranormal Activity is more successful than Insidious with an average rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film was less successful in regards to the audience, with a rating of 56%. From the amazon reviews, I have found that the majority of the audience who rated the film highly appreciated the films use of silence and the occasional use of white noise to develop a tense and suspenseful atmosphere, leaving them on the edge of their seats. The audience generally like the films realism as they felt that they could relate the films events to their everyday life, making it much more frightening. In addition to this, the audience generally had positive opinions on the use of darkness within the film, keeping the audiences imagination guessing as to what was happening. However, the critical reviews highlighted the cliche of the film and how the homemade footage was 'outdated' and did not do much to develop the film and its narrative. These reviews also played close attention to the lack of scariness when considering the tension and atmosphere that is built throughout the film, claiming that it was 'anti-climactic'.
Regarding the reviews of critics, Paranormal Activity is more successful than Insidious with an average rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film was less successful in regards to the audience, with a rating of 56%. From the amazon reviews, I have found that the majority of the audience who rated the film highly appreciated the films use of silence and the occasional use of white noise to develop a tense and suspenseful atmosphere, leaving them on the edge of their seats. The audience generally like the films realism as they felt that they could relate the films events to their everyday life, making it much more frightening. In addition to this, the audience generally had positive opinions on the use of darkness within the film, keeping the audiences imagination guessing as to what was happening. However, the critical reviews highlighted the cliche of the film and how the homemade footage was 'outdated' and did not do much to develop the film and its narrative. These reviews also played close attention to the lack of scariness when considering the tension and atmosphere that is built throughout the film, claiming that it was 'anti-climactic'.
Sinister Reviews
Sinister received generally consistent reviews with both critics and the audience, earning it a 63% rating from critics and 61% from the audience. The film received mainly 5 star reviews on amazon, with these reviews homing in on the atmosphere that remains unwavering throughout the duration of the film. The reviews also focused on the genuine jump scares and frights that the film created, along with the fact that the narrative and tension of the film stuck with the reviewer after the film, something that they note not many horror films do these days. The reviewers also comment on their appreciation of the lack of gore and blood despite the very gruesome narrative. The more negative reviews underline the underdeveloped, flat characters who could be annoying at times and draw the attention away from the narrative. These reviews also spotlight the illogical and predictability of the story at points, claiming that it took attention from the classic horror suspense and thrill.
The Woman In Black Reviews
The Woman In Black was a very highly anticipated film as it was the return of Hammer Productions, a highly successful horror film studio. However, the film only received an average of 66% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an even lower 54% from audiences. The film was seen as a disappointment due to the intense editing of the film to make it a 12a in cinemas so that it appealed to the teen audiences in addition to adults who were more aware of the story and the original novel. The film received very mixed reviews among viewers, with some of the more positive reviews saying that the films success was vastly due to the good emotive acting of Radcliffe, along with the classic tension of a Gothic Horror film in addition to the scary house. The audience mainly had positive things to say about the film, claiming it was dark and scary without any cliches or gore. The more negative reviews pointed out the very 'average' script and the thriller-esque feel to the film, drawing away from the novels horror and terror.
After looking at the ratings received on IMDb, I have found that in all of these cases, the films have received the most amount of views from Males, and an audience within the age range of 18-29 years old, confirming the suspicion that the majority of horror watchers are under thirty. From reading the reviews I have found that most audiences appreciate atmosphere and realism when watching a paranormal horror and dislike any illogical plot twists and over exaggerated scares that take away from the films narrative. From this research, I am going to attempt to cater my opening to the audience of paranormal horrors, more than a general horror audience.
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