Elements and structures of horror

There are many elements which are used throughout horror, however there are some which are included in every horror and the story/movie wouldnt quite be a horror if they weren't.
The four main elements are:

• Isolation
• Desolation
• Lost Cause
• Redemption

Isolation is the complete separation from others, one dictionary definition stated the complete separation from others to prevent the spread of contagious or infectious diseases, this is the definition of the word quarantine. You can immediately tell the technique of isolation has been used in the movie Quarantine as its part of the definition of the title. However with isolation, it doesn't have to be an individual alone, it can be a group of people cut off from all others as is Quarantine, also in The Cabin In The Woods, a group of people cut off from everyone and everything.

The main shot used in this film is P.O.V, and the only real light inside the quarantined building is that of the camera which isn't allot, although they re in a group the building is very large and in the dark, who knows what to expect, what you are going to come across, the idea of isolation is simple, however put together with all the other necessary elements it provides a very effective scare.

Desolation is when something is very barren, has little or no life around it, for example the desert of the arctic, it also mean deserted/abandoned. Yet another very simple idea, for example the house in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in the whole scene , you see nothing apart from fields and one quite large house, in this movie in a short space of time you can clearly see where both the ideas of isolation and desolate/desolation come together, they are isolated as in there somewhere in Texas, cars broken down, far from any real help, in an unfamiliar area, then they approach a desolate house in which they hope to find some sort of help and meet a chainsaw murderer instead.












Lost cause is someone or a hope that can no longer be salvaged, the films i am now going to refer to is very similar to the film Quarantine, its a film set in Spain, a seriously scary horror about an apartment block which is infected with a demonic illness which is contagious by bite, only throughout the film you find this out, the reason i use this film to describe lost cause is because, in this film to cure the infection they must find a test tube which contains a sample of blood, once they have found that sample in the film, they come under attack and the sample of blood is lost along with all hope.

Redemption is saving yourself or the actions of being saved from something bad/evil. The example i am going to give is from the film, Hostell number 2, an organisation who kidnap people on request for the rich who require them for sick fantasies such as human bloodbaths. In part 2, a girl is being cleaned up in one of the dungeons where the fantasies take place however whilst being taunted and tied up the anger and rage inside her forces her forward into the mans face where she bites his nose off grabs the key and manages to unlock herself. after all the build up of what happens to the kidnapped people and knowing whats going to happen to her, her redemption is breaking free whilst extremely close to torture followed by death.