8. Audience Expectations

TASK: Answer the following questions:

1. What is the sub genre of horror you are creating? 

The sub genre of horror I am creating is Psychological.

2. Who do you think the target audience for this sub genre is and why? Back up your points with specific examples and conventions from the genre. Why do you think these people will enjoy your sub genre?

The target audience for this sub genre would most likely be anyone from the age of 15 to 30. Films that are a 15 usually include strong threat and horror, therefore this is the lowest age of audience that i can target this particular sub genre at. However, some 12A and 12 films include moderate physical and psychological threat, but these must not be too frequent or sustained, therefore having a 12A and 12 audience may be considered to be inconvenient for me as I will want to include strong threat and horror which i can only do so if my audience is from the age of 15. In addition, I have stated that the sub genre is aimed towards adults up to 30 as psychological horror movies can appeal to any age as it would depend on the person, however adults up to 30 tend to be much more interested in this particular sub genre than for example a 50 year old. I believe that both men and women would enjoy psychological horror movies due to both having an interest in the different elements that a psychological horror movie has to offer. For example, men would typically enjoy scenes with gore and violence, however women find more interest in scenes which create suspense and entertainment.

3. What demographic do you feel would watch your film?

The Jicnar scale puts people into categories A, B, C1, C2, D and E based on their job. Their job will usually determine their education level and income so is useful in considering the type of lifestyle that your audience may lead.

I believe the demographic that would watch my film would be social E. Although this category only has a percentage of 8 in total, I have come to the conclusion that this will be my demographic due to teenagers and students falling under this classification. In addition, my film will be aimed towards those whom are 15 years old or older, therefore teenagers or students whom are 15 are most likely to be unemployed, which only means that they will have much more time to go to the cinema and watch movies. Moreover, someone who is from the B demographic group will have a professional career and a busy schedule, therefore they will be less likely to attend the cinema and watch movies.

4. What BBFC classification will your film fit into? Use the BBFC website to decide this. The sub-genre that you choose to create will determine whether your film will be a 15 or 18. What effect will this have on your target audience?

The BBFC classification that my film would fit into would have to be a 15. Due to psychological horror movies not displaying very strong violence or strong horror, it would be unsuitable to display my film as an 18. Psychological horror movies are mainly associated with the fears and emotional instability of a character, therefore it is unlikely for a psychological horror movie to include very gory scenes, strong detailed sex or sadistic or sexualised threat. Many horror movies are classified as a 15, therefore I don't think this will have any particular effect on my target audience. In addition, anyone whom is younger than 15 may feel that it is too scary, therefore they may be unable to handle some of the scenes that are displayed in a 15 classified movie. It is crucial that I do not exceed the guidelines of a 15 by including strong detailed sex or very gory scenes. On the other hand, due to my film being a psychological one, I don't think this will be a problem.

In order to know exactly what my target audience expect to see in a psychological horror movie, below I have created a short video asking several people who I believe to be my target audience, the question "What do you expect to see in a psychological horror movie?".