Horror Film Aesthetics ─ Creating The Visual Language of Fear

This richly informed study analyzes how various cinematic tools and techniques have been uses to create horror on screen---the aesthetic elements, sometimes not consciously noticed, that help to unnerve, frighten, shock or entertain an audience. The first two chapters define the genre and describe the use of pragmatic aesthetics (when filmmakers put technical and budgetary compromises to artistic effect). Subsequent chapters cover miss-en-scene, framing, photography, lighting, editing and sound, and a final chapter is devoted to the aesthetic appeals of horror cinema.

Thomas M. Sipos has worked as a script reader, actor or extra on more that 70 Productions and has contributed to Filmfax, Midnight Marquee and other magazines.