BBFC classification guidelines

Horror films are usually given a certificate of a 15 or 18. This means that the film can only be watched at a cinema or bought by a person over this age. The BBFC have specified guidelines that are used to specify a film a certain age.

12 years and over

Theme: Mature themes are acceptable, must be suitable for young teenagers.

Language: Strong language must be infrequent. Racial abuse is of a particular concern.

Nudity: Allowed but must be discreet and brief.

Sex: Sexual activity may be implied. May reflect what is familiar to most young adolescents.

Violence: Must not use major detail and must not emphasis on blood or injuries. Sexual violence must only be discreet and briefly indicated.

Imitable techniques: Dangerous techniques (hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not be shown in an imitable manner or appear pain free. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamourised.

Horror: Sustained moderate threat and menace are permitted. Occassional gory moments only.

Drugs: Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or instructional.

15 years and over

Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Language: There may be frequent use of strong language, but the strongest terms will be acceptable only in terms when justified by the context. Continued agressive use of strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity: Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual way or educational context.

Sex: Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.

Violence: Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain and injury. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

Imitable techniques: Dangerous techniques (eg: hanging, suicide or self harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Easily accesible weapons should not be glamourised.

Horror: Strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.

18 years and over

The BBFC's guideline concerns will not normally override the wish that adults should be able to choose their own entertainment within the law. However, exceptions are most likely to be made when the material appears to the board to risk harm on individuals, through their behaviour or to society. For example any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use that is likely to promote the activity. They may also intervene if they feel that sexual assault is being endorsed or if explicit images of sexual activity is being shown, unless they can be exceptionally justified within the context.

Our Horror film

Our horror film would most likely be a 15 as it would contain quite a bit of violence and frequent use of strong language, as they are being haunted and violated by a ghost. This isn't shown in the opening of our film as it occurs at a later stage. Our film wouldn't qualify for a 12 as it must show infrequent use of strong language whereas ours has quite a bit. Violence must also not dwell on blood whereas our film includes blood and gore at a later stage.

Typical horror movie fans

Typical Male fans


16/17 year olds



Like: Sport, Comedy, Video Games
Dislike: Reading, Animals, Moaning, Work
Shops: Burton, Sports Shops, HMV, Game
Music: Heavy Metal, Rap, Rock
Clothes: Designer labels, Jeans, Hoodies, Shirts
Job: Paperround, Shop worker, Sports related
Money: Medium wage
Class: Middle Class
Other Films: Comedy, Action/Adventure, Thriller
Education: GCSE's, A levels or at college. Average grades

The boy in the middle is wearing a sports hoodie and the boy on the left is wearing a designer t-shirt.



Typical Female fans



17/18 year olds

 Like: Make-Up, Celebrity Gossip, Accessories
Dislike: Sport, Insects, Video games
Shops: Primark, New Look, Topshop, beauty.
Music: Pop, R&B, Boy bands
Clothes: Labels (Hollister, Jack Wills), Jeans
Job: Paperround, Hairdresser, Shop worker
Money: Medium wage
Class: Medium class
Other films: Rom-Coms, Comedy, Musicals
Education: GCSE's, A levels or at college. Good grades

The girl on the right is wearing a designer jumper.



Stereotypical horror fan

Goths are stereotypical fans of horror movies. They relate to the genre as they wear darker clothes and make-up. They also generally have a darker behaviour. This implies that they are more drawn to gore and violence featured in horrors compared to the romance or humour in romantic or comedy films.

However as shown above, not all horror film fans are like this as they are seen as ordinary people that generally like many different genres of film and clothing. The girls in the above image are also wearing minimal make-up compared to the pale face and dark eyes and lips in the gothic image.

Our initial horror film ideas

Plot of Film

- A cursed book is delivered to a house. Every Occupant that ever lives in this house becomes cursed. They begin to see ghosts and strange things begin to occur. The author of the book is the ghost and they all eventually die, as the ghost/author is taking revenge on the house.

The Production Company

We came up with the idea of 'Big Scream Productions'. We chose this because it relates to the 'big screen' as it connotes media/hollywood. However we used this as a play on words to come up with scream instead. This relates to the idea of the horror genre.

Title of Film

We came up with a few ideas for our film. These were: -

• Squattors rights. This could be because the author of the book sees the house as his and therefore everyone who lives in the house afterwards is seen as squatting and therefore takes revenge on them.
• Household vengeance. This could also be appropriate for our film as it again relates to the author having a hatred towards the house and is therefore taking it out on the occupants.
• Elimination. This would be an appropriate film title as it connotes getting rid of, therefore implying death which is common in a horror film.
• Provoked Removal. The word 'provoked' suggests that the author is making them rise to his challenge of the book and is therefore removing them from "his" house.
• Chapter 4. This title provides the element of mystery and also relates to a book as they have chapters. This could also suggest that at Chapter 4 in the book something bad happens in that chapter of the film.

Actors and Characters

Elizabeth Jones (Author/Ghost) - Played by Amber Kibble
Ryan Jacobson (Man) - Played by Ollie Roberts
Claire White (Woman) - Played by Laura Browning
Newsreporters -  Played by Shara Hobbs and Adam Thompson

Settings

Inside a House (Bathroom, Living Room)
Outside the house (news report)

Film Production Companies

20th Century Fox

The company has used Gold font for the title. This could connote that the company is rich and the Best as Gold is associated with winning. The writing is in Bold to stand out amongst the rest of the image to show its importance.

Paramount

This logo shows a mountain surrounded by stars. A mountain connotes the biggest suggesting they are a well-known and top production company. The stars might suggest celebrities or awards. The word 'Paramount' means the biggest. This connotes that this production company is the biggest and the best.

Universal                                                          

The logo for Universal uses space. This connotes that it is out of this world and uses the word 'Universal' which suggests it is International, therefore very well-known. They have used a gold outline around the text suggesting that it is Rich and the best as gold is associated with winning and money.

Dreamworks

The logo for dreamworks productions is also set in space as it shows a young boy on a moon with a fishing rod. The setting of space could suggest that it is out of this world. The young boy could suggest that this production company specialises in child friendly and fictional films. The boy could also be a metaphor for fishing for dreams.

Film 4

Film 4 is a well-known production company as they have their own television channel therefore appeal to a mass audience. They have chosen the colour red for the background. This colour stands out as it is bright and is a simple and easily recognised logo.

Warner Bros

Warner Bros uses Gold font for its title which connotes rich,
expensive and the best as it is associated with winning. The logo uses the first two letters of the word which suggests that it is a well-known production company as they don't need to use the whole name and can still be recognised.

Take Two Productions

Take Two Productions uses similar images to negative film strips. This connotes media and filming, suggesting it is a production company. "Take Two" is another media term as they do takes after each scene until they get it right.