Common themes include corruption, deception, isolation, alienation, violence, revenge, paranoia, and the unknown, all presented through the visual style of film noir.
It typically aims to provoke an emotional response, whether through shock, terror, or a sense of unease, while also challenging societal norms and exploring taboo subjects.
This genre embraced dark visual aesthetics, with heavy contrasts of light and shadow, and psychological themes, often involving morally ambiguous or complex characters and bleak narratives.
The piece also explores the influence of German Expressionism on film noir, with directors like Fritz Lang and Billy Wilder bringing expressionist visual techniques to Hollywood.
This style influenced later horror and noir films, giving them a “haunted” quality, where characters face a world filled with night, dread, and psychological tension.
It explores how the film pays homage to classic noir through themes of crime and betrayal while incorporating horror’s suspenseful atmosphere and stylistic tension.
[26] In the 1960s and 1970s, directors like Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski continued to evolve the genre with films like Psycho and Rosemary’s Baby, which combined psychological horror with noir’s tense, shadowy style, creating a sense of paranoia and existential dread.
These films explored darker psychological themes and were visually influenced by noir’s stylized lighting and shadow effects, often set in urban landscapes.
[34][35] Another common technique is Dutch angles and low-angle shots, which create a sense of disorientation and unease, complementing horror noir’s psychological complexity.
[5] Films such as Angel Heart (1987) and Se7en (1995) employ noir’s visual style—shadowy, high-contrast lighting, urban desolation, and claustrophobic framing—alongside horror elements like serial killers or the supernatural to intensify the suspense.
[38][39] Gothic horror has its origins back in 18th-century literature, which typically emphasizes eerie settings, such as haunted castles or isolated mansions, mostly focusing on psychological dread, supernatural events, and sometimes tragic romance.
Classic Gothic films like Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) present characters struggling with internal and supernatural forces, often set against gloomy, elaborate backdrops that evoke a sense of the uncanny.
Figures such as Roman Polanski, John Carpenter, and William Lustig are frequently noted for their use of suspenseful imagery, psychological complexity, and dark visual language, which are key elements of horror noir.
Carpenter’s Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) merges noir’s mystery-driven narrative with horror’s visceral elements, employing subjective camera angles and dramatic lighting techniques to create an atmosphere of psychological tension and ambiguity.
[34][43] Directors of photography such as John Alcott, Conrad Hall, and Oswald Morris are notable for their contributions to the horror-noir genre, particularly through their innovative use of lighting and camera techniques.
Alcott’s cinematography in The Shining (1980) utilizes atmospheric lighting and signature tracking shots, which work together to heighten a pervasive sense of dread that aligns with horror noir conventions.
Morris, known for his work on Moby Dick (1956), used deep shadows and contrast to create a visually moody environment, embodying the dark, atmospheric qualities central to the horror noir aesthetic.
This trend began to shift with films like "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), which featured a Black protagonist and highlighted social issues relevant to the Civil Rights Movement.
It discusses how the genre has often reflected societal attitudes towards race, including the problematic portrayal of Black characters as monsters or as expendable figures who often die first in horror narratives.
Scholars argue that this genre has long reflected and influenced societal perceptions of race, utilizing horror as a lens through which racial anxieties are projected and explored.
This trend persists even in films with progressive undertones, such as Candyman or The Shining, where Black characters play limited or archetypal roles that reinforce rather than challenge existing stereotypes.