Costume in Horror Movies

The costume in horror movies is very important because the antagonist (villain) in a horror movie is essentially the main character of the movie. This means that it is important to get the costume right because the antagonist is the person that inflicts fear and entertainment into the audience. There are certain items of clothing and make-up film makers purposefully use to cause more fear and tension.

The character which our group is using is a clown, so that similar of 'Pennywise' from the movie IT. There are certain parts of the costume that are purposefully placed to give extra effect. However, as the clown is in itself already a character, we have to obide certain stereotypes, for example, the red nose and big hair. We have to try and maintain a 'clown look'.

If we were to look at Pennywise the clown, we could see why the film makers have decided to give him certain characteristics. The red hair and red nose could be implied to signify danger or blood within the film. The red nose and red hair on the pale white face shows extreme contrast between colours. The white could show that the clown is not human, as there is no sign of 'pink' skin. We often say that skin can look 'full' or 'fresh' when it has colour and healthy skin is often tanned. So this lack of colour make Pennywise seem as if he isn't human but a ghost or monster.

The actual costume of Pennywise is brightly coloured and personally, i think that this is to do the opposite of what bright colours are supposed to do. If you were to think of bright colours like orange/yellow/green then you would think of mainly pleasant things, however, in this scenario Pennywise's colours are somewhat ver the top and creepy. They look out of place, like any clown does. That is what i think the main message of the costume is. They're trying to make Pennywise seem out of place and abnormal just like all horror characters should be. This is common because the audience are aroused by abnormality, because it surprises us and enetertains us.