To what extent is 'The Blair Witch Project' typical of the Teen-horror genre?

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To what extent is ‘The Blair Witch Project’ typical of the Teen-horror genre?

The genre of a film is the category in which the film fits, for example comedy, romance or action. Genres are important for two main reasons, as a guide to the audience and for the marketing purposes of the film’s producers.

The teen-horror genre is increasingly popular category of film with more and more of these movies being released at the cinema over the past few years. Teen-horror films are made to appeal predominantly to teenagers and young adults because of their content and storylines which usually end in bloodbaths. This kind of content does not appeal so much to more mature audiences even though these films are often given 15 or 18 certificates.

The typical teen-horror will begin with a group of friends who somehow become involved in some mysterious and often dangerous circumstances which will lead them to division and eventually on to their bloody deaths. Often the main group of characters will find themselves lost or trapped in an old house or remote location, while other times they will find themselves being hunted down by psychopathic killers or evil forces that will kill them off one by one. More often than not the cast will feature an inevitable love interest between a helpless blonde girl and a heroic, handsome male. Objects such as knives, axes, chainsaws and meat hooks will make for untimely endings for certain characters.

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It is obvious from the title that ‘The Blair Witch Project’ is a film about legendary witches and evil phenomenon rather than a serial killer on the loose. In most horror films the title will often give the audience a strong indication about the plot of the film, for instance ‘Long Time Dead’ is about the reawakening of an evil spirit. The word ‘project’ in the title also suggests that this film may be about an expedition to find the witch rather than the witch coming after someone. The title is fairly typical of other teen-horror films because it ...

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