Advantages:
Genre theory can help an audience know what to expect. This may help them get interested in a film. If somebody hates horror and knows its going to be in a film then they wont watch it. If somebody loves sci fi and hear about star wars coming out then they will be all over it. Showing some conventions in trailers can make people aware of what type of film you have. This marketing is useful with genre theory.

Disadvantages:
However sometimes the expectation of a film can be wrong. People may expect a film to be a certain way but it turns out to be something completely different. This leads to disappointment.
The genre theory can have many boundaries which can be restrictive to directors trying to make their vision come to life. Keeping to the rules can be difficult especially when you are wanting to be creative and original.

Case Study – Frankenstein (Horror)
The film Frankenstein follows horror film conventions very closely and doesn’t tend to stray from them. Conventions such as Monsters/ Evil Beings, Bad Weather, Violence/ Gore, Jump Scares and Dark Lighting are all conventions that people notice the most. There are obvious conventions of a horror film but there are also aspects of science fiction. This is due to the scientific background and nature of Victor Frankenstein.

Horror
The main focus of Frankenstein is the monster that Victor creates. The monster is constructed of random body parts from dead people. The trigger which brings him back to life is a jolt of lightening. Straight from being made the monster is considered evil because all he wants to do is kill people. Even before he was made people were saying that what Frankenstein was doing was evil and morally wrong because he was ‘playing God’.
There is a clear thought of violence on the monsters mind because the first thing he does is strangle Victor when he sees him. When he gets loose he finds somebody and hurts them. There is no conscience, all he knows is to kill and hurt people. This links in with the gore aspect of horror as well as this is where the gore usually comes in. Death is often a major factor of horror films. Its the death of characters that usually makes everybody else nervous because it leaves the audience asking the question ‘who will die next?’
The blood from the gore also connects with the idea of color in horror films. The blood is red which symbolises various things such as pain and hatred. You will normally find many dark colours in these films because having something light goes against the idea that evil is darkness. You would expect soulful colours such as dark red, blue and purple. In Frankenstein’s lab there is low lighting and dark colours everywhere. This varies from his test tubes to the corners of the room. The scene where he brings the monster to life is set at night so its dark and there are shadows everywhere which suggests mystery.
There are also some camera angles that make appearances in horror films such as the point of view shot and the close up. the close ups tend to be of a victims face to show their terror. There can also be shots of the killers face to bring fear to the viewer. It is usually the point of view of the killer/thing. This puts the audience in their shoes. Sometimes if the victim is hurt and they are on the floor the camera shot may be high angle. This makes them look powerless. The same goes for the low angle shot of the killer, it makes them look very powerful. This is used in the film when the monster goes to kill the old blind man. The man tries to run away but trips. The monster gets closer and the shots change to the point of view of each person. This builds up tension as you wait for something to happen.

Take Down (Thriller)

Thriller
Take Down is a thriller film which follows a group of rich kids who get taken hostage for ransom. It follows thriller conventions such as low lighting(at times), battle between protagonist and antagonist and quick cuts. Things like tension music and the diegetic sound of breathing are conventions associated with thriller.

There are many moments throughout the film where it is obvious its a thriller. A lot of moments keep you on the edge of your seat and anxious about what’s going to happen. There is a main protagonist and four antagonists. The number of antagonists goes down throughout the film as the protagonist works to protect his friends. Throughout the film there are low lighting scenes during the night which Is a convention of thrillers. There are shadows which suggest mystery which is a main theme in thriller movies. In some senses the thriller genre is similar to the horror genre. However usually thrillers aim to be as real as possible. This means that the audience feel it could happen to them in real life. The fear part of the thriller genre comes from. It makes the film more real to the audience. During battle moments there are quick cuts and fast paced music to build up tension as the audience waits to find out who wins. The scene where the kids get taken there is a montage of shots to show all the action happening on screen. There are changes in the angle of all the shots which can be shown from different characters points of view. This puts the audience in the characters shoes which can also make it feel more real. The whole point of a thriller is to keep you on the edge of your seat. This film successfully does that throughout. There are moments where you know something is going to happen or jump out when you are in a POV shot and there is either very slow or no music. Point of view shots are used quite well in this film because it makes the audience feel like they’re in the film, this builds up the tension. Its a powerful thing in thrillers and they’re spread all over. Fear of the unknown also makes thrillers a success. They tend to build up suspense and make the audience question why something is happening.