Sound within the Horror/Thriller genre

In the majority of Horror/Thriller films the sound seems to match the mood and atmosphere, which creates an unnerving, eerie feel. This is used to sometimes emphasize specific characters or objects; Stingers allow the viewer to take notice of a specific person, and his/her relevance towards the scene through sound e.g. a low grumble when a mysterious/evil looking character walks in. There are also other terms such as diegetic (the people in the film can hear the sounds as well as the audience) and diegesis (when the sound matches the narrative structure) which similarly factor in the mood created by the film. Continuity music can flow from one scene into another in order to establish a sense of importance and significance upon the shot; it could be used if the "hero" is chasing the "villain" to emphasize the importance of the situation and could therefore possibly make the audience feel on edge and anxious about the following scene. Other terms such as Emotional Realism helps contrast the feelings within the scene, which is generated through sound. All of the previous terms and key words can help to bring out the meaning of the film, or can be used in a variety of aspects to scare the audience and create tension. The common convention of a horror film is to incorporate some sort of high pitched, disorientating sounds which will help convey the general tone of the film; especially effective at the beginning so people know what to expect later on. It is an aim to try and use most of the subsequent techniques to allow the effectiveness and development of my 2 minute introduction, and since components/conventions which are frequently contained within the similar genres are common today, it would help bring the film into the Horror/Thriller genre, thus creating the mood I set out to establish.