THE IMPORTANCE OF LIGHTING IN HORROR FILMS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN3ZUwp_68s
Lighting plays a significant role in story telling and can determine the overall mood of a film, especially when it comes to the horror genre. Therefore, when deciding how you want to orchestrate lighting your scene, it is crucial that you carefully consider the story you want to tell and how you want your audience to feel while watching it.
One of the most common techniques used in horror films is the incorporation of harsh shadows to envoke fear and anticipation from the audience in hopes that nothing is lurking within the dark. Stategic lighting adds a feeling of uneasiness and lack of safety, which only makes those jump scares so much more impactful to the audience. Less lighting actually adds a lot to the story. For example, when a character in a horror film is unable to find any working lights, they resort to tactics such as candlelight, which creates a sort of low light effect that changes the atmosphere and draws tension. As stated in the video above, "lighting is as important a storytelling tool as the script itself." So when you want to make a good film, especially a horror film, think of how much better your story can be conveyed if you gave more thought to how you would light the scene.