Significance of Setting (Forest)

Setting is very important in film, and it doesn't matter what the setting looks like necessarily. The most important thing is what you do with it. Setting helps set the atmosphere and pans out how the scene will be, you can also gain inspiration and get ideas from your surroundings. And one of the most used settings in the horror / psychological genre is a forest. Now forests are supposed to be calm, tranquil places where one can go and forget about the harsh realities of the 21st century. Towering trees, sound of blowing leaves, green shrubbery and the sound of birds are things commonly associated with forests, and all these things are extremely comforting. This is why the woods is such a nice place to escape to. But there is still something eerie about the woods, a sense of unease and discomfort. A feeling that behind each tree there is something lurking. And this is why horror films like to take advantage of it. In the woods you are in the wilderness, far from quick response if anything goes wrong. In the woods no-one can hear you scream. So many horror films have taken place in a woodland setting, 'Friday the 13th' takes place in a camp in the middle of the woods, 'Cabin in the Woods' (self explanatory), and 'The Evil Dead' also takes place in the woods. There are just so many things in the woods that can give people the feeling of unease, the thought that someone can see you but you cannot see them. The trees that dwarf the passerby can even seem evil and un-welcoming. Especially at night, there is no more terrifying place at night-time, but still at the same time beautiful. A lot of the time when a scene takes place at night in the woods, you can always here crickets, faint sounds of insects, sounds of cracking branches and there is a rolling fog in the background, effecting visibility just enough that it creates a feeling of tension. Most of the time you do not even need to alter the visuals of the setting, just the never ending row of trees seems to go on forever, giving off that effect of isolation and that you are so far from the populated word. Dark, dead trees surround you like demonic relics and hang over you like crooked arms, waiting to consume you.

I thought it would be relevant to post my view on the significance of the woods in horror films for a lot of my trailer will be shot in a woodland setting, and it is just something to think about for I believe  one of the most important factors in creating a successful film / trailer is using your setting well, and also taking inspiration from it to benefit the story.