Conventions of the Horror Genre - Isolated Setting

A common convention of Horror films is the isolated location. This was typically due to low production budgets, forcing the film to be shot in one place with a minimal cast - in a more populated area the film would have run into privacy issues and such.

The other reason for the isolated setting is to scare the audience, as it makes the events more realistic if they take place in one location, rather than all over the place. The feeling of being alone in a horrific situation creates tension and has the audience in suspense. After the movie has ended, viewers can relax with the thought that the events in the film existed only in that one isolated location, which is no threat to them.

In the film "Night of the Living Dead", Directed by George Romero, the characters are cornered into an old house in the middle of nowhere as the Zombies close in on them. In Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", the killer resides in an old motel in the middle of nowhere. Though some scenes took place in other locations, the majority of the film (and certainly the main events and killings) takes place in these distant locations. The fact that these horrific events happen away from the cities where the audience reside makes them all the more believable. They could be happening right now, you just can't see it.

In "Night of the Living Dead", the isolated setting puts forward the idea that we are not prepared for the abnormal. This idea rings throughout the film, with the zombies taking the general public by surprise. The house setting is clearly not equipped for a zombie outbreak - there are doors and windows everywhere. Boarding up these points of entry results in losing possible exits, and leads the main character to bar himself in the cellar - like being backed into a corner. The presence of guns and the fact that the zombies are afraid of fire are mere coincidence, as not everyone has access to ranged weaponry or usable fuel deposits. The zombies eventually overpower the people and break into the house, which suggests that their numbers are too much for our precautions, and that we cannot hope to fight them all off, forever. The fact that the house is in the middle of the country means that there are no neighbours nearby that could possibly provide help or sanctuary.

In "Psycho", the isolated setting brings out the fear of the unknown. The setting exists in the middle of nowhere, off the highway between cities. It is a normal enough place - a motel with a friendly host - though its placement is unfortunate if not suspicious. This is another theme of horror films, where the setting or character is foreign or unknown, as it is more scary to be kept in the dark as far as these go. Had the film taken place in the middle of the crowded suburbs, there would have been more people in the motel, less chance of Norman getting away with his initial crimes for so long, and more chance of a police intervention. Being out in the country almost seems too far away for the authorities to do anything, which gives the characters reason to act on their own.

The isolated location convention in both of these films was a success. Romero's 'zombie vs country house' scenario has become typical of zombie films, games, and other media. It is the most familiar setting imaginable - a perfectly normal house. The idea that it cannot withstand a zombie apocalypse is certainly a scary thought. What if they came for me? Could my house withstand them? Now you look at all the windows and doors and realise the flaws of your own home.
Psycho's setting made the audience feel uncomfortable that even the most quiet, normal place can be the location of a twisted murder spree, and that the quiet, well-mannered host may turn out to be an insane murderer. It differs from the stereotype of haunted mansions and gothic architecture, which is seen in films such as "Frankenstein".
Both settings are familiar and realistic, being as common as weeds in our world. It shows you do not need to visit a rundown gothic mansion in the middle of some foreign country to be vulnerable to death and fear. You need only be alone, anywhere. The idea that the home isn't safe comes out of these films, and ties in with the now-typical idea of never leaving the group or being alone in a horror movie.