12 Rules for Horror Films, Animated

Scream 4 doesn’t hit theatres until April 15, 2011. If you want to brush up on your horror film rules before Wes Craven rewrites them, you can attend Fearnet‘s special, 12-step, holiday education program. It’s an online course called Fear Academy.

The e-class illustrates classic rules of slasher flicks. Fearnet is releasing the curriculum as animated, one-minute video lessons, one for each of the 12 days of Christmas.

Instructional videos teach you “the hazards of sex and booze, the dangers of trusting dolls, techniques for defeating serial killers,” and many more pieces of practical wisdom and mortal importance derived from watching too many John Carpenter movies. It’s a lot like CBS’ How to Survive a Horror Movie

, but with stick figures and scare tactics.

LA-based production house Liquid Theory provides the animations for this Fearnet uber-short-form original series. The black, white, and red all over interpretations of killer tropes are smart, stylish, and educational. Be sure to check them out at Fearnet.com.