Research: Slasher Film Conventions

1. Slasher Film Conventions

2. The Sexually Active Girl:
The sexually active girl is usually the most vulnerable
and helpless character in films, as they are unaware of
the dangers around them. Most of the time, these girls
are young, blonde women, and often appear as ‘not
the brightest’, and annoying, meaning they are usually
the first to be killed off and are commonly killed in the
most gruesome way.
Because this character is usually promiscuous, they are
usually killed in a sexual, rough way. For
example being stabbed over and over again.

3. The Killer
In most slasher films, the killer is usually supernatural with some
form of weapon, e.g. a knife, a gun, a hammer, or an axe. However,
in some slasher films, the killer is an ordinary person who has
suffered trauma, is possessed, is revenging someone, etc.
Usually the killer has a deformed face, or wears a mask to conceal
their face, which is usually not revealed until the end of the film.
One of the most common conventions of the killer is their
immortality/indestructability. This is common with supernatural
beings who have abilities that make it difficult to be killed.

4. THE GROUP OF FRIENDS:
This is usually a friend/or group of friends, that joins
the hero in his quest to defeating the villain. In most
cases, depending on how many friends there are,
someone will be killed by the villain, but it is usually
one of the least popular characters. In most cases,
there will be at least one friend who will survive until
the end and defeat the villain with the hero.
The group of friends will
usually consist of the ‘sexually
active’ girl, an ethnic minority,
a ‘jock’, and a nerd, who
eventually ends up with the
final girl.

5. The Weapon
In slasher films, weapons that are most commonly
used are knives, axe’s, chainsaw’s, hammer’s,
machete’s, etc. This is because the use of an
object that is sharp and used for slashing fits with
the genre and creates the gruesome effect. In
some films, the weapon used will relate to the
killer’s background story, whereas in some cases,
specific weapons are used on certain victims only.

6. Sound/Music:
• Sound/Music: Horror films often use quite dramatic music or sounds
effects in order to empathize when something is going to happen.
For example if there's a creek in the floor boards it will be extremely
loud to create a suspense of fear towards the audience. Secondly the
music is often very dramatic and the sound will become louder when
a substantial event is going to happen.
• Typical fears: One of the conventions of a horror film is featuring
specific common fears.These often include; Nightmares, alienation,
vulnerability, death, fear of the unknown, and loss of identity.These
will often be related to the main characters persona or background.
For example in the film 'Ouija' the main character just lost her best
friend as she died, and wanted to discover more, Her two fears were
death and fear of the unknown.