The document discusses various stock character types that are commonly seen in slasher films. It describes the roles of the jock, wanderer, final girl, popular girl, and pervert. The jock tries to protect the group, the wanderer gets killed first by wandering off, the final girl is often a virgin who survives, the popular girl is attractive but gets killed early, and the pervert lusts after one of the girls. It also uses examples from films like Halloween, Scream, and The Cabin in the Woods to illustrate how these tropes frequently play out.

1. Stock Characters

2. • Slasher movies have a ‘formula’ for the characters in the movie. They are usually
teens, who party and like to have a good time.
• There is The Jock, the one who is the cool one in school, and tries to be the
protector of the group. The is also the Wanderer, who wanders off and gets
themselves killed. The Final Girl, who is the one who survives the horror. The
pervert, who lusts for one of the other characters, be it the final girl or the popular
girl. The Popular Girl is typically in a relationship with the jock, and they are at the
top of the high school hierarchy.

3. The Wanderer
• The wanderer is the character who always wanders off, and typically gets killed
first.
• The wanderer is also often the comedic influence of the group, as it fits his nature
to be the one to wander off, and get himself killed.
• They could also think of themselves as the ‘responsible’ one of the group, for
example needing to go off and get help, as they feel they are best suited to
represent the group.

4. The Final Girl
• The Final Girl is the one who “lives to tell the tale”.
• She is often a virgin, as pointed out in Scream, when explaining the rules to
survive a horror movie.
• She has friends, but not quite the same reputation that The Popular Girl has.
• She is usually quite sensible, and has something which links her to the killer.
Adults dismiss her as Turns out to be the baby
sister of Michael Myers
being crazy
Sensible.
Both wear modest
Daughter of Freddy spends
clothing, Halloween
Krueger’s killers
Not too revealing babysitting
instead of
partying
Both well behaved,
responsible
Her father is the
Nancy Thompson – A
Nightmare on Elm Street sheriff of the
(1984) town, who is in
Laurie Strode – Halloween (1978)
charge of finding
Myers

5. The Popular Girl
• The popular girl is typically a friend to the main character ‘The final girl’.
• Also typically blonde, and the good looking one, objectified for the audience.
• Also she is often quite skeptical about the situation, and she typically gets
killed off near the beginning.
• Although being popular, they aren’t always particularly nice people, that you
can route for. They are more likely ‘popular’ due to good looks and wealth.
Blonde, skinny, big boobs. Someone
The characters best for the male audiences to look at.
friend
Quite vain, and is popular Sarcastic, bitchy, not taking the
in school. situation seriously.
Also for male
audiences to look at.
Tatum – Scream (1990) The ‘slutty’ one.
Wears revealing clothes.
In a relationship with
‘the jock’.
Jules – Cabin In The Woods (2012)

6. The Jock
• The Jock is the character who thinks himself the strongest, bravest of the lot.
• Usually tries to save the day, but ends up getting himself killed in the process.
• Often in a relationship with the popular girl
Both wear sports clothing, and are
mentioned to be good at sports in
the movie.
Muscular, reinforcing the idea of
being good at sports.
Scotty – Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003) Good leadership skills, takes Curt – Cabin in the Woods (2012)
control during the movie to try
and keep the group alive.

7. Pandora
• Pandora is the character who ‘opens the box’ and brings forth whatever evil torments them in the
movie.
• Doesn’t have a specific gender to the character, is sometimes male and sometimes female.
Insists on listening to the
tape containing the spell
which awakens the spirit.
Is a coward when the
spirits rise, and he tries to
escape the first chance he
gets.
Scott – The Evil Dead (1981)

8. The Pervert
• The pervert is the character who lusts after one of the female
characters, typically the final girl.
• They are often an outcast, who finds themselves put with this group
of friends, whether they just happen to be friends in the first place,
or are thrown in with the group during the drama.
Is in love with the main character
He Is a bit of an outcast, not
Randy – Scream (1990) getting along with some of the
main characters

9. The Cabin in the Woods
The cabin in the woods is a good
example to look at the stock
characters, as it claims that the
killing is an ‘ancient ritual’, and says
that the victims need to be of a
certain nature, filling all the
requirements. They also say that
the victims need to die in a certain Jules – The Popular Girl
order, and that the final girl’s death
is optional, provided she is the last
one alive. This would explain how
there is often a girl who gets Dana – The Final Girl
away, and so rarely a boy.
Curt – The Jock
In the beginning of the movie, you
get to see what the characters are
like, and they don’t necessarily fit the
criteria for the sacrifice, however
throughout the film they are
manipulated to become the stock Marty – The The character of Holden doesn’t really
characters we are familiar with. fit with these stock characters, but in
Wanderer/The Joker the movie’s ritual, they had the role of
’the scholar’ which he filled.