2. Representation of Gender
With most films, main female characters are always
represented to have some sort of mental illness, and
this is even more apparent with horror films, as it
adds to the on edge feel of most horror films. Also
female characters are represented with low
intelligence, making tem an easy target.
With male characters, it is implied that the bad guy
is male, as they can then be seen as more
intimidating. But when male characters are victims in
a horror film they are normally seen as strong and
defiant of the bad guys.
3. Gender Cont.
However, there are exceptions to the rule. For example
in Scream 4, because of the masks and cloaks the
person/people on a hunting spree isn’t figured out until
the very end, where it is discovered that it is one of
the more innocent girls of the whole film.
When it is found out that she has been the one killing
people it is apparent that she is a little crazy (as are
most lead women) but it is a big surprise to the
audience as she is a very unconventional
character, and actress, to be playing a serial
killer, and that adds to the horror of the film.
4. Representation of Disability
Representation of disability in horror films is usual based around
the killer/bad guy. The back story for a killer is usually that they
have had a horrible childhood or someone has wronged them in the
past, causing them to be mentally ill, and this puts them in the
right mind to be a serial killer. In the cases of Jason, from
Friday the 13th, he is represented as having a child-like
mind, and doesn’t understand that what he is doing is wrong.
Also with women, especially if they are the main character, are
more likely to be mentally unstable, causing them to fight the
killer back, or join forces with them. It can also cause them to
turn into killers themselves.
5. Disability Cont.
People with disability aren’t very likely to
be in a horror film as they are
unconventional to the horror film genre.
6. Representation of Age
Most villains are stereotypically classes as middle age, as
any younger they would probably be too naïve, and any older
they would be too weak to be a killer. Normally, if the victims
are younger (i.e. children) or older they are more likely to be
weak, making them an easy target.
With a lot of Slasher Films, most main characters are
teenagers or young adults, and I think this is because they
can be represented in many different ways, like easily
confused and caught out, or as a very intelligent killer that
isn’t caught out till the very end of the film . A good example
of this would be the Scream Franchise, as most of the
characters are quite young, and this means they can be either
killed easily, or kill people easily.
7. Representation of Race
Although it is wrong, a lot of killers in
horror films are of different race to the
majority within the film, especially in
older movies before ethics were brought
into the film industry. In earlier
films, race was used as an excuse to
killer others, but now that more ethics
where brought in that isn’t the case as
much.
