1. Vladimir Propps stock’s character
Stock Characters Character Explanation Character example and
Narrative of film they are in
Portrayal of character
The False Hero The false hero is usually the
character in a horror movie
that first appears innocent and
harmless but throughout the
plot turns out to be an evil
character. At the beginning of
the film, the audience is fooled
into thinking that they are a
‘good’ character who is the
hero, however towards the end
of the film they turn out to be
evil.
Adam Carr- Valentine
The movie consists of five
women stalked by an unknown
assailant while preparing for
valentine’s day. Throughout the
film, the false hero, who is
Adam Carr keeps supporting
the girls and shows signs of
concerns, however he turns out
to be the murderer himself at
the end of the film.
Throughout the film, Adam Carr is dressed
in normal attire, depicting the fact that he
is an ordinary, innocent man who is
helping out the girls. From the eyes of the
viewers, it is clear that he is an innocent
character who is a good friend and that is
willing to help. On the other hand, Adam
Karr wears that mask to disguise his
killings, and he is viewed as an evil
character. The audience however does not
know that they are both the same
character.
Towards the end of the film the audience
starts to feel empathy towards the false
hero due to his past.
Villain The villain is the evil character
who causes the disequilibrium.
They are portrayed to the
audience in an evil way the
whole time. This is usually
shown through the costumes,
make-up, sound of their voice
and their actions. Usually in
horror films, the villain either
dies, escapes, or is overcome
by the hero. However, in some
horror films, the villain
overcomes the hero.
The Creeper- Jeepers creepers:
The Creeper in the movie
‘Jeepers Creepers’ is a flesh
eating creature. One day, a
brother and a sister were driving
home for spring break and
encountered this flesh-eating
creature who was the creeper.
The creeper ends up eating parts
of their body, sowing other parts
or saving them.
The Creeper is portrayed in a negative light
as he is the villain. It is clear to the viewers
that the creeper is the villain as the way he
looks gives it away. As The Creeper has the
ability to regenerate any part of his body
by devouring a similar part from a victim, it
is clear that he is the villain as he is
harming other people in order to live.

2. Vladimir Propps stock’s character
Hero The hero is usually the
character that survives until
the end of the film although
they are put in harmful
situations. They are usually the
Target of the villain throughout
the whole plot. In terms of the
horror genre, the hero tends to
be a female, ‘the final girl’. As
well as the hero being usually a
strong and intelligent
character, they tend to be very
good looking and attractive. In
terms of the male gaze theory,
this is very important as it
helps the audience to view the
hero in a positive light and
highlights the fact that this
character is the hero.
Nancy Thomson- A Nightmare
On Elm Street:
Nancy Thomson is a 16 year
old girl who has nightmares
about a mysterious disfigured
man in a red and green
sweater. Eventually, she learns
that her best friend has the
same dreams however she is
murdered in her sleep that
night. Throughout the film,
Nancy finds out that she can
pull things out of her dream like
the man’s hat, which said ‘Fred
Krueger’. After her mother
telling her that he used to be a
child killer who dies, she forms
a plan to face Krueger and pull
him out of her dream, into the
real world,. He ends up being a
victim to a series of traps that
Nancy has set up. Nancy finally
defeats Krueger by taking back
the energy she has given him
and stripping away his power.
This makes her the final girl and
the hero.
Nancy Thomson is portrayed as a beautiful
and attractive character which helps the
viewers to be on her side. According to the
male gaze theory, the woman being
attractive helps the character to be more
of a hero. It is clear that Nancy Thompson
is the hero in ‘A nightmare on Elm street’
due to the fact that she has risked her life
to stand up to the villain even though he
has murdered many children in the past as
well as her best friend.

3. Vladimir Propps stock’s character
The Doner The doner is usually the
character that helps the hero
out by giving them something
special that may help them out,
such as a magical object or a
specific wisdom. The doner
may be a god or a wise person;
however they may also be a
normal human being that has
something mysterious about
them.
Rham Jas- Drag me to hell:
Drag me to hell consists of a loan
officer (Christian brown) who
evicts an old woman from her
home and then finds herself the
recipient of a supernatural curse.
As she is very desperate and
terrified, she turns to a seer to
try and save her soul, while evil
forces work to push her to a
breaking point.
Rham Jas is portrayed to the audience as
an extraordinary character due to the way
he acts and communicates with other
characters in the film. He is dressed an
Indian outfit with a beard and lights
candles all around the room, which
suggests he is a man of wisdom. Rham Jas
is a fortune teller who informs Christine
that she is being haunted by a spirit after
seeing multiple demonic faces. This makes
it obvious to the audience that he is The
Doner as he has helped the protagonist by
telling her that she is haunted by a spirit.