codes and conventions of a slasher film

1. By Ava
CONVENTIONS OF A SLASHER
FILM

2. Characters

3. Final Girl
 The final girl is known as the one character that
generally survives throughout the whole film.
 She is portrayed as virginal, smart and
someone’s whose confidence grows towards the
end of the film.
 She will look quite plain and wear simple clothes.
 She is not a character who is supposed to be
considered sexually attractive.
 She is meant to be the survivor, fighter and
bravest character of the film.

5. Villain
 The (normally male) villain of a slasher film will
normally be a masked, unknown entity. The mystery
surrounding him will be what makes him such a
frightening character.
 He does not usually die at the end of the film and
normally returns in a sequel of some sort.
 The villain will probably have a specific weapon he
uses e.g. chainsaw, knife.
 The villain normally has a tragic back story that
explains the incentive behind his murdering.
 Often the villain does not speak and is not harmed
until a ‘final showdown’ between him and the final
girl.

7. Sexually Attractive Girl
 Other than the final girl, there is normally one
other prominent female character.
 The sexual teenager will normally be blonde,
have a boyfriend and be sexually attractive.
 She is not a major character and will normally be
the first to be ‘killed off’ by the villain.
 This girl will not be portrayed as smart or
someone who is distinctly likeable.
 Her death will signify the start of all the trauma
and violence to be created by the villain.

8. Others
 The jock – this character is normally the sexually attractive
girl’s paramour and someone who helps to kill the villain
but is unsuccessful. He is likely to be the last to die, leaving
the final girl facing the murderer alone.
 The benefactor – this is generally someone older and wiser
than our protagonists. He will offer the teenagers help and
guidance in order to destroy the villain.
 Ineffectual adult figure – this character is normally
portrayed by an unconcerned parent, guardian or
sometimes even an incompetent law enforcer. The group
of teenagers will turn to this person for help but will be
turned away and forced to face the villain without much
adult help.

10. Settings

11. Suburban Neighbourhood
 The most common setting for a Slasher film is
the classic suburban neighbourhood. This
location is used most often as it is a scene
that the audience probably faces everyday-
making the fear of the fiction film a lot more
real.
 A lot of popular films take place in this setting
e.g. ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ and
‘Halloween’

12. Isolated locations
 Another popular site of Slasher films is
somewhere remote such as woods, alleyways
and abandoned houses.
 The teenagers usually visit these places
expecting an adventure but get into a lot
more trouble as the murderer soon appears
and starts the onset of violence

14. Miscellaneous

15. Other Conventions
 Mask – the idea of the villain being masked and unknown is
quite common within the Slasher genre. It is generally
more frightening facing something unidentifiable rather
than a known entity.
 Weapon – guns are not something frequently used by
villains within a Slasher film. Normally he would use a
knife, chainsaw or something guaranteed to cause a lot of
bloodshed.
 Low key lighting – although the film is not shot completely
in the dark, there will be a lot of dim, shadowy shots
inspired by chiaroscuro lighting that was commonly used in
the film noir genre. This is done to create a tense, fearful
atmosphere where the audience is on the edge of their seat
waiting for a shock.

16. Unconventional Elements
 Certain Slasher films decide to break the conventions
depicted in the slides above.
 The film Final Destination does this by not having a physical
killer. The murderer hunting down the victims is simply
‘death’ itself.
 Also rather than a final girl. There is a final boy, Alex and his
final friend, Clear.
 Another unconventional film isThe Ring. In this film, the
villain Samara, is female which breaks the conventions of
the murderer normally being male and masked.
 The film ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ subverts Roland Barthes’
semantic code by having most of the film shot from the
villain’s viewpoint making the audience feel sympathetic
towards him and almost complicit in his actions.