This document discusses representations in horror films. It outlines common character archetypes like the hero, villain, victim, and helper. It describes traits of these characters like gender, appearance, and role in the story. It also discusses how class, age, gender, and ethnicity are typically portrayed. Narrative and audience theories that apply to the genre are explained, such as how horror films follow patterns defined by Todorov and Propp and how they entertain audiences seeking escape.

1. REPRESENTATIONS IN HORROR
FILMS

2. CHARACTERS IN HORROR FILMS
• Hero (protagonist)
• Evil character (antagonist)
• Female Victim (princess)
• Non-Believer
• Helper (Helps the hero)

3. HERO (PROTAGONIST)
• The hero is mostly the main character and is a male. He
is of a masculine build and is portrayed as strong.
• Tends to be the strong and brave character which faces
the evil and goes after it.
• The character who plays the hero often shows little
emotion as they play a supporting role for other
characters.
• However, in some recent films the hero has been a
female which has challenged horror genre conventions.
• REPRESENTATION = POSITIVE
• An example would be Seth Gecko from From Dusk Till
Dawn.

4. EVIL CHARACTER (ANTAGONIST)
• The antagonist can take a lot of different forms in
horror movies such as the serial killer, a ghost or a
vampire etc.
• Their face is usually hidden to create suspense and a
fear of the unknown for the audience.
• When hurt or attacked, the villain usually gets up again
unharmed to emphasise their super-natural nature.
• This character is the character who scares the audience
the most and puts fear into them.
• REPRESENTATION = NEGATIVE
• An example would be the demon from insidious 2.

5. FEMALE VICTIM (PRINCESS)
• Portrayed as being vulnerable and someone who
needs protecting (by the hero)
• The representation has come from earlier horror
films when it was always female as it was more
sexist in that time.
• The victim is usually young and attractive
• This character helps put the audience on edge as
they are usually extremely jumpy and scared.
• REPRESENTATION = NEGATIVE
• An example would be Renai from insidious.

6. NON-BELIEVER
• Can be either male or female
• They are shown as being over confident and tell the other characters that
they are over reacting
• Usually the first character killed due to their attitude.
• The audience will listen to him at the start of the film and be re-assured by
him, so when he is killed the audience will loose their sense of security.
• REPRESENTATION = POSITIVE
HELPER
• The helper helps the hero throughout the film
• They usually come into the film when the hero is in danger and is in need
of saving
• Can be male or female
• REPRESENTATION = POSITIVE
• An example would be Evelyn in Annabelle

7. CLASS, AGE,GENDER AND ETHNICITY
• CLASS: Mainly working class as it is relatable for
the audience and adds to the sense of fear in the
fact that this can happen to anyone, even them.
• Age: Mainly 20-30 as this is the age that people
are moving into homes together and have a
family with a young child. ( These are the aspects
of horror films which make them scary e.g
haunted houses).
• Gender: Male- hero, Female-victim
• Ethnicity: Predominantly white

8. NARRATIVE THEORIES
• Tsyvetan todorov:
The film starts off as usual and then a problem occurs
(the villain usually comes in at this point) then the
recognition of this problem which is solved by the hero.
The film then ends when life returns to normal.
• Vladimir Propp:
Characters in horror films fit with Propps character theory
and ideas
• Levi-Strauss:
Horror films always have binary opposites, for example:
Good and bad, Sane and insane and mortal and immortal.

9. AUDIENCE THEORIES
• HYPODERMIC SYRINGE THEORY
This theory says that the media has a negative effect on the audience.
The media injects the audience with ideas and beliefs. This is relevant
to the horror genre as they are injected with ideas about what goes on
outside of their own lives.
• USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY
Audiences aren’t affected negatively by the things they see. They can
tell the difference between reality and fiction and USE the media for
four different reasons. Out of these, one of these apply for horror
films. ENTERTAINMENT-People use horror films as a way to pass time
and entertain themselves, they also use it to escape the their daily
troubles and familiarise themselves with a new concept.
• DESENSITATION THEORY
This theory says that the more you are exposed to something in, the
less you are affected by it. If applied to extreme horror films, it would
suggest that after a while of watching these films, the viewer would
not find the film violent and horrific but would consider it normal
behaviour.