The document discusses common stereotypical character types in horror films, including the hero, victim, evil character, and non-believer. The hero is typically male but now can be either gender, while the victim is usually female. The evil character takes many forms but is always presented as inhuman. The non-believer doubts that any threat exists and often dies first, triggering more deaths.

1. Stereo-typicalStereo-typical
HorrorHorror
CharactersCharacters
AS Media

2. The Horror GenreThe Horror Genre
• The horror genre is one of the oldest genres rooting back
to the late 1700’s where gothic horror developed in
literature. Since then many codes and conventions
have been established, one of which being the
stereotypical horror characters.
• Four characters which heavily feature in the majority of
horror films are:
- The Hero
- The Victim
- The Evil Character
- The Non-believer

3. The HeroThe Hero
• The Hero is stereotypically always a male character within
classic horror with a strong and very masculine build. In
more modern horror productions however, the hero has
evolved to be of either gender and if made female,
challenges the genres’ classic conventions.
•
• Unlike genres such as thriller and action, in horror the hero
very rarely triumphs over evil and more than often does
not live to see the ending of the film.
•
• The hero tends to be quite cold towards the audience and
shows little emotion, perhaps to show his strength but
more likely for the purpose of stopping the audience
getting attached to the character so they are not
greatly affected by the inevitable death.

4. The VictimThe Victim
• The main victim is crucial to a horror with it being almost
impossible to not involve a victim. They are almost
always female and reliant on other characters.
•
• They are portrayed as weak and vulnerable and seek
protection (often a role taken by the hero). This
concept dates back to a more sexist era however the
character has now become a convention and so this
sexism has continued into modern productions.
•
• The character is purposely portrayed so the audience
dislike them, and often suffer the most gruesome/gory
death.

5. The Evil CharacterThe Evil Character
• This character is not always the simplest to identify and can
take many forms eg. Psycho, Serial Killer, Ghost, Demon,
Vampire etc. They may also disguise their character either
through a physical disguise or by hiding their true
personality from the audience and other characters.
•
• They are more than often presented as inhuman; inhuman
emotions, inhuman form, and never seem to be affected
by injury until they are killed (if they are eventually killed).
•
• They are the character which always has the most impact on
the audience and is the most significant thing they
remember from the film. They strike fear in both the
audience and characters and are ultimately what makes
the horror genre what it is.

6. The Non-BelieverThe Non-Believer
• The non-believer is often the character who is self-assured
and over-confident which inevitably is the cause of their
downfall.
•
• They can be of either gender but are more than often male
and their main role is convince the other characters that
nothing is happening and they are overreacting.
•
• The audience may at first view the non-believer as a voice
of reason however as the film continues they will
become to view them as naïve and all sense of security
will disappear. They are usually the first to be killed and
trigger the rest of the films deaths. Their death doesn’t
usually have an effect on the other characters.

7. The Non-BelieverThe Non-Believer
• The non-believer is often the character who is self-assured
and over-confident which inevitably is the cause of their
downfall.
•
• They can be of either gender but are more than often male
and their main role is convince the other characters that
nothing is happening and they are overreacting.
•
• The audience may at first view the non-believer as a voice
of reason however as the film continues they will
become to view them as naïve and all sense of security
will disappear. They are usually the first to be killed and
trigger the rest of the films deaths. Their death doesn’t
usually have an effect on the other characters.