Vladimir Propp analyzed Russian folk tales and identified 31 plot elements that recurred across stories. He also noted 8 common character types used to advance the narrative, including the hero, villain, donor, and princess. However, critics argue that Propp ignores differences in character, tone, and mood between tales. Additionally, his focus on the princess as a reward is less applicable to horror genres. Claude Levi-Strauss believed that all narratives are driven by conflicts between binary opposites such as good vs. evil. Finally, Tvetzan Todorov's theory is that stories typically follow a pattern of equilibrium, disruption, and a return to equilibrium or a new equilibrium.

1. Theories

2. Vladimir Propp’s Narrative Functions
Propp was scholar who studied the plots of Russian folk tales and noted
that they all shared 31 different plot elements. He also realised that
there were 8 different types of characters in all stories, however the
emphasis on these characters was not them as people but devices used to
move the narrative forwards. These 8 character types are:
• The hero – who seeks something
• The villain – opposes the hero
• The donor – provides the hero with a magical object
• The dispatcher – sends the hero on a mission
• The false hero – falsely assumes the hero role
• The helper – supports the hero
• The princess – a reward for the hero/needs protection from the villain
• Her father – protects princess
One criticism of this is that ‘he ignores character, tone and mood in his
analysis which differentiates from one tale to another’. This also is hard
to apply to the horror genre as usually the princess is not the reward but
survival its self is. Another judgment of this theory is that it is mainly
shown from a males point of view which makes it less applicable in todays
more equal society.

3. Claude Levi-Straus Binary Opposition
Levi-Strauss came up with the opinion that all narratives are driven by
conflicts. He believed that these conflicts are driven by opposing forces
such as good and evil. Some common binary opposites on horror films are:
• Good vs evil
• Moral vs immoral
• Sane vs insane
• Man vs alien
He believed that the understanding of certain words was not so dependant on
the meaning of the them but the difference between them and their opposite.

4. Tvetzan Todorov’s Basic Narrative Theory
This is that all stories start on an equilibrium which is then disrupted
then eventually returned to another equilibrium.
Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > New equilibrium
Or
Equilibrium > Disruption > Recognition > Repair > Reinstatement
While this is common in most horrors e.g. the final destination films. They
begin with happy young people (Equilibrium), then all of a sudden a person
has a vision stopping a fatal event from happening and all the characters
start to die one by one (Disequilibrium), after all the characters die the
cycle is finished and there is new peace (New equilibrium). Not all horror
however follows this routine as sometimes the narrative scrambles the order
of events e.g. through flashbacks.