asher Films Codes And Conventio

The Slasher Genre

Slasher films are a subgenre within the
horror genre, which usually consists of many
conventions-one of which involves a villain
who is out to brutally kill a number of
victims. Slasher films are mainly based on
horror, thriller and crime, this is due to them
having violent and graphical scenes. Slasher
horror films are an influence of German
expressionist films and film noir.
Here are some examples of slasher films:
Halloween
Nightmare on Elm Street
Dead mans shoes

The Promiscuous Girl

Conventionally in a Horror/Slasher film the first person
to be killed is the sexually active girl or, in other words,
the first girl. This character is almost always portrayed
in line with the male gaze as she is usually blonde and
attractive. Other traits involve the girl to not be as
intelligent as the rest of the social group which makes
her more vulnerable than the rest. For example when
something unusual happens in the woods the blonde
usually is the first to seek it out which concludes with
her death. The first girl is also traditionally killed during,
before or after sexual acts; this relates to her being the
sexually active girl also linking with the ideology of a
promiscuous girl. The blonde promiscuous girl is literally
the binary opposite of the final girl. The idea for the
final girl was first represented in the original
Halloween 1978. The representation of the
promiscuous girl lives up to the stereotypical teenage
girl, as she is sexually active and dresses in
promiscuous way. The functional analysis of the
promiscuous girl is shown though her behaviour and not
so bright. The ideology conveys the typical teenage girl
in western/American lifestyle. Because the antagonist
slaughters the promiscuous girl, you could argue that it
is being done because she is being punished for her
promiscuity, which reinforces dominant ideology.

The Final Girl

Since John Carpenters Halloween and even the film Psycho, lots of
horror/slasher films have followed the conventional rule of allowing the good
girl/final girl to survive either killing or just defeating the monster. The survivor
is almost always a girl which is why this character is referred to as the final girl.
Conventionally, the final girl is usually intelligent, young and a virgin. She
tends to witness her other friends being murdered before her eyes. The final
girl never seems to be sexually active and that is why she is usually
acknowledged as the virgin. In horror slasher films the final girl is represented
as the monstrous feminine following this specific representation as the final girl
picks up the weapon or any weapon to try and kill the killer. This conveys that
the final girl is following the monstrous feminine representation.
The monstrous feminine theory was a theory created by Barbara Creed. Her
theory was that within the media women are often portrayed as monstrous and
that the most obvious place to consume and view is usually in the horror
genre, primarily the horror/slasher genre. She had built her theory on the basis
of freauds psychological theory which is based on why people act in a certain
way. Is based on a male child who is connected to their mother on a deeper
level, the child then leaves this stage and takes their place in the real world it
is traumatic as they begin to understand that their mother does not have the
same genitals as they do. This is were the idea of castration is introduced.
Because of this they feel threatened by there mother as they fear being
striped of their masculinity. This symbolises women evil or monstrous.
Typically at the end of horror/slasher films the final girl possesses a weapon to
defeat the Villain, the weapon that she is using represents creeds theory as
the weapon is reflecting the use of castration upon a man conveying the villain
in a vulnerable way making the final girl seem more monstrous and evil.
Another point to consider is at the beginning of the film the final girl is
represented as the ideal daughter as she goes to college/school, holds her
books(stereotypical good girl) it represents her as a young educated daughterwhat society expects. By the end of the film she is portrayed as a monstrous
feminine women as she attacks the killer with the knife, again relating to the
monstrous feminine theory. The name Final Girl was created and used in
Carol Clovers book, men, women and chainsaws.

The Other Friends

All slasher/horror films have a consisting group
of friends that usually run off all the typical
horror/slasher stereotypes. Throughout the film
they are usually picked off one by one, leaving
the final girl (who is conveyed as the intelligent
girl) surviving at the end. Because of the target
demographic that horror/slasher films appeal to
the group of friends are either college students
or high school students. They usually end up
being left by their parents or they go out on a
trip to for the weekend where they manage to
become victims of the deranged killer. Each film
has a series of characters who represent a
specific role, especially in horror/slasher films;
this falls in line with Vladimir Propps theory of
narrative functions. For example the final girl is
usually portrayed as the hero whilst the killer is
portrayed as the villain. There is the use of the
benefactor, every film usually always has a plot
device as well to claim victory over the
antagonist.
Here a few examples of slasher films that use
these conventions:

Cabin In The Woods

Scream

I know what you did last summer

Texas chainsaw massacre

The Killer/Villain

Every Horror Slasher film to date has a main antagonist

which represents the disruption disturbing the
equilibrium(which links with Todorov's theory of narrative).
The killer usually always has a mask and stays as an
anonymous figure. The reason this sometimes happens is so
that the audience can stay interested so that they can find
out about the identity of the killer. Sometimes in films like
Halloween 1978 you know the identity of the killer, we
know that the killer is Michael Myers. The mask is also a use
of allowing the audience to use their imagination for the
killers identity, it allows them to construct their own vision of
the killer and it becomes more terrifying for the audience.

Conventionally, the killer is always a man with slasher

weapons such as a knife, a chainsaw, and many more sharp
objects that they use to kill their victims with. If the identity
of the killer has not already been revealed then it usually is
by the end of the film when the final girl attacks him. The
killers plot against his victims is sometimes revealed as well.
The killer is never harmed by the victims as he picks off each
victim one by one.
Conventionally the killer always has some sort of mask, its
some what a stereotype for the killers, this allows the
audience to recognise the killer from the rest of the
characters in the film. Following Vladimir's Propp's theory,
the killer is the binary opposite of the final girl, hence
villain/hero.

The Benefactor
Conventionally and following Propps
narrative theory based on functions every
horror/slasher film has a benefactor, the
benefactor is traditionally the older, wiser
person. The character is somewhat aged
and experienced, and enables the final girl
into success as the benefactor guides
them to survival.
The benefactor is usually a man of power
and wealthy. Some examples include a
doctor or a police man.
Sometimes in horror films the benefactor
turns out to be the killer, this is
unconventional as they try to trap the final
girl with false information leading them
exposed so that the killer can kill them.
Vladimir once said that the typical
benefactor in the film helps the final
girl/hero during the climax of the film.

The Setting
The location of slasher/horror films vary
between suburban neighbourhoods and
abandon woods. Traditionally slasher
films tend to use suburban
neighbourhoods as the target
audiences would be very familiar with
the locations as they live in suburban
houses themselves. This location will
engage with the audience a lot more as
it is a familiar location, it will also add
fear as they would prefer their
suburban areas to be safe.
The location tends to have a low
population and is almost always quiet,
which adds a fear on screen. Many
slasher films such as e.g. Halloween
use the locations connected to the
killers past. Derelict buildings and
woods are also popular among horror
films as they are brilliant to shoot in at
night.