The slasher sub-genre

The sub-genre my production will fall under is the slasher sub genre. The slasher sub-genre has many codes and conventions that make it distinct from other sub-genres.

Killer:

The killer is usually of human form but with supernatural abilities or at least the appearance of supernatural abilities e.g. Halloweens killer Michael Myers is shot several times but is not killed, Freddy Krueger was killed but can somehow kill people in their dreams etc. The killer is usually a male with a unique costume or mask separating him from the victims and other killers of the sub-genre. An example would be the hockey mask worn by Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13^th sequels. Sometimes the killer is seen to have a history of violence or abuse which has created the homicidal maniac he has become. 

Weapon of choice:

The killer usually uses a knife, scythe or other stabbing implement to kill his victims. The choice of weapons goes hand in hand with the higher degree of graphic violence contained in the slasher genre. The use of phallic weapons is also to symbolize the psychosexual nature of the killer and that perhaps he gets some sort of twisted/perverted pleasure by stabbing sexually active teenagers. The killers in Scream and Halloween use a knife and the killer in Nightmare on Elm Street uses a glove with bladed fingers.

Victims:

The victims are usually teens or college students which may be because stereotypically they are more likely to be involved in immoral acts or perhaps because the target audience is usually late- teens, college students. The sense of horror/excitement is then increased as the similarities between the victims and the audience facilitates sympathy/apathy. Typically the victims are not random but have some ties with the killers past.

Like most sub genres of horror there is usually a sole survivor, however in slasher films that particular survivor is usually a white female referred to as the final girl or virgin girl. She is usually the most moral of her peers and the one who finally defeats the killer (Jamie Lee Curtis' character in Halloween).

Settings:

Slasher films are typically set in locations where you would expect to see the victims/target audience e.g. high school, college, summer camp, house parties etc. They are places usually isolated from adult society or just isolated in general to remove the idea of rescue. The films can largely take place during the day, however any scene involving an attack by the killer is usually set at night reinforcing the boogieman image of the killer.

Similar Texts

To ensure my film is identifiable as a slasher film I researched films of the same sub-genre to see what codes and conventions they used and how they could possibly influence my production.



Scream

When I was initially told that we would be making a horror opening sequence, the film Scream is what first came to mind. It contains my favourite opening sequence and is probably, alongside the opening to Halloween, the most memorable title sequence of the slasher sub-genre. The story in the opening sequence is masterfully constructed around the codes and conventions of the slasher sub-genre and contains more sophistication than is usually expected from a slasher film.  

The opening sequence.....

From watching this sequence I learnt a lot about the codes and conventions of the slasher sub-genre as well as what camera techniques and shots are effective and how to pace the scene. The themes that were present in this sequence were murder, the predation of women by a maniac and gore to name a few. The scene taught me that it is conventional for the victim to be a young, white girl who in this sequence proves to be particularly shocking when we see the manner in which she is slaughtered and then hung. The killer is disguised and hidden in a mask and costume which makes him seem even more sinister and otherworldly than he would without. The killer uses a knife to kill his victims which are chosen because of the level of brutality this weapon provides and also to show the psychosexual fury the killer possesses. I have learnt that music is used to accentuate particularly suspenseful parts of a scene and is also a good tool to add atmosphere to your scene. I have learnt that it can add to the feeling of fear if the killer taunts or tortures the victims before murdering them. The use of a chase scene is effective at increasing the excitement as it plays on the common nightmare of being unable to escape something. Cross cutting was used to create a sense of hope that the victim may be saved which is ultimately crushed when the killer kills her adding to the shocking effect of the scene.

From watching this sequence I have decided that the killer in my movie will also wear a mask and use a knife as I believe it is a very easy way to add authenticity to my production and because the killer in the sequence looks very menacing. This sequence has also influenced me to use music which I feel will compliment the action on screen. The killer uses a phone to taunt the victim so my killer may use technology to taunt the victims in my production or even use it to kill them. P.O.V shots are used in this sequence which I will also do in my production as I feel they are effective at creating sympathy for the victim and for engaging the audience.   

Halloween

Halloween was the first slasher I ever watched and as I was young at the time I found it very scary. The now iconic theme tune was what scared me the most as well as the mask and the way in which we were given the P.O.V of the killer.

The opening sequence.....

 The themes prevalent in this sequence are almost identical to those of scream except with the addition of sex and nudity. What I learnt from this sequence is that the P.O.V shot can have an unnerving effect on the audience if it is the P.O.V of the killer. I also learnt that slashers are usually set in American suburbs which may be because the target audience is people who live in sub-urban areas or maybe because violence rarely happens in the suburbs of America so it accentuates the fear. Another point about the location is that it is obvious my film will not be set in the same type of location so my film will challenge convention in this respect.

This sequence has influenced me as I now want to include a P.O.V shot from the killer’s perspective in my production. I would also like to use the voyeuristic way in which the killer behaves as I believe this is useful for building tension. The use of sound effects is very well done in this sequence so I will see how I can add sound FX to enhance my own production when I begin editing.