The document summarizes key conventions of slasher films. It discusses common character archetypes like the final girl, killer, and friends. It also outlines typical elements like the weapon (often a blade), isolated settings familiar to audiences, and low-key lighting that creates shadows and mystery. Narrative theories like Vladimir Propp's character types and Claude Levi-Strauss's binary oppositions are also relevant to slasher film structures and themes involving innocence versus experience.

1. CONVENTIONS OF A
‘SLASHER’ FILM
By Shuruthi Kamalendran

2. SLASHER FILMS
‘Slasher’ is a sub-genre of the main genre, horror. These films often involve the
same sort of narrative, with the same kind of weapons (frequently a weapon
that cuts hence the name ‘slasher’ , and similar characters (this genre is often
aimed at young adults, so young adults are the main characters)/ settings (an
area where young people feel safe)

3. The Characters
In slasher films they have similar certain characters, such as: the killer, the finale
girl, the promiscuous girl, the jock, the benefactor, and the nice guy.
The final girl is the last woman alive in the
killers killing spree, sometimes they’re the last
one confronting the killer or even defeating
the killer and often the ones telling the story.
Most of the time the finale girl is portrayed to
be the less attractive, smart girl out of all the
females in the film and who is also the virgin,
she comes across as very innocent and
never takes part in illegal activity.
The killer within the story is seen to receive
injustice in their life which plays as a motive
to go on a killing spree, some ‘slasher’ films
don’t have this as a reason, most victims are
linked to the killers past. The killers are
regularly masked to preserve their identity till
the last scene. Also they are often male
killers, bursting with masculinity with
unrealistic strength and ability.

4. THE MONSTROUS
FEMININE

5. The final girl has features that is seen through different films, such as a unisex name, she is often virginal and does not participate in illegal activity. Her typical appearance is boyish and not
as pretty as the other female characters presented in the slasher film. Sometimes the final girl would have shared history with the killer himself. The horror film, slasher genre used to be a
genre that was aimed towards the male audience, with its gore and action. But now we are in a day and age where most horror films, specifically slasher are now greeted with a following
from an audience that is mixed with males and females. It is a common trend in slasher films when the lead character is often a young girl and is the only female that survives, and who
usually defeats or ends the serial attacker’s offence. She often, arguably, becomes masculine, she is no longer the damsel in distress, by the end of the film, and example of this in a film
would be Sydney from the scream franchise, a young innocent girl is the main victim of a serial killer who manages to survive many encounters with the killer, throughout the film many of
her friends who partake in illegal activities are killed which reinforces the point that the female heroine is innocent and just, she then goes onto end the killers rampage and has therefore
developed as a character into a much more masculine and independent person. This argument about the final girl being either monstrous or empowering raises questions, so I am going to
explain my views.
By the end of a slasher film, the final girl becomes more masculine than she was, almost as if she has changed into the killer. This could be seen empowering, or monstrous.
Women in culture are seen as being monstrous, eg. Witches, Medusa, Sirens. This could be linked to Sigmund Freud’s theory which is that every mind unconsciously as a child has the desire
to have sexual relations with the parent of the opposite sex. That’s why in adult life, the choice of a sexual partner could resemble ones parent. As children develop, their relationship with
parents change. When the child is young (a toddler) the mother is an extension to the child, this is called pre-oedipal space. Making this transition where the child disconnects with the
mother, is the symbolic order this is an important stage in a child’s development since the child moves from the pre-oedipal space to the symbolic order. If this process is disrupted it will
affect the child, and its lover in life. When the child realises that the mother does not have a penis, the realisation effects the way the child looks at a women which is an abject manner.
Women are seen to be monsters because she represents the fear of castration. Relationships with mothers can be seen as being scared, so men think women are a threatening their
masculinity. Barbara Creed said you can see this representation in horror films.
The empowering view, which is a positive observation towards the slasher genre in general is that, the genre seems to be the only one that portrays women is a masculine way. The sole
survivor of the tragic killing is in fact a female individual, hence the final girl. The final girl fights and even defeats a more physically powerful killer which is empowering. Women are
generally portrayed as the damsel in distress, this portrayal started from fairy tales, even as far as Greek tragedies and to this day you see this stereotypical view on women in most genres,
(especially the action genre). Slasher being the only genre that have women as the main protagonist that both male and female would watch also giving women that power is very
encouraging, also helps to break that strong stereotype in a patriarchal society.
The monstrous view starts from the comparison to women and men. Compared to men, women go through animalistic points of their life due to body changes, for example pregnancy and
the menstrual cycle. These changes are very physical, (pregnancy shows a visible baby bump and the menstrual cycle with the bleeding). Men have none of these physical animalistic traits
which give women the monstrous portrayal. Child birth is seen to be a monstrous myth in the media when in fact it is beautiful. Recently in the media, on a social network site ‘Facebook’
banned two images of women going through child birth since it “violated community standards”. This reflects on how society is predominantly male and the major media companies are
owned by men, because of this their view on child birth, subconsciously, shows they are disgusted by how animalistic the content is.
When the final girl picks up the weapon automatically she is seen as a masculine figure, she gains a lot of power. As she finally defeats the killer in the final show down, each aggressive lunge
to stab the killer conveys phallic imagery, almost looks as if she ‘penetrates’ her killer. This represents her sexual frustration, as the only virginal character this frustration has been built up
and is all let out after the last encounter. Another reading of the power given to the final girl is that she becomes so dominant she victimises the killer. In traditional slasher films, the final
girl often gives a dominant impression as a whole but it is show to an immense level at the end, to identify with the final girl the spectator being the audience assumes the submissive role.
This form of submission becomes a pleasurable submission, practically like a mothering figure. This genre is very appealing to teens. Out of all the human development stages, teenagers are
always stereotyped as being sexually frustrated/active, in a subconscious manner this appeal to the slasher genre could be to do with the subtle sexual nature.

6. The benefactor is seen as the only
older character amongst the group
of teens and often tries to give the
final girl some sort of guidance and
support yet fail to defeat the killer
themselves.
The group of friends consist of
several different characters, such
as the jock, the promiscuous one,
the nerd. These friends are
associated with the final girl and
also get caught up in the killers
killing spree.

7. NARRATIVE THEORIES
In terms of character roles, you can clearly see some of the eight character types that Valdimir Propp has considered as being a formulaic way of looking at
different film narratives in slasher genre films. Propps functions and character types relate to the slasher genre since the identified character types by Propps
consist of a villain which is linked to a slasher films narrative since the villain is the killer, the hero(the female protagonist known as the ‘final girl’), the donor- who
provides the magical gift (the benefactor, the oldest person that tries to provide help for the final girl and the magical gift being the weapon to kill the killer), the
false killer(better known as the jock of the friendship group, who later gets killed).
Slasher films also present clear binary opposites, which another placement of a narrative theory from Claude Levi-Strauss. The final girl VS The killer, is the obvious
one within slasher films, though slasher films in general seem to be the only genre that has a female protagonist that ends up becoming violent as the killer.
Another binary opposite is Innocent VS the experienced, not as clear as the final girl verses the killer but this presents subtly that girls who are virginal such as the
final girl, will not be punished due to there innocence . Its often seen as the slut girl of the group gets killed first since she is sexually promiscuous and experienced.
This subtly warns teenage girls, or remind young girls to preserve their innocence or the worst will come.
One of Pam Cook’s institutional mode of representation is shown representing the narrative of most slasher films. ‘A linear narrative of cause and effect within an
overall trajectory of enigma resolution’ is conveyed. The characters in slasher films often partake in illegal activity as stereotypical rebellious teenagers do, or
causing an effect with involves the killer before the killing spree, this effect causes the killer to go on a rampage. This constant cause and effect is repeated until
the mystery is resolved, mystery being the reason why the killer went on a rampage. For example, serial killer Pamela from Friday the 13th explains and recalls to
Alice the final girl about her son Jason drowning in the lake of the camp blaming the lack of attention on the camp counsellors. This mystery of the killers motives
is resolved, after Alice is told, the next encounter is seen as her defeating the killer.

8. Weapons
Weapons that feature in slasher films tend to
be objects that cut through flesh, such as a
knife. Hence the genre being called
‘slasher’. The killer slashes the victim,
sometimes there are other weapons used,
but its mainly sharp objects.

9. Settings and Locations
In most slasher films, locations of the killing
spree are based in an isolated area that has
minimum population and somewhere far
from civilisation also the area seems to have
some sort of connection to the killer in a
surrounding that the characters are familiar
with to show how unexpected the killings are,
also areas that are familiar to the audience
to give the audience a sense of fear, and
that the safest place they would consider is
actually not at all safe.
Sydney's house, from Scream Camp Crystal Lake, From Friday The 13th The House, From I Know What
You Did Last Summer

10. Lighting
The lighting is often used to add
shadows and create tension.
Shadows/silhouettes connotes
mystery and most slasher films
have that mystery on who the killer
is. The low key lighting is used,
some aspects of German
expressionism and film noir are
used here.
Lighting techniques were
mimicked from Film Noir and
German Expressionism. Film noir
consisted of several lighting
techniques such as the
‘Chiaroscuro’ technique where
light is manipulated to emphasized
shadows and harsh lighting. Also
film noir generally uses the
hardness or softness of a light to
create different shadows.