1. There is always an anonymous, sometimes masked killer.
2. Usually set in/at a forest, school, toilets in somewhere, in a house, by a lake, on a camp by a lake - these are all isolated places where there is no help for the characters and no hope of finding somewhere to run. There is also the use of pathetic fallacy which consists of thunder and rain used to enhance on the use of isolation. Also, usually, the scary, sinister scenes are set at night because it's dark and the dark connotes evil.
3. There is more than likely low key lighting throughout the film or at some points in the film.
4. There is the character/s of the 'scream queen/scream king', there is usually more than one 'scream queen/king' in the film who die one by one in the film.
5. There is the character of the 'final girl' in the film, she is a resourceful, nerdy, intelligent, usually brunette character. She survives the killer in the film and usually kills the killer.
6. Commonly, a group of teenagers are the protagonists of the film. One of them being the 'final girl' and the rest being the 'scream queens/kings'.
7. Stereotypically, the authority figures in slasher films are useless - final girl's father is commonly a police figure.
8. There is frequent use of dutch angles to make the audience feel uncomfortable and that something bad is going to happen.
9. Todorov's 5 part narrative structure can be applied to slasher films - for example, the 1st and 2nd stage, the equilibrium and disruption, take place in film opening. The 'scream king and/or just scream queen are killed by the anonymous masked killer at the start of the film opening.
10. Propp's character archetypes theory can be applied to slasher films - the villain/antagonist archetype is very evident within the anonymous killer and the the hero/protagonist archetype is very evident within the 'final girl' character.
11. You will commonly in slasher films see the group of teenage protagonists who are the scream queens and kings, doing immoral acts like having sex, doing drugs, smoking, drinking alcohol or doing something rebellious.
12. You will also commonly see the group of protagonists split up to explore somewhere individually or go somewhere alone to fetch something. For example, after a couple have had sex all alone in a house, the male in the couple says he's going downstairs to get a beer, therefore, they are both now alone.
13. Stereotypically, you will see the victims in the film and the final girl say for example "hello, who's there" or "this better not be a joke this isn't funny Annie cut it out" when they are all alone somewhere and hear noises of someone else being there.
14. Levi-strauss' binary opposition can be applied to slasher films - between the killer and the 'scream queen' in the film opening and also between the 'scream queen' and 'final girl' who we see after the 'scream queen' dies.
15. Laura Mulvey's 'male gaze' theory can heavily be applied to slasher films - the scream queens/kings are usually objectified and sexualised within slasher films. Their bodies are on show, so for example, in the film 'Halloween', you see some of the scream queens' topless, this is done to attract a strong male audience.
16. Amount of film idents is between 1-3, duration between 5-10 seconds.
17. The duration of the film openings is between 3-13 minutes.
18. There is use of fast cuts and whip pans to create suspense and action.
19. Opening shot is usually an extreme long shot but can sometimes be a close up of an object of significance.
Some quotes I found from books that are relevant to slasher genre conventions:
'The Mammoth Book of Slasher Movies'
By Peter Normanton
"Way Back then, you could scream all you wanted, but it was never going to make them stop, as for an entire decade the doors to the madhouse were thrown open to a plethora of hack and slash killers who were free to slip into school dormitories, college campuses, the woods, shopping malls or for the very unlucky their local neighbourhood. Each was armed with a sharp knife, with blood murder in mind. There never was a decade quite like the eighties".
Wednesday 30 November 2016
Saturday 26 November 2016
Slasher EG5: Bride Of Chucky (1998)
Bride Of Chucky
Ronny Yu (1998)
Film Opening Length:
Budget: $25mUK/US/World Box Office: ?, $32.3m, $50.6m
Production Companies: Midwinter Production Inc., Universal Pictures
Distributors: Universal Pictures
LINKS:
IMDB, RottenTomatoes (Tomatometer 44%, Audience 46%), BoxOfficeMojo, Wiki
Trailer for 'Bride Of Chucky':
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COMPANIES/IDENTS
There is only one film ident shown in this film opening, which is for 'Universal Studios', one of the 'big six' conglomerates. This is common for the slasher genre to only have one film ident shown.
OPENING SHOT
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TITLES
There is a lot of titles shown in this film opening. Before the opening shot, there are two intertitles shown, in this order:
1. Universal Pictures presents
2. A David Kirschner production
3. A Ronny Yu film
After these three titles, the first scene of the film takes place. There are no more titles until this scene has ended (when the bride of Chucky walks off with the pieces of the doll Chucky, that the policeman had stolen from the 'Lockport Police Dept. Evidence Depository'. Here is the order of titles after this scene has ended:
1. 4 Main actors
2. Main Title: Bride Of Chucky
3. 3 Actors including the voice of chucky
4. Co-Producer
5. Casting by
6. Costume Designer
7. Opening Title Song Performed by
8. Music Supervisors
9. Music by
10. Chucky and tiffany dolls created by
11. Based on characters created by
12. Chucky and tiffany puppet effects created by
13. Edited by
14. Production designer
15. Director of Photography
16. Executive Producers
17. Produced by
18. Written by
19. Directed by
IDENTIFYING ANY PROTAGONISTS
The first character shown is a policeman. It is stereotypical that the first character to be shown in a slasher horror film is the scream queen/scream king (person who gets killed by the killer). Proving this point to be correct, this policeman character in this film is killed by the killer (the bride of Chucky). The bride of Chucky is slowly introduced through close up shots of her feet and legs, to create a sense of narrative enigma (Barthes) for the audience of who this character is. You don't see her face until after she has killed the policeman character.
SOUND/GENRE SIGNIFICATION
At the very start of the film opening there is a lot of use of diegetic sounds to create impact on the audience, these sounds are thunder and rain.
SHOT VARIETY
NARRATIVE
MISE-EN-SCENE FOR EXPOSITION
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--> -->
Tuesday 22 November 2016
TYRANNOSAUR SWEDE: Evaluation
DIFFICULTIES
Scene 1:
Scene 2:
Scene 3:
After this exercise, I learned how to edit a lot better in terms of cutting to different shots in a non-linear way and using continuity editing also. I also thought my filming skills have improved by being able to use the tripod and camera together, making certain angles and filming shots with no shakiness or blurriness. I thought the second scene in the sixth form common room was edited very well compared to the other scenes. I did think the editing process took longer than that of the editing of the 'microdrama' but that's because I learned that, to make the quality better and to make the film look fluent and non-linear you have to spend more time working on the editing, but overall I enjoyed the editing process.
The equipment used:
Manfroto Tripod
Sony A58 Camera
Amazon tripod
Scene 1:
- When filming, Mr Burrowes and the tripod were seen through the transparent doors of the school building where we filmed. Also, in some other scenes we filmed I was sometimes oblivious to how the tripod and camera bags were in the background of the shots.
- I found it very difficult to film shots from a point which was higher than the tripod's height. Richard (the main character) is very tall and the only way to film him from head to shoulder was to use the camera handheld, therefore the shots were shaky.
- There was a lot of noise in the background from school children playing sports on the basketball area so it got in the way and distracted what was going on in the scenes I was filming. Also, sometimes it really overpowered the sound of Richard speaking. I had to adjust the sound levels. It distracted the plot/narrative, making the plot something it isn't.
Scene 2:
- I realised after filming all the shots, that some shots were too dark of Richard (he was standing infront of the window in with the light on his back and not his face which was bad because William did have the light on his face because he was facing towards the window. This made me learn that next time I will think about each aspect of lighting and positioning of characters.
- Secondly, I did not film all the shots needed, I realised at the end of the editing process that I did not film a shot of Will chasing Richard out of the common room, which was necessary. This helped me learn that next time I should make a proper call sheet and not forget to film anything, that every shot is written down on paper that is needed to be filmed.
Scene 3:
- For lighting, I didn't really think about enough or properly, so unfortunately some shots had too dark, too blue (blue tinted) or too bright lighting. This was when I filmed Martina and Richard talking together. Martina was in blue tinted lighting and Richard was in yellow/bright lighting.
- I think the final shot of this scene could have been better but there wasn't enough time to work on it even more.
After this exercise, I learned how to edit a lot better in terms of cutting to different shots in a non-linear way and using continuity editing also. I also thought my filming skills have improved by being able to use the tripod and camera together, making certain angles and filming shots with no shakiness or blurriness. I thought the second scene in the sixth form common room was edited very well compared to the other scenes. I did think the editing process took longer than that of the editing of the 'microdrama' but that's because I learned that, to make the quality better and to make the film look fluent and non-linear you have to spend more time working on the editing, but overall I enjoyed the editing process.
The equipment used:
Manfroto Tripod
Sony A58 Camera
Amazon tripod
Monday 21 November 2016
Sunday 20 November 2016
EG1: Cherry Falls (2000)
Cherry Falls
Geoffrey Wright (2000)
Film Opening Length:
Budget: $14mUK/US/World Box Office: $3.1m, ?, $91.3m
Theatrical Distribution in
Production Companies: Rogue Pictures, Good Machine, Industry Entertainment
Distributors: USA Films, October Films
LINKS:
IMDB, RottenTomatoes (Tomatometer 50%, Audience 31%), BoxOfficeMojo, Wiki
Trailer for 'Cherry Falls':
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Thursday 17 November 2016
SLASHER GENRE: Titles Research
After looking at many slasher genre film examples, I discovered that the font and font colour of the titles connotes the slasher horror genre. Also, the order of the titles in slasher films is usually:
1. Company Names
2. Director
3. Roles/Cast
4. Director Again
Into more detail the title order is usually:
1. Production Company
2. Second Production Company
3. Third Production Company
4. Director's name then film
5. Actor 1
6. Actor 2
7. Actor 3
FILM EXAMPLES
'Scream' Franchise Titles
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'Halloween' Titles
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'Friday the 13th' Franchise Titles
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The font of the titles is usually the colour white or red on a black, dark background to create a contrast, like the contrast between good and evil. Horror fonts can also be serif or in upper case. The three main colours the titles usually will be are white, black or red to connote the sinister, bloody, gory, dark nature of the film (the horror genre).
1. Company Names
2. Director
3. Roles/Cast
4. Director Again
Into more detail the title order is usually:
1. Production Company
2. Second Production Company
3. Third Production Company
4. Director's name then film
5. Actor 1
6. Actor 2
7. Actor 3
FILM EXAMPLES
'Scream' Franchise Titles
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'Halloween' Titles
...
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'Friday the 13th' Franchise Titles
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The font of the titles is usually the colour white or red on a black, dark background to create a contrast, like the contrast between good and evil. Horror fonts can also be serif or in upper case. The three main colours the titles usually will be are white, black or red to connote the sinister, bloody, gory, dark nature of the film (the horror genre).
Tuesday 15 November 2016
SLASHER GENRE: Sound
The sound in horror slasher films is usually very scary, suspenseful, creepy and makes the audience's heart beat fast and irregular. Also, the music can make the audience hold their breath unconsciously and therefore feel more scared.
Here are some non-diegetic music examples from existing slasher films:
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Here are some non-diegetic music examples from existing slasher films:
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Sunday 13 November 2016
SLASHER GENRE Audience
AGE
The audience of the slasher genre is primarily teenagers/young adults in the age range of 15-24. It isn't so obvious why teenagers are drawn to the genre.
"Critics of the genre argue that it is because of the frequent violence, nudity and sex that attracts them (Wong, 2004). Another reason for teenagers liking the genre, as Crane argues, is because violent films are frowned upon by cinema critics and authority figures so teenagers like to rebel against this and watch these films".
https://levizilla.wordpress.com/junk/sep2009/
Another reason why I believe that teenagers are attracted to the genre is because the main protagonists of the films are usually teens. In these films, these teen characters usually have boyfriends and girlfriends, therefore are sexually active. They also do stereotypical teenage things like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, watching movies/going to the movies with popcorn etc. All these activities are very relatable to a teen audience. Also, after doing some primary research, I discovered that most people believe that teenagers watch these films for the thrill/scare because they want to be excited and jump out of their seat.
This research reflected the target age of the audience I would have for my film because my film is of the slasher genre also. So, I decided that the target age of the audience for my film is age 15-24.
GENDER
I believe that the slasher genre stereotypically attracts the male gender more than the female gender because of the gore, violence and scare. Males seek the thrill and action. I think the character of the 'scream queen' strongly attracts this male audience, on top of the action and violence in the film, because it is fulfilling their sexual desires. The character of the 'scream queen' is sometimes topless in slasher films and is usually sexually objectified in terms of clothing, bust size and only being seen having sex or doing stuff with a boyfriend etc. This character is also usually attractive, glamorous, blonde, open about her sexuality, dumb and flirtatious.
To attract, however, a female audience to the slasher genre, the character of the 'final girl' is used. The idea of the 'final girl' came from the theorist, Carole Clover. She argues that the hero of the slasher film is the 'final girl' (the female main protagonist) therefore there is a strong female audience for the slasher genre. This character is usually nerdy, intelligent, studious, brunette or dusty blonde, resourceful, tough and a virgin. When you think about it, the 'final girl' character can also somewhat attract a male audience, because the killer usually preys on her throughout the film making her the targeted victim (vulnerable, submissive, weak) until the end of the film when she kills or survives the killer. Males prefer and relate to seeing male characters in power - the killer is usually a male and is in power throughout the majority of the film.
CLASS
I think that slasher films are primarily targeted at the working class community and students/young people in the E category of the socio-economic status (people in the class A-C1 are usually adults aged 25+). This is due to the fact that for a start, the primary audience of slasher films is teens.
The audience of the slasher genre is primarily teenagers/young adults in the age range of 15-24. It isn't so obvious why teenagers are drawn to the genre.
"Critics of the genre argue that it is because of the frequent violence, nudity and sex that attracts them (Wong, 2004). Another reason for teenagers liking the genre, as Crane argues, is because violent films are frowned upon by cinema critics and authority figures so teenagers like to rebel against this and watch these films".
https://levizilla.wordpress.com/junk/sep2009/
Another reason why I believe that teenagers are attracted to the genre is because the main protagonists of the films are usually teens. In these films, these teen characters usually have boyfriends and girlfriends, therefore are sexually active. They also do stereotypical teenage things like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, watching movies/going to the movies with popcorn etc. All these activities are very relatable to a teen audience. Also, after doing some primary research, I discovered that most people believe that teenagers watch these films for the thrill/scare because they want to be excited and jump out of their seat.
This research reflected the target age of the audience I would have for my film because my film is of the slasher genre also. So, I decided that the target age of the audience for my film is age 15-24.
GENDER
I believe that the slasher genre stereotypically attracts the male gender more than the female gender because of the gore, violence and scare. Males seek the thrill and action. I think the character of the 'scream queen' strongly attracts this male audience, on top of the action and violence in the film, because it is fulfilling their sexual desires. The character of the 'scream queen' is sometimes topless in slasher films and is usually sexually objectified in terms of clothing, bust size and only being seen having sex or doing stuff with a boyfriend etc. This character is also usually attractive, glamorous, blonde, open about her sexuality, dumb and flirtatious.
To attract, however, a female audience to the slasher genre, the character of the 'final girl' is used. The idea of the 'final girl' came from the theorist, Carole Clover. She argues that the hero of the slasher film is the 'final girl' (the female main protagonist) therefore there is a strong female audience for the slasher genre. This character is usually nerdy, intelligent, studious, brunette or dusty blonde, resourceful, tough and a virgin. When you think about it, the 'final girl' character can also somewhat attract a male audience, because the killer usually preys on her throughout the film making her the targeted victim (vulnerable, submissive, weak) until the end of the film when she kills or survives the killer. Males prefer and relate to seeing male characters in power - the killer is usually a male and is in power throughout the majority of the film.
CLASS
I think that slasher films are primarily targeted at the working class community and students/young people in the E category of the socio-economic status (people in the class A-C1 are usually adults aged 25+). This is due to the fact that for a start, the primary audience of slasher films is teens.
EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
"In the slasher film, Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981), two teenagers are killed with a spear while having sex. It is expected for the audience to be frightened by horror films. Unlike other genres of film such as romance, action or comedy, the horror genre is meant to receive an emotional response from the audience".
"The horror genre is appealing to certain audiences because of the adrenaline or rush that is associated with being scared. (Bohusz, 2007). The slasher genre builds on this concept.
Early slasher films such as Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) or Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) were violent, but there was largely no blood shown. Films that were later made such as Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham) were influenced by Italian 'Spaghetti' cinema, and not only frightened their audience, but absolutely disgusted them with horrific, bloody imagery (Bohusz, 2007)".
"The horror genre is appealing to certain audiences because of the adrenaline or rush that is associated with being scared. (Bohusz, 2007). The slasher genre builds on this concept.
Early slasher films such as Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) or Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) were violent, but there was largely no blood shown. Films that were later made such as Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham) were influenced by Italian 'Spaghetti' cinema, and not only frightened their audience, but absolutely disgusted them with horrific, bloody imagery (Bohusz, 2007)".
VIOLENCE AND GORE
Crane believes that "horror films satisfy the audience desire for primal scenes of horrific imagery" (1994).
Paul explains this idea further, claiming that the intense graphic violence presented within slasher films "break the taboos placed on both cinema and society". The breaking of such a taboo is both appealing and thrilling to the audience (1994). Violence has become an audience expectation in the slasher genre as Tom Savini, make up artist on films like Friday the 13th(1980), claims in Bohusz’s documentary:
Crane believes that "horror films satisfy the audience desire for primal scenes of horrific imagery" (1994).
Paul explains this idea further, claiming that the intense graphic violence presented within slasher films "break the taboos placed on both cinema and society". The breaking of such a taboo is both appealing and thrilling to the audience (1994). Violence has become an audience expectation in the slasher genre as Tom Savini, make up artist on films like Friday the 13th(1980), claims in Bohusz’s documentary:
“There was a time when the old horror films, you didn’t see everything. It was suggested and your mind completed it. … But now, we want to see the heads up, we want to see the blood In fact the kids are disappointed; the audience is disappointed if they don’t see it. ” (2007)
“Horror movies should be terrifying, they should be horrible, they should be disgusting, they should be everything. But when you start watering all that down … it’s like a studio making a porno movie but saying ‘ya gotta cut out all the sex scenes.’” Rob Zombie interview (Bohusz 2007)
“Horror movies should be terrifying, they should be horrible, they should be disgusting, they should be everything. But when you start watering all that down … it’s like a studio making a porno movie but saying ‘ya gotta cut out all the sex scenes.’” Rob Zombie interview (Bohusz 2007)
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
The audience expectation is very specific when it comes to the slasher genre. Slasher films rarely ever stray from Todorov's 5-Part Narrative structure (Lacy, 2005). Todorov's 5 part narrative structure includes the state of equilibrium, (where the teenage main protagonists live their normal daily lives), the disruption of this equilibrium (where the killer begins to stalk the teenage main protagonists), the recognition of the disruption (when the teenage protagonists notice that some of their friends or some of their fellow students are murdered), the attempt to repair this disruption (when some of the teenagers/'final girl' attempt to survive) and finally the reinstatement of a new equilibrium (when either the killer is killed or sent away).
This is the narrative structure of films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), Friday the 13th (1980), My Bloody Valentine(1981), Halloween (1976), Prom Night (1980) Scream (1990) and many others.
This narrative formula hasn't changed for nearly 30 years. Crane theorises the reason:
“The horror genre’s hidebound founding texts prevent films from deviating too far from tradition … The audience is itself psychologically unsuited for drastic changes in the formula horror film.” (1994)
Crane means by this that the classic films such as Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, 1980) and Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) have created the audience to expect the same narrative structure in every slasher film, and therefore, if anyone changed this structure, it would shock the slasher genre fans. The sequels for Friday the 13th and Halloween broke these expectations. So, an example for this is the last film of the sequel for Friday the 13th: Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984). In this film, there was a twist at the end, where the killer was revealed to not be the original Jason, but instead, the ambulance driver from the beginning of the film. This was a disappointment for the slasher genre fans.
https://levizilla.wordpress.com/junk/sep2009/
CONCLUSION
Audience expectations within a genre are usually the same with the majority of films within that genre. Slasher movies are an excellent example of 'genre purism'. The foundations of the genre have been in place so long, and the requirements/conventions of the genre are so specific, that attempts to change anything from tradition can result in a films financial failure. Genre is more than a label, it is a marketing technique film makers and distributors use to find an audience for a film. Audience expectations are not the only important thing for the success of a specific genre film, but to the genre itself. The positive response to gore and violence in the slasher genre has allowed the genre to evolve from the early, non-bloody, films like Psycho (1960) and Halloween (1978) to violent gory additions like 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984) and 'Friday the 13th' (1980).
FILMS MENTIONED
Friday the 13th (1980)
Halloween (1978)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Psycho (1960)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Friday the 13th Part 4: the Final Chapter (1984)
REFERENCES
https://levizilla.wordpress.com/junk/sep2009/
Bohusz, M 2007, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, USA.
Crane, JL 1994, Terror and Everyday Life: Singular Moments in the History of the Horror Film, Sage Publications, California.
Lacey, N 2005, ‘Film Genre and Narrative’, in Introduction to Film, 1st edn, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 77-94.
Paul, W 1994, Laughing Screaming: Modern Hollywood Horror & Comedy, Columbia University Press, New York.
Ryall, T 1998, ‘Genre and Hollywood’, in The Oxford Guide to Film Studies, eds. PC Gibson & J Hill, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 327-341.
Stadler, J & McWilliam, K 2009, Screen Media: Analysing Film and Television, Allen & Unwin, New South Wales.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Halloween (1978)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Psycho (1960)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Friday the 13th Part 4: the Final Chapter (1984)
REFERENCES
https://levizilla.wordpress.com/junk/sep2009/
Bohusz, M 2007, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, USA.
Crane, JL 1994, Terror and Everyday Life: Singular Moments in the History of the Horror Film, Sage Publications, California.
Lacey, N 2005, ‘Film Genre and Narrative’, in Introduction to Film, 1st edn, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 77-94.
Paul, W 1994, Laughing Screaming: Modern Hollywood Horror & Comedy, Columbia University Press, New York.
Ryall, T 1998, ‘Genre and Hollywood’, in The Oxford Guide to Film Studies, eds. PC Gibson & J Hill, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 327-341.
Stadler, J & McWilliam, K 2009, Screen Media: Analysing Film and Television, Allen & Unwin, New South Wales.
Wong, J 2006, Dead Teenager Movie, Canada.
Saturday 12 November 2016
Slasher EG3: Scream (1996)
Scream
Wes Craven (1996)
Film Opening Length:
Budget: $14mUK/US/World Box Office: ?, $103m, $173m
Theatrical Distribution in 16 countries
Production Companies: Woods Entertainment
Distributors: Dimension Films
LINKS:
IMDB, RottenTomatoes (Tomatometer 79%, Audience 79%), BoxOfficeMojo, Wiki
Trailer for 'Scream':
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POSSIBLE INFLUENCE
I really like the main title sequence in this film opening (in this case there is just one title, the main title). I would like to make my main title sequence a lot like this, by making the main title stretch out upwards then stretch inwards. Also, I would like to include the diegetic sounds that are in this main title sequence such as the telephone sounds, the screams and the slams of when the words stretch back inwards sharply/harshly.
TITLES
The title size goes from big to small in bold on a black background, twice once in the colour red then in the colour white. This suggests that the word scream has great significance within the film suggesting that there will be a lot of screaming going on from the characters but also from the audience. Also the colour of which it is being displayed in also connotes bad atmospheres where red can be seen to connate danger and white can be seen to connate ghosts. Within the opening of Scream it is only the films name which is shown which may express how low there budget was in terms of not having a company presenting the film. However it could express how quickly they want to get straight to the action.This is an interesting example of a sans serif font, almost a bubble font, with some elements of the font itself (not just colouring/animation) carrying horror connotations that we'd usually expect from a serif font. OPENING SHOT
The opening shot is a close up of a telephone ringing, connoting that this telephone is a major signifier of what the film is about and is going to be an object continuously used throughout the film. The fact that it is not a wireless telephone and that it is quite retro connotes the setting also, that it is set in the 1990's.
IDENTIFYING ANY PROTAGONISTS
The first character is shown in the second shot here, Normally the first character shown would be the main protagonist but in slasher films, the first character shown is usually the 'scream queen/scream king'. Also the fact that she is blonde, is wearing make up and is attractive further connotes that this character is the scream queen.
This shot is an extreme long shot of the house this girl is in. This shot has been used to show that someone had just been sitting on the swing because it is swinging slowly. This creates/builds suspense for the audience.
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SHOT VARIETY
few shots later, the audience sees a close up of the same popcorn cooking but at a dutch angle. The popcorn packet has also expanded a lot more from the shot before of the popcorn. This dutch angle close up shot has been used to create and build even more suspense than the first shot of the popcorn; this is due to the fact that the shots have been getting closer on the popcorn, making the audience even more scared. This shot also makes the audience feel uncomfortable and uneasy as if something really bad is going to happen next.
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Thursday 10 November 2016
SLASHER GENRE Character Archetypes
Scream Queen
The first character I will be discussing is the 'scream queen'. This stereotype is usually busty, blond, dumb, attractive and open about her sexuality.
This film opening below (from the film Scary Movie) very clearly represents and portrays how the 'scream queen' is in slasher films:
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In this film opening, the narrative and characters are entirely influenced by the film 'Scream'. This film, 'Scary Movie', really plays on the common stereotypes found in the slasher horror genre. The scream queen in this film opening is blonde, very busty, attractive and she decides to pick, from a choice of weapons, the banana which is the most dumb thing someone could do because if she had a weapon she could have defended herself. Also, in this film opening, she is making popcorn, as 'Casey' did in the film 'Scream'. Making popcorn to eat while watching a movie is quite a teenage thing to do, so, this connotes that teenagers can relate to this character and that hobby connoting that the target audience is also teen.
The 'final girl' is usually the main protagonist in slasher films and she normally survives. She is tough, resourceful, somewhat nerdy, intelligent, slightly unattractive, innocent and a virgin. In some cases the 'final girl' can be a boy therefore making it the 'final boy'.
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'Freddie Krueger' from the film 'A Nightmare on Elm Street':
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'Ghostface' from the films 'Scream', 'Scream 2', 'Scream 3' and 'Scream 4':
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'Ghostface' reveal in 'Scream':
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'Jennifer' from the film 'Jennifer's Body':
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The first character I will be discussing is the 'scream queen'. This stereotype is usually busty, blond, dumb, attractive and open about her sexuality.
This film opening below (from the film Scary Movie) very clearly represents and portrays how the 'scream queen' is in slasher films:
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In this film opening, the narrative and characters are entirely influenced by the film 'Scream'. This film, 'Scary Movie', really plays on the common stereotypes found in the slasher horror genre. The scream queen in this film opening is blonde, very busty, attractive and she decides to pick, from a choice of weapons, the banana which is the most dumb thing someone could do because if she had a weapon she could have defended herself. Also, in this film opening, she is making popcorn, as 'Casey' did in the film 'Scream'. Making popcorn to eat while watching a movie is quite a teenage thing to do, so, this connotes that teenagers can relate to this character and that hobby connoting that the target audience is also teen.
Examples of 'scream queens' in existing slasher films are:
'Annie Brackett' and 'Lynda Van Der Klok' from the film 'Halloween':
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'Casey Becker' from the film 'Scream':
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'Casey Cooper' from the film 'Scream 2':
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'Casey Cooper' from the film 'Scream 2':
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'Marion Crane' from the film 'Psycho':
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'Drew Decker' from the film 'Scary Movie':
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Final Girl...
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'Drew Decker' from the film 'Scary Movie':
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The 'final girl' is usually the main protagonist in slasher films and she normally survives. She is tough, resourceful, somewhat nerdy, intelligent, slightly unattractive, innocent and a virgin. In some cases the 'final girl' can be a boy therefore making it the 'final boy'.
Examples of the 'final girl' in existing slasher films are:
'Laurie Strode' from the film 'Halloween':
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'Sidney Prescott' from the films 'Scream', 'Scream 2', 'Scream 3' and 'Scream 4':
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'Jody Marken' from the film 'Cherry Falls':
'Alice Hardy' from the film 'Friday the 13th':
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'Cindy Campbell' from the film 'Scary Movie':
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'Nancy Thompson' from the film 'A Nightmare on Elm Street':
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Killer
Then there is the anonymous killer who is usually a man wearing all black, black leather boots, holding props such as knives, hammers, chainsaws or axes etc... The killer's face won't usually be shown, making them anonymous; Although, some slasher films do show the killer's face or reveal who the killer is at the END of the film. In some cases the killer may be female e.g. in Jennifer's body, it is also known to the audience throughout the film that Jennifer is the killer.
Then there is the anonymous killer who is usually a man wearing all black, black leather boots, holding props such as knives, hammers, chainsaws or axes etc... The killer's face won't usually be shown, making them anonymous; Although, some slasher films do show the killer's face or reveal who the killer is at the END of the film. In some cases the killer may be female e.g. in Jennifer's body, it is also known to the audience throughout the film that Jennifer is the killer.
Examples of the 'killer' in existing slasher films are:
'Michael Myers' from the film 'Halloween':
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'Jason Voorhees' and 'Mrs. Voorhees' from the film 'Friday the 13th':
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'Freddie Krueger' from the film 'A Nightmare on Elm Street':
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'Ghostface' from the films 'Scream', 'Scream 2', 'Scream 3' and 'Scream 4':
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'Ghostface' reveal in 'Scream':
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'Jennifer' from the film 'Jennifer's Body':
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