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".
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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.
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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.
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