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".
Showing posts with label final girl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label final girl. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
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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