Analysis Of Horror – Slasher Sub - Genre

Liam Carling

Top 10 Grossing

Top 10 Grossing Horror Films (All time)1.Scream 2.Scream 23.Scream 34.Freddy vs Jason5.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre6.I Know What You Did Last Summer7.Friday the 13th (2009)8.A Nightmare on Elm Street9.Halloween(2007)10.Halloween:H20

Lifetime Gross1.$103,046,6632.$101,363,3013.$89,143,1754.$82,622,6555.$80,571,6556.$72,586,1347.$65,002,0198.$63,075,0119.$58,272,02910.$55,041,738

Opening Gross1.$6,354,5862.$32,926,3423.$34,713,3424.$36,428,0665.$28,094,0146.$15,818,6457.$40,570,3658.$32,902,2999.$26,362,36710.$16,187,724

IconographyProps

Knives

Masks

Fake Blood

Costumes

Mechanics

Jumpsuit

Clown Suit

Setting

Location

• Horror Films are commonly set in an isolated location with only the villain and the main character(s) being seen. This is generally in a house or in the woods so that the director has freedom over what to shoot without the unpredictability of the outside world.

• The Slasher Sub-genre is usually set in a place that has many weird elements, things such as religion and cults sometimes have an influence on how the story plays out.

Era

• Many different films are sometimes set in different eras so that the director can explore themes that existed at the time. This is another example of how religion is a well explored theme as during earlier years parts of the world were extremely well focused on religion and faith. However horror films have not just went back to earlier eras, some horror films are set in the distant future and involve aliens or other worldly beings.

Landmarks

• A lot of horror films share certain landmark locations and buildings. These range from a simple haunted house concept to a more sinister abandoned mental institute. Woodlands are also a popular location due to their isolated nature. Another few examples of landmarks are churches and hospitals, as well as strange towns.

Characters

• The characters in horror films are generally damaged in some way, whether or not this be in a psychological element or physically hurt or abused. This is apparent in characters like the mental patient with an underlying desire to kill, serial killers driven by a suppressed motive from their childhood, the mad professor that causes nothing but destruction.

• The main characters who usually become victims are generally teenagers who re quite aesthetically pleasing to look at. This is done so that themes like beauty can be explored during the dialogue and for the killer to come and completely disregard this thought.

Themes

• The themes of horror films are extremely important as they are usually related to the motive behind the killings, this is more so in the sub-genre slasher that I am analyzing. For example the killer in the Halloween films – Michael Myers, has underlying issues that stem from his child hood, in this instance he is driven by physical and mental abuse coming from when he was a child that caused him to kill his sister.

• Another theme that is usually explored in horror films is religion. This is often a major part in paranormal films. For example a ghost could be haunting a house due to a curse placed by a witch or a gypsy.

Narrative

• Narrative in the sub-genre slasher generally focuses on teenagers taking a holiday and being hunted by some sort of nomad who does not want to be disturbed. Sometimes the killer may attack a group of people from a school or a college.

• However, films outside of the sub-genre slasher often use children as a catalyst for a spirit or a demon, as well as traumatic experiences encouraging murderous outbursts. Another common theme is again children, being able to speak or communicate with the undead.

Style

Camera

• The camera style in the slasher sub-genre is often quite a dynamic view, this is so the director has chances to include action shots that show the guts and gore that are popular in this genre. These shots are usually extremely close up to the wound so that the audience can clearly see what has happened to the victim.

Sounds

• are usually quite eerie and create tension, this is so that the audience realize that something is coming but never quite know exactly when.

Editing

• Editing is done in a way that keeps the audience thinking what could happen next for example, the camera could just show shots of irrelevant objects or places so that the audience makes links that have nothing to do with the actual story line.

SFX

• Sound Effects are used to a great level of effectiveness in horror films, for example creaky doors and floorboards are usually edited in as effects to avoid recording unnecessary sounds. This is extremely efficient as it allows the director to pick the sound that they think will be most atmospheric etc. For example when voices are used in certain films the director has chose the sounds that sound exactly like the demon/ghost that he is trying to portray.