Codes And Conventions For

Slasher Films

The killers must have a deadly weapon to kill the innocent characters in the film. An example of this is the hook for a hand in Candy Man, the kitchen knife in Halloween and the chainsaw in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This implies more threat and danger to the characters as we know the immense damage these weapons can cause. The weapons in Slasher films are often used tools or items that aren't fictional. This is because the teenage audience watching the film may possibly have been told by their parents or guardian to be careful or to avoid using these items because they are dangerous. Therefore, by witnessing the dangerous item we instantly feel fear from the killer. If it was a weapon that was invented such as in Doctor Who with Darleks, then the film would have to produce the fear and danger of the item as we have no previous knowledge of it.

One of the main concepts of a Slasher film is that the killer is often either mentally deranged, possibly deformed and generally male. This gives the audience discomfort as they are unable to predict the possible actions of the obscure, peculiar characters. This is seen in films such as Nightmare On Elm Street, Scream and Halloween where we establish early on that the killers are not normal. This makes them capable of anything that is unordinary to society, such as serial killing. Often in Slasher films the killers had something in their past to trigger the violent, sinister personality.

Slasher films typically include the young, innocent, attractive blonde female who is helpless and fragile due to not knowing the danger around them. These young blondes are perceived as helpless when in danger and are often discriminated as not being the brightest of people, hence the phrase ‘dumb blonde’. This is exploited in The Nightmare On Elm Street when the victim decides to run into an abandoned, darkened area, which puts her life into danger.

In Slasher films there is usually the character who provides hope to the people in the film. This is usually a male character who is there to rescue the female victim. There’s often sexual tension between the two characters before the killing occurs. This increases the hope in the film as the rescuer would do anything in his power to save his love. It’s also relatable to the audience causing a bigger attachment between the viewer and the characters. It makes the deaths more emphatic if they did get killed because they have stronger feelings towards them.

A common code and convention of Slasher films is the friendship group that is targeted by the villain. It may not always be the case, but this is included in Scream, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and many others. This is because each friendship group must include the characters in the relationship to provide the sexual tension and the less intelligent character who often dies first. The male in the relationship is often the character who provides the audience with hope as he is determined to do anything for his partner. Also, you have the stubborn character, usually a male, that the audience tends to dislike and therefore aren’t so bothered by the death of him. This friendship group is often young adolescents aged in their teens.