Genre Devolpment Report

Genre Development Report


From looking at eight different Slasher films from different time periods I have noticed some of the similar conventions that have developed throughout the films and some conventions that are now not used. Within the films they are also showing some social ideologies behind the films and these are some of the things I am going to discuss.

One of the ideologies that is shown within my oldest film Maniac (made in 1934) is the use of women and how they are presented to be not well educated people and may be seen as unintelligent people. Women are reflected as this due to their social standing within society as they were often described as lower class and may not have been educated to a high standard. An example of this within Maniac is when one of the young women doesn’t seem to understand the assistant and doesn’t question any of the information provided by the assistant. The reason that women are shown to be more intelligent is because it is more socially accpeted for women to work and have high power jobs, which reflects how they are shown with Slasher film. Women are percieved to be the typical victims as they are normally assocaited with being "young and blonde" whereas men are reflected to be typical mascline and more able to look after themselves within the situations in the film. A contrast to this film is within the film Prom Night (2008) the most recent film I have analysed where women are shown to be well educated individuals and often question what is happening and notice if someone is missing although the majority of the time it ends in the girls getting hurt or killed. I feel this has changed due to womens place within society as they now more looked upon as people compared to objects within society. Another attitude which is associated with women is using them as a sexual object and this is a recent convention that is used because within Maniac they are not used as objects although throughout the rest of the films it is insinuated that they are objects. “Nightmare on elm Street” is a example of portraying women as a sexual object because there is sexual references and scenes showing young revealing images of young women. One of the reasons they are used is due to the target audience of Slasher films which are teenagers and young adults so they need something that is going to appeal to them and often young, pretty, blonde women are used as victims. The main reason women are often portrayed as victims is because they are known to be more vunerable and are viewed to be less able to protect themselves whereas men are more stable and seen to be able to look after themselves.

Some of the things that have been discussed within the films is the use of camera shots and how some are repeated for a specific effect. One of the most common shots used is a point of view shot which is used to create a tension often showing the victim trying to run away from the killer. An example of this is shown in the film “When a Stranger Calls” in the 2006 version when the babysitter enters the kitchen after hearing a noise after receiving another call from the murderer saying that he can see her etc. This scene would create a eerie effect due to the dimmed lights and shadows from the moonlight which is something also used within Slasher films and is used frequently within “Nightmare on Elm Street” to create the effect the killer is just behind you and is watching you and this is something I will need to consider with my own Slasher film. Another shot which is often used is a close up shot and this is used to show the weapon before it is used or something that needs a lot of detail such as blood splatters or a symbolic detail. An example of this is when one of the victims is killed by a knife and a close up of the knife and then of the blood droplets and this creates tension for the audience and also makes the scene more personal and intimate.

One of the Slasher conventions that hasn’t changed through time is the settings for all of the Slasher films. All of the films are set within the suburbs of towns and all of the murders take place in a quiet spot even though within some of the films there is people close by whilst they are being killed. An example of this happening is within “Sleepaway Camp” and shows how the victims are murdered even though there is a lot of innocent people near by and this creates a uneasy and unnerving feeling as if anyone could be the victim. Throughout the films I have watched I have seen the murderer both being young and old and how they have progressed during time. The oldest film that I watched was “Maniac” and the killer was a adult and a man which was expected because women are not expected to be killers. Although within the film “Sleepaway Camp” I found that the killer was both a child and a girl which is unconventional and is a surprise as it will shock the audience which is something I am going to consider for my film.

Overall I have realized that the majority of Slasher films follow similar conventions and only recently have certain things changed such as sound and the social ideologies.