Slasher Films

Film Noir • Film Noir is one of Hollywood’s only organic artistic movements. Beginning in the

early 1940s, many screenplays inspired by hardboiled American crime fiction were brought to the screen, primarily by European exile directors who shared a certain storytelling sensibility: highly stylized, overtly theatrical, with imagery often drawn from an earlier era of German “expressionist” cinema.

The German Expressionism • German Expressionist FilmsGerman expressionist films were prevalent in the

1920s. These films were united by highly formal visuals, strange uneven camera angles, atmospheric lighting and harsh contrasts between dark and light. Shadows and silhouettes were an important feature of expressionism, to the extent that they were actually painted on to the sets .

• The story lines of German expressionist films matched the visuals in terms of darkness and lack of expectation. Often sombre in mood and featuring characters from a corrupt underworld of crime, the films dramatic effects produced motifs of claustrophobia and paranoia. The same words could be used to describe 1940s Hollywood film noir, a genre hugely influenced by German expressionism. Film noir is typified by Bogart and Bacall in films such as The Big Sleep.

FINAL GIRL In every Slasher film there is a person who stays and survives till the end of the film most of the time they are likely to be a female. As there always has to be a person who goes on to tell the storey. At the end they confront the killer of the movie. The final girl is a young teen female who usually has dark brown hair. The reason for this is so she could relate to the audiences which is usually young teens. The represents being pure as she is a virgin.

Group of friends • There is always a

group of friends in Slasher films which get picked up my the killer one by one who are the final girls friends. They are mostly young teens this is so they could relate to the movies audiences which are young teens.

KILLERThe monster in Slasher movies usually wears a mask to hide his identity. The reason for this is for the audiences to watch on till the end so they find out who the killer is at the end. At some movies the killer has had a bad childhood that lead to him being the way he is. They also have a weapon.

Benefactor The benefactor is usually the person who has the most knowledge of the monster there for they are of an old age. As old people are known for having a lot of knowledge as they have seen a lot in life. They help the final girl to defeat the killer at the end. They are those who are in position of power.

Location Horror movies are usually set in a area which is lonely and or a suburban area which is far away from any help. This is to connect with the audiences to show them they are not safe where ever they are. Or a area which the audiences could relate to like a street which they could live in.