The Final Girl

The features of the final girl are suggestive that she is not very feminine. They have many features that make them look very plain, not that their features are boyish but that they make it easier for the male audience to relate with throughout the movie.

Following the conventions of the final girl, all the above girls are not the most glamorous of the girls seen in their respective films. Most of the time they will have dull, plain hair, their features clearly make them less attractive than their fellow female actors that die throughout the movie.

The Final Girl• The final girl is generally very timid.

• She is the representation of innocence in the conservative nature of Slasher Films. All of the final girls are virginal although they may not always be ‘perfect’, they are the most innocent of the victims.

• The final girl always survives to the end, generally she has a chase scene to endure and at the end of this there will be the confrontation were the monster is defeated, dead or warded off.

• The final girl will usually be a brunette, not very sexual and she may be unpopular amongst her group of friends.

The Monster

The Monster• The monster is enigmatic in purpose.

• They will usually be male except in ‘Carrie’ were the monster is female but can also be interpreted as the most innocent of all the characters.

• The monster will be masked in most cases, this is to create a monster in the audiences imagination, as there is no defined face there is the opportunity for the audience to create their own hideous figure that suits their own fears.

• In most Slasher films the monster is represented as an unstoppable force. The monster in ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ cuts into his own leg but nonetheless carries on the chase. The monster in ‘Halloween’ is shot several times and falls out of a window but his body is not found so we assume that he is still alive.

The First Girl

The First Girl• The first girl is generally killed during sexual acts, to be blunt they are

victims due to their sexuality.

• They are very attractive generally blonde but this was not established as a convention until the sub-genre had developed further. They will nearly always die within the first few scenes.

• In ‘Halloween’ there is the death of the common conventional girl later in the film. She is killed straight after a intercourse with her boyfriend who was killed shortly before her own death. She is the most conventional use of the first girl and is the template for Slasher films to follow.

The Location

The Location• The location is generally in a suburban landscape with a sparse population.

• However the suburban location is generally

• The audience manage to sympathize with the victims in the film but also feel that they are represented by the victims.

• This is done by the locations they see, there is a relation between the audience and the victims due to them living in a common location.

Lighting, Benefactor and Supplementary characters

Lighting, Benefactor and Supplementary characters

• Lighting is used as a signifier of the mysterious and/or the unknown. Low key lighting adds a weak front lighting so that there is a strong shadow casted. This can be used in a variety of ways dependant on the context. The use of a shadow on the victim can show a diminished status, however the use of a shadow on the monster may signify the mystery of this killer.

• The benefactor in the movie may be representative to a variety of people but will generally be an older gentleman. They offer support to the final girl in whatever way possible. This may be through information given or help in defeating the monster.

• Supplementary characters in the film could refer to any character that has a role that is key to the plot but are not important characters. In Slasher films the most common supplementary character is the clueless policeman, he is frequently seen as oblivious to even the presence of the monster and offers very little or no support.