Character Types in Horror Films

The awakening

Florence Cathcart plays the Hero type character as she visits the school to prove that there are not any ghosts. This character doesn’t fit the theorists as it goes against all the stock and stereotypical characters; this is because she seems to be the hero but ends up having to be saved by someone else.

Robert Mallory plays the sidekick throughout the beginning as he is helping Florence to prove that there aren’t any ghosts, but during the end of the film he turns out to be more of a heroic character as he saves Florence’s life. This also goes against most theorists as the sidekick rarely turns out to be the hero.

Maud hill plays the school nurse who is more of ‘A bit player’ which links in with Erving Goffman’s theory of characters as he says that ‘a bit player’ is a minor character whose specific background the audience is not aware of. At the beginning Maud Hill’s character seems like a ‘bit player’ but by the end of the film she becomes more of the hero as she helps the main character realise what’s happened throughout her life.

Isaac Hempstead Wright plays the ghost in the film and is seen to be more of a villain at the beginning of the film. This links and agrees with Propps theory of characters as he suggested that the stock characters in films were heroes and villains. But during the end of the film, he is showed to be a character that the audience is supposed to sympathise as you find out about his past.

Insidious

The main character is _ he plays a heroic character as he saves his son who is possessed. The heroic type character also links in with Propps idea of stock characters e.g. Hero, villain, sidekick.

Rosie Byrne plays the part of the mother, although she is in the film most of the time, she doesn't have a character which links in with the theorists. She slightly links in with the sidekick but doesn't assist‘ her husband’ that much.

Ty Simpkins plays the possessed boy, therefore plays the victim and the villain. This is because as well as being the main horror character, he is also someone to sympathise as his body has been taken over. The idea of him being a villain links with Propps theory of stock characters.