The Slasher Sub-genre

Conventions

The Slasher sub-genre is well-known within the film world for having a clear set of conventions that feature throughout each and every Slasher film.

These conventions are what make a horror film a Slasher and allows the audience to engage with the characters and instantly know what to expect.

Although this sense of familiarity with Slasher conventions allows Slasher fans to be certain that they will enjoy all Slasher horror films, it has led to some criticism that the Slasher sub-genre is predictable and leaves no sense of ambiguity when it comes to the narrative.

This has led to Slasher films being created that break conventions and use this familiarity to surprise the audience instead.

This is evident in successful Slasher films such as the Scream franchise where Wes Craven created a Slasher film featuring characters, like the audience, who have the conventions of Slasher horror films entrenched in their memories but still do not survive.

The most recognisable convention of the Slasher sub-genre is the used of a psychotic antagonist. This antagonist is always presented wearing a mask and some form of baggy overall style clothing which conceals his identity. This allows for the identity of the antagonist to be built up through out the film with the audience guessing who it could be; is it a character we know or someone completely different? This is one of the most effective conventions of the Slasher sub-genre as it allows the audience to be constantly on edge and in the dark about what the antagonist really looks like. It also suggests to them that he could be anyone, and that they could be his next victim. In addition, the use of a masked antagonist adds to the fear generated by him as a masked antagonist instantly appears more terrifying than if he was unmasked.

Another of the most well-known conventions of the Slasher sub-genre is the choice of weapon. In every Slasher film ever made theantagonist uses an unconventional murder weapon that causes maximum suffering, blood, gore and prolonged deaths for the victims. One of the most common weapons used within the Slasher genre is a knife which allows for extreme amounts of blood and gore. This is the main representative of the Slasher sub-genre as it instantly informs the audience of what this sub-genre is about. A knife ‘slashes’ and ‘slays’ its victims and will cause them to suffer, for a longer amount of time than if the antagonist used a gun, which is what the audience expect to see from this sub-genre. Unlike any other sub-genres, the antagonists weapon in eachindividual Slasher film helps to reflect his identity as the antagonist and distinguish him and his killing style from all other Slasher antagonists. This is also reinforced through his mask. For example, when people think of Freddie Krueger, they instantly think of his hand of knives. When they think of Texas Chainsaw Massacre they instantly think of Leather face and his chainsaw.

The antagonist and his signature costume is the face of each Slasher film which makes it crucial to ensure he fits in with conventions but is unique to other Slasher antagonists.

Another well-known convention of the Slasher sub-genre is the character of the Final Girl who features in each Slasher horror film. She is usually part of the reckless and rebellious group of teenagers who are the main characters. However she is always a bit different. She is usually more sensible than the others and is the first to suspect that something weird is going on. She is usually the only character to survive till the end despite her numerous encounters with the antagonist. She always manages to escape him with her life as she is intelligent and resourceful, using anything she can find to protect herself. She is a brave young girl who will defend herself no matter what. The final girl is also much less reckless than her friends and is a virgin. She also tends to have a unisex name and is more masculine in her appearance than her friends.

For example, Sidney from Scream is the typical representation of a Final Girl Character. She is intelligent, resourceful and much more sensible than her party-animal best friend Tatum. She is a virgin and wears much more masculine and covered up clothes such as t-shirts and hoodies. Unlike her friends, she is sensible, intelligent and shies away from casual sex and drinking

Another convention of the Slasher sub-genre is that the main characters are a group of reckless and rebellious teenagers. They are rule-breakers who drink alcohol, take drugs and have casual sex. This makes them the perfect target for Slasher antagonists as they are under the influence of drugs and alcohol so are unable to protect themselves. This creates an idea that the characters are being punished for their behaviour. From this group, the first character to die is conventionally the sacrificial lamb character of a blonde bimbo who is the ‘slut’. For example, the character of Jules in the Slasher horror Cabin in the Woods.