In short, there is usually a psychotic masked killer stalking and systematically butchering a group of young adults (teens), away from parent supervision and usually up to no good. Until eventually the "virgin/final girl" prevails and seems to destroy the killer thus stopping the carnage from continuing. But the killer often comes back in multiple sequels declining in quality and media interest. These sequels often going straight to video. But to completely understand what a slasher film is we need to look at these codes and conventions in more detail.
Friday 13th
The miss read stereotype of a slasher film killer is often a supernatural boogie man in a beat up jump suit and hockey mask, wilding a machete. But the killer character is much more complex. In most slasher films the killer is an ordinary person who has suffered some kind of great trauma abuse or injustice in there life and there killing streak is a way to get revenge and forward angers trailing from past events. The victims are never random but linked with the killers past. The killer is more than likely to be masked to console the killers identity until the final scene, if unmasked there identity is again kept secret and only revealed in the final scene. Most are homicidal maniacs and not sadistic tormenters this is illustrated by the quick kills in slashers with little victim pain or suffering and often 1 fatal slice or stab. The killer is by and large overtly asexual and sexually ambiguous even thou it is always implied that the killer is male with extreme burst of masculinity. The biggest convention with the killer that is almost always used is the non realistic immortality/indestructibility and super strength of this character. This is done so the killer can always come back in numerous sequels and rain terror once more. One of the most common conventions in the slasher is the point of view from the killer shots, only seeing a disfigured or gloved hand holding the weapon of choice.
Wrong Turn
In slashers these are always a knife or blade of some kind hence the name "slasher". Slasher film weapons of choice include; swords, razors, axes, machetes, arrows, chain-saws, power drills, hammers, spears, saws, scythes, hatchets, darts, sickles and pitch forks. Basically anything that slashes and also any other sharp or pointed objects lying around. Also sometimes a specific weapon is reserved for a specific victim.
There are a set of familiar characters in slashers including the key character the final/virgin girl. Who is always the sensible collected type who generally refuses to take part in any illegal or sexual activities, (hence the name virgin girl) that seem to be the down fall of the other characters. The final/virgin girl is the sole survivor of the psychos killing spree and the character who finally defeats the killer. Other frequently used character types include, the cheerleader/bimbo (usually the first to be slaughtered), the jock, the badass or outcast, the prom queen or popular girl (also a bimbo), the nice guy, the nerdy kid who sometimes develops into the final/virgin girl and finally the token black guy. The only adult characters in slasher films seem to be 1 of 3 character types. Ether the killer himself/herself, the elder wise person who gives advise on how to defeat the killer or the less than helpful authority figure usually a "cop" who refuses to believe or acknowledge there is a psychopathic killer on the lose.
Scream
Because a large proportion of the audience for slashers are teenagers and they have teenage actors and characters for the audience to identify with. The settings for slasher films correlate with these conventions and are often universally recognised with teens. For example high school, college, summer camp, the creepy house at the top of the hill, the hang out in the woods and blood can even be spilled on the comforting streets of suburbia. These settings seem to give the hunted teens an advantage over there stalking psychopath because they are immediately familiar with these surroundings. Thus they know where the dark corners are to hide or where daddy keeps his shotgun. This seemed advantage can sometimes be reversed within the film taking the characters and placing them in an unfamiliar killers domain, for example the "dream world of Freddy Kruger". And when night falls these proposed advantages go out the window. Also the settings in slasher films are more than likely to be isolated in some way from the rest of society and the adult community this takes out the possibility of a rescue of some kind and also gives the characters an opportunity to do bad things e.g. taking drugs and sex. The time and date that slasher films take place in, is almost always an anniversary of a past event. Slashers often start with a prologue of this always traumatic or humiliating past event. A very good example of this is Halloween, witch stats with scenes of the killers traumatic past.
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