DC: Individual Moodboard- Slasher

Slasher is one of the most iconic sub-genres of Horror, first emerging in the 1960's before becoming more prominent during the 'Golden Age of Slasher' between 1978 and 1984. This time period produced several of the most famous slasher films to date such as 'Halloween' (Carpenter, 1978) and 'Nightmare on Elm's Street' (Cunningham, 1980.


Location:
Slasher films take place in a variety of locations, both external and internal, some of the conventional locations used in Slasher include:

• Internal: Familiar locations (Suburban Homes, Towns, Abandoned buildings/factories)
• External: Isolated locations (Forests, Graveyards,)

Characters:

Slasher films often contain similar stock characters:

• Antagonist: Violent murderer, psychopathic, Anti-Hero (used in marketing/sequels more than survivors/ used to create a brand around the film)
• Survivors: Teens (vulnerability), 'Last Girl' (one convention of Slasher is to have one survivor, often a female that the viewers follow throughout the film/ relate to that will often be the only survivor), Strong Male (strong male that tries to overcome the antagonist but ultimately fails)

Props:

Props are used in Slasher by both the antagonist and protagonists for a variety of reasons, some conventional props in Slasher include:

• Mask: Used by the antagonist to conceal their identity. This is also used to turn the antagonist into a 'brand'/ make them a more recognisable figure to the audience
• Weapon (Antagonist): The weapon used by the antagonist will often be a sharp weapon in order to increase the fear factor in the film. The weapons also contribute to the gore as the film due to the gory deaths that bladed weapons can inflict
• Weapon (Protagonist): The protagonist(s), often the 'Last Girl' will gain a weapon in the latter stages of the film. This weapon will be used in an attempt to overcome the antagonist that will either be successful or unsuccessful depending on the films outcome

Events:

Slasher films usually contain certain events that are conventional of the Sub-Genre, examples of these conventional events include:

• Jump Scare: Jump scares will frequently be used in Slasher, often when the antagonist attacks a character. However, jumps scares are often used to trick the audience into thinking the protagonist is in a dangerous situation when they aren't, these are known as 'false jump-scares.' Jump scares often involve the antagonist 'jumping out' at the camera, accompanied by sudden, loud music
• First death/ finding body: The protagonists will often find a body of a character in the early stages of the film. The death of this character is not always shown in the picture in order to increase the suspense of the film
• Death of antagonist: The 'last girl' or last survivor will often kill the antagonist at the end of the picture in order to complete the plot of the picture, however this particular event is not always implemented in order to allow room for a sequel containing the same antagonist