Slasher Conventions

Main Characters-

The Final Girl-
The final girl is the one out of her group of friends that survives all the villains attempts to kill her as he has done all of her friends. The final girl is always a virgin, and unlike her friends, never engages in sexual or illegal activities. She is often a brunette, and is extremely innocent and shy, building her confidence as the movie progresses.

Julie James- I know what you did last summer

Killer-
The killer is always masked due to the fact that he is physically deformed due to a past event e.g trouble childhood, fire, prank gone wrong etc (that unravels during the film.) The killer is always an unknown and male. He has a distinctive weapon and often leaves links between victims. The victims can sometimes be linked with the past of the killer e.g Prom Night.

Jason Voorhees- Friday 13th

Other frequent victims/group of friends-

Bimbo/cheerleader/prom queen/popular girl- 
The first to die is the popular girl, usually blonde. She is sexually active, and is often engaging in sexual activity or being overly provocative when she is murdered e.g The Cabin in the Woods.

Jules- The Cabin in the Woods

Jock
The Jock is often in an intimate relationship with the popular girl. He does not die straight away but engages in illegal activities that leads to his death eventually.

Curt- The Cabin in the Woods

Token black guy
There is not normally a lot of depth to this particular character. He usually dies second or significantly early on e.g Friday 13th.

Lawrence- Friday 13th

Nice guy
Despite being 'nice', this character still engages in rebellious activities (sex, drugs, drinking etc.) He normally survives longer than the others but dies before the final girl can defeat the villain e.g The Cabin in the Woods.

Marty- The Cabin in the Woods

The deaths of these characters can either be seen as a punishment for their behaviour, engaging in sex, drugs, excessive drinking etc, or due to them being unaware of their surroundings also due to their behaviour.

Adults-
Older wise man-
The benefactor appears throughout film giving subtle advice to the characters, although they do not always listen. Can eventually go on to help the final girl defeat the killer.


Unhelpful officer
Initiates the idea that the authorities are in fact useless, giving the illusion that the characters are on their own, adding to the horror for the audience (therefore linking to genre.) The authorities are thought to keep us safe, so not having them able to save the characters from the villain is unsettling.

Officer- Wrong Turn

Settings-

High school
Characters are often 'High School' age 15-18 years old. Although the actual killings do not always take place within the high school, it is often used within some scenes to give characters background and the audience a sense of normality to the teens.

Jennifer's Body

Small town
The use of a small town or suburb with family homes is disturbing to the audience, as they are familiar with this realistic setting and so it becomes more distressing e.g the thought of a masked killer watching the family home.

Nightmare on Elm Street

Forest
Usually teenage characters going to stay in a rural cabin on 'spring break.' The fact that the cabin is in the middle of the woods gives a sense of isolation that is unsettling for the audience.

Camp Crystal Lake- Friday 13th

Lighting-
Mostly dark
Mainly low key and back lighting to hide elements of the scene and provide mystery which builds tension within the audience, adding to the slasher horror genre.

Storyline
The storyline is usually simple as the main element are the killings being as graphic and upsetting to the audience as possible.