Recurring patterns
- 2. The German Expressionism German Expressionism was a movement which occurred during the 1920s, it refers to several creative movements beginning within Germany before the First World War, which ultimately reached its peak in Berlin. The movement reflects the historical context of the time, it does this by using sets consisting of abstract shapes to form psychological landscapes, leaving little to be realistic. The aim on a larger scale was the influence of the isolation the country was experiencing during the war and the portrayal of that through film. In terms of mise en scene within the film however, it represented the characters state of mind and/or their situation. The films, contained extreme distortions to convey an inner emotional reality rather than what is on the surface. This movement was short lived however, fading away after only a few years. The themes of expressionism did not die there though, as a number of German filmmakers emigrated to Hollywood, America and influenced Hollywood films by subtly adapting extracts of german expressionist techniques and style (of lighting and shadows) within ‘B’ films. This resulted in the new era of ‘Film Noir’, as well as unsettling the tipping balance between ‘A’ and ‘B’ films as they were never presented in the same way.
- 3. Film Noir Film Noir is a cinematic term used to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas. It was relatively influenced by German Expressionist cinematography in regards to its visual style e.g. Shadows, black and white with low key lighting. The low key lighting is used to highlight certain situations and emotions. This is when a certain feature is highlighted by light whereas everything else is in the dark. Film noir was highly regarded and popular from the early 1940s to the late1950s . It had a direct impact on horror films, as seen in China Town and Maltese Falcon. Its functional use, message of the time, was that no one could be trusted. Which is why it was mainly centred around detectives, betrayal and conspiracy. The films were being made whilst America was dealing with the threat of communism, this could have had a subconscious effect on the film industry.
- 4. Within every slasher film there is a person who survives, they are more likely to always be female and are referred to as the final girl. It is the last woman/ girl alive to confront the killer and therefore the one left to tell the story. She usually had an ambiguous name and brown light or dark hair. This is due to the fact that the male teenage audience can relate to her. She is not made out be extremely feminine as to not attract much attention to herself. She tends to represent purity and righteousness by being virginal and survives due to not being considered ‘corrupted’.
- 5. Slasher films always contain a group of friends. These are the unlucky souls that are picked off one by one. Within the group there are certain roles that are fulfilled, these are: the virgin, harlot, fool, athlete and intellectual.
- 6. Monster/KillerMonster/Killer Monsters often wear masks to hide their face which is usually scarred or disfigured. The idea of this is, the audience have a fascination with- and fear of- the unknown. The monster usually had a traumatic childhood which has resulted in his psychotic killing spree. Sometimes but not all the time the killer will have a reason as to why they are killing these teenagers. The monsters usually use weapons that result in more gore and have creative ways in which they do it, however, the most typical weapon is a knife. They are portrayed as unstoppable, giving the illusion that they cannot be killed, and always seem to posses a lot of strength.
- 7. The benefactor is usually meant to symbolise knowledge and therefore the character is of an older generation. This character tends to try and help the final girl my giving her advice which will hopefully lead to the monsters defeat. They are usually in position of power e.g. policeman, doctor etc. and the role can also be mixed with the ineffective authority figure. On a rare occasion, the benefactor can have a dual role and be the ‘monster’ too.
- 8. Within a slasher, the location is either in a suburban area or an isolated one. The suburban location is used to make the audience uneasy about where they live as the film suggests they are not safe anywhere, not even in their home. The isolated area however, is that of the unknown and what comes from exploration. Locations such as, graveyards, alley ways, basements, attics and warehouses are typical for slasher films.
Editor's Notes
- #6: Explain the order of the killings