The slasher genre and 'Halloween'.

As part of the process of trying to decide what we want to pick to do for our A2 coursework, we have been studying and analysing the slasher genre within lessons; especially so by looking at the original version of the film 'Halloween'. We have covered the basic elements you would expect to find in a slasher film as well as the main ideologies and icons.
The slasher genre originated in the early 1960's when films such as Peeping Tom and Psyco were first released. Slasher films have fiercely evolved and developed since this time, and we often find that re-makes and sometimes more modern versions of the very first slasher films have been re-done since.
The slasher film theorist Carol J. Clover suggests that there are 5 main things that you would expect to find in every slasher film:
1. A weapon
2. A terrible place
3. A killer
4. Victims
5. A final girl

Leading on from this, Clover actually pitched a theory for slasher films called 'The Final Girl Theory'. The theory states that:

• There is always a 'final girl' who leads the narrative of the film.
• The 'final girl' usually has some sort of past history with the killer.
• The 'final girl' always avoids hedonistic activity such as sex, drug-taking, smoking or drinking alcohol, and is instead intelligent, curious and often virginal. She also tends to be quite masculine to make the audience believe she has the ability to get riid of the killer.
• The 'final girl' often ends up killing the killer with the original weapon.
• Attractive hedonistic girls are usually killed fairly early on in the film.

After watching John Carpenter's 'Halloween' from 1978, I have discovered a certain ideology and many codes and icons which are common to many slasher films.

Ideology/Codes:

• Use of multi-sex name for the final girl (Laurie)
• Eerie, spine chilling music and a specific sound motif for when the killer is present.
• Thunder and lighting (pathetic fallacy)
• Stereotypical, nice-looking surburban neighbourhood whoes residents turn a blind-eye to all of the strange goings-on and killings.
• The action always returns to the scene of the very first crime.
• The killer stalks the final girl.
• There is an avoidance of showing the killer's face.
• The more popular hedonistic girls aren't necessarily that nice to the sensible girl/'final girl' - they think she is a prude.
• There is a telephone call with the killer at one end and the victim at the other.
• The parents of the 'final girl' or the hedonistic girls are never home.
• Intertextuality - there was a film within the film which is a pre-telling of the plot/story.
• Phone line ends up being cut off so that the 'final girl' can't contact anybody.

Icons:

• Pumpkin - gives an immediate eerie, spooky feel to the film.
• Huge knife as the weapon
• Terrible place - killer's childhood home
• Car - the killer appears in the back of the car
• Telephone - there always seems to be a phone call.
• Creaking doors
• Cupboards - for the victims to hide from the killer in.

If I decide to create either a film trailer or a short film for my coursework piece, and I go on to pick the slasher genre, I will need to take all of these things into account during the production of it to make it successful and to create the right kind of mood/atmosphere.