Exploration of Gender in Horror Movies
The “Final Girl”:
The Exploration of Gender in Slasher/Horror Movies Much is made of the anti-female sentiments expressed in slasher/horror films. The classic scenario or formula used in most slasher movies includes the psycho-killer who slashes to death a string of mostly female victims, one-by one, until he himself is killed or subdued by the final survivor, usually the female lead character. The slasher film is rife with forbidden sexual overtones and graphic bloody violence, making it disregarded as great film by most critics or audiences (Clover, 1). However, it has become one of the top grossing film genres to come out of Hollywood. During the mid 1970’s to 1980’s, audiences saw the return of the slasher film with the release of movies like, Halloween and later, Scream. The first slasher film was arguably Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Most slasher films post dating Psycho keep true to many of the original “formulas” used in the making of Psycho. The introduction of the “final girl” shows a departure from many original Hollywood horror film formulas. Benshoff and Griffin define the final girl as, “A hero who is often able to defeat the killer. Yet the ‘final girl’ is usually a sweet, virginal character – one who represents an old-fashioned model of proper womanhood.” Some of the elements that add to the formula of producing a slasher film include the use of sound, photography, and movement. With the added drama and effects each of these elements help to illicit in the film, the slasher film genre gives a clear picture of current cultural attitudes toward sex and gender. This theme of gender and sexuality will be explored in the slasher movies, Psycho, Halloween and Scream, through the elements of sound, photography, and movement. Without sound, the fear factor of almost any horror film would decrease dramatically, if not completely vanish. Sure, monsters look scary, and masked men wielding a knife can be terrifying, but without sound,
The Exploration of Gender in Slasher/Horror Movies Much is made of the anti-female sentiments expressed in slasher/horror films. The classic scenario or formula used in most slasher movies includes the psycho-killer who slashes to death a string of mostly female victims, one-by one, until he himself is killed or subdued by the final survivor, usually the female lead character. The slasher film is rife with forbidden sexual overtones and graphic bloody violence, making it disregarded as great film by most critics or audiences (Clover, 1). However, it has become one of the top grossing film genres to come out of Hollywood. During the mid 1970’s to 1980’s, audiences saw the return of the slasher film with the release of movies like, Halloween and later, Scream. The first slasher film was arguably Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Most slasher films post dating Psycho keep true to many of the original “formulas” used in the making of Psycho. The introduction of the “final girl” shows a departure from many original Hollywood horror film formulas. Benshoff and Griffin define the final girl as, “A hero who is often able to defeat the killer. Yet the ‘final girl’ is usually a sweet, virginal character – one who represents an old-fashioned model of proper womanhood.” Some of the elements that add to the formula of producing a slasher film include the use of sound, photography, and movement. With the added drama and effects each of these elements help to illicit in the film, the slasher film genre gives a clear picture of current cultural attitudes toward sex and gender. This theme of gender and sexuality will be explored in the slasher movies, Psycho, Halloween and Scream, through the elements of sound, photography, and movement. Without sound, the fear factor of almost any horror film would decrease dramatically, if not completely vanish. Sure, monsters look scary, and masked men wielding a knife can be terrifying, but without sound,
Cited: "Bafta: Screen Variations." Www.simonboswell.com. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Malden, MA, USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004. Print. Clover, Carol J. Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1992. Print. Halloween. Dir. John Carpenter. 1978. Psycho. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1960. Rebello, Stephen. Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. New York: Dembner, 1990. Print. Scream. Dir. Wes Craven. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, 1996.