Gender:
In most horror films, females are mainly represented as distractions to men, who claim to be the victim and dress in little clothing. Or they are villains who seek revenge on, specifically, men who have wronged them. When women in horror are portrayed as the 'damsal in distress' they are most likely to die quite quickly and not be as useful to escape the villain as many other characters. They are stereotypically labelled as blonde and weak, which makes them easy targets for the villains. More recently female characters are represented as the villains who have power and authority. They are likely to be very dominant, influential and a big part of the film because everything happening in the movie revolves around them and their actions. The female villain will control most things that are to happen and create fear among the audience if they are dressed certain ways. For example in the Woman in Black, the villain is a female dressed head-to-toe in black material which suggests the frightful and dark nature surrounding her. |
Male villains in horror may not have motives to their actions, unlike the female villains. They are seen often as psychopathic serial killers who have little logic for their ideas. If they are not the villains, men can be represented as strong characters who always triumph over the evil. Due to the rise in equality, these representations have been altered. Men in horror films can also play extra parts of being on-side vulnerable victims who play small parts in the villains big plan to murder. When a female is the evil source of a villain, they may have motives to pray on the men or exes who have done them wrong. So in this case the wrongdoers of the women are the victims and therefore create a status of being weaker and more fragile than the woman who has dominancy. |
Places and Settings:
Horror film settings can be anywhere at anytime. But the most stereotypical places the victims would end up in horror films would be cabins where they would normally go over summer for relaxing breaks but in horror they turn to creepy and haunted holiday houses. Although some films including Cabin in the Woods and the Woman in Black include houses that already have a terrifying nature to them. This creates a frightening effect because the audience will become aware that something is bound to go wrong. These locations also include isolated rural areas with hidden pasts which creates tension for the viewer. |
Children
Children are commonly cast as the face of innocence within the context of the storyline. In some ways children are stereotypically cast in these roles, this is used to create an effect on the audience which helps them to empathise with the character appearing on screen. The evil character always seems to target children . This may be because they are so innocent that when they are possessed or have evil in them that that automatically makes them much scarier than if it was happening to an adult. Although in most recent films, more and more children are portrayed as the possessed character with an evil spirit inside them. "The Exorcist" (1973) struck fear into the hearts of audiences around the world, the most frightening factor being the lead role of the child, who was possessed by the devil, shocking and stunning the audience. "The Messenger" includes the small child as being phenomenal because he is gifted with seeing the creatures that the adults can't see. The older girl is the victim which establishes her innocence. |
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