Representation in our film

There are many types of representation and stereotypes in Horror films, this is a guide to some of the typical stereotypes that can be expected to be seen in Horror films such as Halloween:

The Female Victim-

The female victim are often portrayed as being vulnerable and in need of protection, by the films protagonist or hero, this kind of representation began in the early days of horror as the main character was often heroic and almost always male. The victim isusually young, blonde and attractive, which helps to appeal to a wider male audience. However this character is often seen as having an annoying and stupid personality, They are often the one character the audience wants to be killed. They are usually never killed first but are normally saved until one of the last victims, they will normally die in the most graphic way possible. The director will often use this character to help build suspense in the audience, as she will often be on edge and very easily scared by loud noices, this would make the audience far more jumpy.

Non-Believer-

There will also often be a character in horror films who is portrayed as cocky and overconfident, they will often try and convince others in the film that there is no antagonist and that they are overreacting. This character can be either sex but is often portrayed as a male. The characters cockiness is usually the thing that gets the character killed off, there death is oftenly near the beginning. The audience will normally be reassured by their calm attitude and belief that there is nothing wrong, however when they are eventually killed this calm attitude disappears and the other characters often become panicked and this can lead to other deaths.

Hero-

Almost always a male character they are often seen as strong and very masculine, they rarely show enough emotion given the situation, and are often either the only one to survive or the last character to survive. There is an increasing trend in which this steretype is being protrayed by a female lead instead of male character, this can broaden the audience and attract females and males, as females could be attracted by the strong female lead as well as the strong male lead.

Hysterical Character-

This kind of character is often female. They are normally the character who doesn't want to investigate anything suspicous, she is normally the most likely character to be left behind in a situation. This would normally lead to her to eihter being killed first or left till last. Her emotional outbursts would help build suspense in the audience and it could also build hysteria in the audience making them more jumpy and frightened.

Evil Character-

Evil characters are varied and can range from serial killers to demonic possession. If the antagonist is a human they often wear masks, so we can't identify them and it also leaves mystery as we don't know what they look like under the mask, they will also never expose their emotions which means as the audience we can never connect with them. As human's they don't react normally to injuries, and they can often reanimate after the protagonist thinks he's dead, this hints to the audience that there is something unnatural. The unnatural creatures such as Demons are known to play on the fears of the audience and films that contain these monsters in them are often the scariest because they take place in places normally associated with safety such as homes, but they also make the most innocnet looking things the victims worst nightmare. This character is strikes fear in the audience everytime they appear on screen and they are also what builds the most tension.