Archetypal Characters Within the Slasher Film Sub-Genre Essay -- Film

Archetypal Characters Within the Slasher Film Sub-GenreOne of the most revealing traits of a society is how it entertains itself. Although Americans of the late twentieth century have legion(predicate) choices for distraction, one medium has had a particularly significant impact upon the stuff of American gardening film. Through pandering to the ideas and beliefs of the audience, filmmakers parallel those ideas and beliefs in their creations. This correlation was demo in the glut of so-called slasher films during the period 1974-1984. Although the films were diverse in stamp and execution, the basic plot of these movies involved some sort of deranged sociopath glee seriousy stalking and killing a reduce of unfortunate puerile victims. Within this sub-genre there can be found a number of basic character styles, or originals. These archetypes not only serve to accommodate certain movies into the slasher category, but also to provide a window into the subtlety that they cat er to.In order to present a specific employment of each archetype, I have chosen four films that are worthy of the overall sub-genre. Tobe Hoopers The Texas chainsaw Massacre (1974) tells the story of a van full of traveling teenagers and their run-in with a family of backwoods cannibals. John Carpenters Halloween (1978) has killer Michael Myers choking baby-sitters on the night of said movie title. Sean Cunninghams Friday the 13th (1980) looses a hockey-masked psychopath upon a host of unsuspecting camp counselors. Finally, Tobe Hoopers The Funhouse (1981) finds four teens trapped in a carnival with a murderous sideshow freak.The most evident archetype within the slasher sub-genre is the Virgin. Usually the Virgin is the protagonist of the film, a female tee... ... of the sub-genre that began with the Wes Cravens shrieking (1994). These films are not only helping to carry the archetypes of Halloween and Friday the 13th to a new generation of moviegoers, but also updating them as the culture has updated itself. Despite the changes some form of these archetypes will continue to exist, no egress how much American society alters. As long as a teenager yearns for the adrenaline rush from a masked murderer, slasher films and their archetypes will endure. full treatment CitedHalloween. Dir. John Carpenter, with Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis. Falcon Productions, 1978.Friday the 13th. Dir. Sean Cunningham. Paramount, 1980.The Funhouse. Dir Tobe Hooper. Universal, 1981.McCarthy, Ken. The Splatter Film Guide. New York St. Martins Press, 1992.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Dir Tobe Hooper. Rosebud Communications, 1974.