User:Ashley Rodgers90/Horror film

SLASHER FILMS

The slasher film is a horror subgenre, which involving a killer murdering a group of people (usually teenagers), usually by use of bladed tools. In his book on the genre, author Adam Rockoff that these villains represented a "rogue genre" of films with "tough, problematic, and fiercely individualistic." Following the financial success of Friday the 13th (1980), at least 20 other slasher films appeared in 1980 alone. These films usually revolved around five properties: unique social settings (campgrounds, schools, holidays) and a crime from the past committed (an accidental drowning, infidelity, a scorned lover) and a ready made group of victims (camp counselors, students, wedding parties). The genre was derided by several contemporary film critics of the era such as Ebert, and often were highly profitable in the box office. The release of Scream (1996), led to a brief revival of the slasher films for the 1990s. Other countries imitated the American slasher film revival, such as South Korea's early 2000s cycle with Bloody Beach (2000), Nightmare (2000) and The Record (2000).

"Many academic texts, including Dika’s analysis, argue that Halloween (1978) is the starting point of slasher films. Of course Halloween is a milestone for the whole subgenre and it perfectly combines all of its conventions. However, four years before that, there were another two films which belong to the slasher subgenre. In 1974, Black Christmas and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre came into theatres and set some basic rules for the subgenre’s formula. Therefore, I would argue that the starting point of the subgenre is 1974. Naturally, even before that, there were some films that had influenced the slasher"

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most notable early influences in the subgenre of slasher films. Norman Bates has a split personality, and runs a motel. He murders young women that he is sexually attracted to, while dressed up as his deceased mother. The sexuality and violence present in Psycho, would later become a recurring theme in slasher films. Petridis claims that slasher films began in 1974 with Texas Chainsaw massacre and Black Christmas. In 1978 Halloween would hit box offices, and create many of the tropes that exist in slasher films, still to this day, A man with a mask, tennagers being murdered while engaging in teenager activities, a troubled origin, and a virtuous heroine. In the 1980’s the formula became even more standardized, and the slasher film franchises were created. “Several films were created and they shared the same basic idea: a killer terrorizes a young community in an isolated place and in the end, a person, usually female, survives” Most famous slasher franchises of the 1980’s include Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Child’s Play.

Post Modern Era

There was stagnation with innovative ideas in the slasher film subgenre, until the post-slasher films of the 1990’s. In the 90’s slasher films started to become self-aware, and mock standard formulas that had previously been established. Although not the first, Scream (1996) was the biggest box office success that played with these concepts. Another big success in the postmodern era included I Know What You Did Last Summer. The Halloween franchise would evolve with its own spin, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.

Neoslasher

Remakes-The first remake was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), followed by Black Christmas (2006), When a Stranger Calls (2006), Halloween (2007), Prom Night (2008), My Bloody Valentine (2009), Halloween II (2009), Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).

The Orignals-