Character Deconstruction

Victims

During horror films characters personalities are shown within the first half of the film. When introducing the characters some common characteristics are as follows, however these characters are less likely to survive:

Group’s victims

·         The Chatterbox, a character who is shown to be very loud and talkative. This personality is someone who rushes in to dangerous situations and causes many problems.

·         The Authority Figure, someone who believes that they should be in charge and direct the group of people. Often having a large ego this character thinks that they can resolve everything and be the one that everyone will look up to.

·         The Suit, characters who believe that they are untouchable as they are rich, these characters can be identified through their costumes as they are well dressed.

·         The Nerd, they tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the group of people and constantly insist that they can hear something before going to investigate alone.

·         The Know-It-All/ Non-Believer, this character insists that nothing is wrong and gives excuses for everything that is happening.

·         The Comedian, continuously making jokes of the situation and enjoy scaring the rest of the group because they believe it to be funny. Some of these jokes can be used as simple jump scares such as jumping out on other members of the group.

·         The Couple, they would normally die within minutes of one another and stay close together for support. Audience will feel some sympathy towards such characters.

·         The Cruel Character, very self-centred and does not care for anyone else around him. This character usually makes it very difficult for the main protagonist to survive and help others. Many of the other characters are not as effected when this character dies.

·         The Black Guy, stereotypically the black male is likely to die. You do not often see a solo black male survivor within a horror film. These characters are seen to be very likeable for the audience.

·         The Fat Guy, these characters tend to die within horror films as they are seen to be to large to run away or escape through a small area.

Solo Victims

·         Females are commonly used as the victim within horror films as they are portrayed as being vulnerable and in need of protection. These characters are usually young, blonde and very attractive to appeal to a wider male audience however, this character helps to build suspense as her behaviour often puts them on edge. When this character jumps and scream all other characters do the same.



Villains

During horror films each villain has a similar trait that can e identified in many horror films, some of these villains include:

·         Scary little girl, this character is commonly used in possession horror genre. Once originally a victim this character often wears white to symbolise their previous purity and innocents, however there cloths are regally dirty and ripped to show an evil presents surrounding the person.


·          Masked character, the fear of the unknown is another aspect of horror films that is regularly used. From lurking in the dark to wearing a mask, these aspects can be regularly seen within horror films. By hiding the character in mystery it makes the audience question who the villain is. The material of the mask is also very effective, characters such as Leatherface wear a mask that as a simular look to skin. Not only this however the darker areas around the eyes and mouth make the character more mysterious.

·          Spirits, these are regally used throughout horror films. The villains of Poltergeist aren't physical monsters or serial killers, but rather disembodied spirits that terrorize a helpless family. The idea of a creature that cannot be removed or destroyed creates fear as it is something that is considered immortal. Not only this however, the character is completely invisible creating mystery as the audience and other characters would not know where it could possibly be.

·          Supernatural is another common horror villain and has been shown throughout horror film history. The first horror film ever created was "Le Manoir du Diable" or "The House of the Devil" which was filmed by Georges Melies of France in 1896. The film runs about 3 minutes and was completely silent. This film included skeletons and a bat that transformed in to a bat. Vampires was a supernatural character that would be commonly used however recently zombies have had an increase in films.