- A Web Adventure!
Slasher Formula
Opening
Opening Kill
Sets the stage! It lets the audience know what they're in for and gives the filmmakers time to set the stage for the later kills by introducing the location and the characters.
Original Sin
It's sort of a backstory that gives the killer their motive.
(i.e. a prank gone wrong.)
Often happens on a special date.
(i.e Halloween, Friday the 13th.)
Characters
Who are the people in the slasher film? What are the archetypes?
Cast
A finite amount of unsupervised high school to college aged youths who are high, drunk, horny, and on the killer's stomping ground.
Sin Factor
Sex, drugs, alcohol, partying, showering, babysitting, walking in the woods, skinny dipping, swimming, being at home, going camping, traveling, pulling pranks,
Ya know, being alive when someone wants you dead. Rude.
Harbinger of Doom
An unhinged (usually) old man who gives the cast a warning.
Sometimes he's the exposition.
Final Girl
The Protagonist!
The Main Character!
The (typically) virginal good-girl survivor.
Slasher
The Antagonist!
Usually masked and or mad killer.
Plot Set Up
Where and When?
does the film take place.
Location
Horror films rely on isolation.
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Physical isolation achieved by a remote location (Alien, The Thing).
Or from traveling.
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Social isolation achieved by having authority figures unwilling or unable to help the cast of youths,
Splitting Up
The cast splits up and is killed off one by one.
This aids in the isolation
Timeframe
Slashers usually take place over a tight timeframe.
A day of set up then the killing spree takes place over a single night.
Day break brings help.
Ending
How does the movie end... or does it really ever end?
Third Act
The prolonged third act chase scene and fight between the Final Girl and the Slasher Killer.
Chair Jumper
The film usually ends on one last scare.
This makes the ending more ambiguous.
(helps set up a sequel).
Killer Doesn't Die
...or if they do,
they're returning for the sequel!
"Because these days there's gotta be a sequel!"