Stock characters in Slasher Horror films

Maddison Bunny Allin

WHAT ARE STOCK CHARACTERS?

• Stock characters are a key component of genre fiction

• They are no the main characters however are easily recognized characters which play a part in most films of the same genre

• The different types of stock characters are: the wanderer, the popular girl, the jock, the final girl, the Pandora and the pervert.

THE POPULAR GIRL

• The popular girl in a Slasher Horror film is usually the most attractive girl who is very wealthy and the most popular girl at school. She is often the girl who is desired by most men in the film and/or has a boyfriend who is often the jock.

• They usually tend to be either the first or last character to die and are often either best friends or enemies with the final girl.

EXAMPLES:

Sarah Michelle Gellar in I know what you did last

summer

Paris Hilton in house of wax Camilla Belle in when a stranger calls

THE FINAL GIRL • The final girl Is the last one to have survived either because

they have killed the killer or because they have managed to escape from the killer.

• She is often a girl who is either best friends with the popular girl or is an outcast with no friends who does well in school.

• She is often almost killed a number of times however manages to escape

• EXAMPLES:

Jennifer Love Hewitt in I know what

you did last summer

Marylin Burns in Texas chainsaw massacre

Neve Campbell in Scream 2

PANDORA• This character is usually a girl in the film who comes across as

someone who is innocent and wouldn’t hurt anyone and can turn out to either be the killer in the film or the person who attracts the killer.

• Sometimes the audience know that this character is the killer however the characters in the film do not until a later stage and sometimes, neither of us know who the killer is.

EXAMPLES:

Megan Fox in Jennifer’s body Who is also the popular

Girl in this case.

Isabelle Fuhrman in Orphan Doofy from Scary Movie

THE WANDERER

• The wanderer in most horror/slashed films is often the first person to be killed as they are usually clueless and walk into trouble. The wanderer is often played by a young actor who is naive.

EXAMPLES:

Ned from ‘Friday the 13th’ is killed after following a dark into

a shed

Tatum from ‘scream’, is the first to get killed.

Vincent from bloody beginnings explores the abandoned hospital

while everyone else is asleep.

THE JOCK

• The Jock is usually good looking a young and often is dating the popular girl. There stereotypically athletic but stupid and naïve and usually are one of the first to be killed in the film. There usually a cocky character which then leads them to be killed, they also have usually been taking drugs or drinking.

• EXAMPLES:

Curt in ‘cabin in the woods’ is killed after trying to jump of a

motorbike to escape.

Blake from ‘house of wax’ is killed just before sleeping with

his girlfriend.

Morgan from ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’ is killed after trying to

attack the killer.

THE PERVERT

• This character can either be a male serial killer who is motivated sexually troubled personality or can be one of the characters who gets murdered by the killer because of they’re are a pervert. There usually kind of crazy and don’t get along with the other characters.

• EXAMPLES:

‘final destination 3’ Frankie is killed when he is still hanging

around secondary school three years after graduation.

‘night mare on elm street’ freddy kruger,

plays the psycho killer.