Embedded Files
Joe Vinci
Staff Writer
The time around Halloween is horror movie season. The villains in these spooky movies range from aliens to mutants to ghosts and everything in between. The most popular type of villain is undoubtedly a killer who preys on innocent people. This character archetype includes Ghostface in Scream and Chucky in Child’s Play. This “slasher” type of villain was popularized by characters such as Michael Myers in Halloween, Jason Voorhees in Friday the Thirteenth, and Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Despite the fact that these movies first came out in the late seventies and early eighties, they can be found on many television channels throughout September and October every year. Hollywood continues to pump out new films of dubious quality in each of the aforementioned series. If these movies have dated effects, bad acting, and corny endings, why does Hollywood continue to create these films? What makes these movies special? Personally, I believe that it has to do with the nature of the villains and their victims. Where did these “slashers”, who almost seem invincible, come from and what are their weaknesses? Who do they go after and why?
The origin of these antagonists reveal how they became the villains they are, and what motivates them. Jason Voorhees, in Friday the Thirteenth, was physically disabled. He went to Camp Crystal Lake one summer, and was bullied. The bullies pushed him into the lake and he drowned. Counselors at the camp could have saved his life, but they were distracted and not paying attention. Jason’s mother sought revenge on the people responsible for his death. After she was killed, Jason returned to avenge both his and his mother’s death. Jason was innocent, and died because of someone else’s ignorance. He has a real reason to be angry. Although the audience understands that his methods of revenge aren’t morally correct, they feel sympathy for Jason because he was wronged prior. The audience understands and relates to his pain. In contrast, Freddy Krueger was always a bad guy throughout his life. He was a murderer and had no excuses. After being brought to justice, he was let go on a technicality. That didn’t sit well with the families of the people he hurt. They chased him into a building and set it on fire. He burned to death, but his spirit stayed alive. He continued to torment the kids of the people who killed him. Freddy entered people’s nightmares and killed them inside their own dream. If you die in a dream, in this series, you also die in real life. He doesn’t kill these people because they hurt him, but because they told on him due to his past crimes. He kills the people responsible for him getting caught. Michael Myers, in contrast, kills simply to kill. When he was a child he killed his teenage sister without being provoked and was sent to an asylum. After breaking out as adult, he continued to kill innocent people. There is no reason why Michael Myers kills people. He just finds it entertaining, I guess. There is no reasoning with him or understanding him. Each of these slasher killers have their own weird motivations for killing. Jason kills because he was wronged and wants to punish those who, in his opinion, are not morally sound. Freddy was punished for his wrong doings and desires revenge. Michael Myers kills simply because he enjoys doing so. The one thing they have in common is that they prey on innocent people.
All of the slasher killers are seemingly invincible with their supernatural strength and durability. It is their weaknesses that make them unique, frightening, and more dangerous.
Jason is perceived as a myth to his victims until it is too late. The grounds at Camp Crystal Lake are extremely remote which allows for minimal interference during his killing sprees. He has strength and resilience that is so powerful that some believe he draws his abilities from a supernatural source. Despite this, Jason is still afraid of water due to his tragic death by drowning. He is also easily fooled and is completely controlled by his mother.
Freddy Krueger isn't very strong or resistant to damage in the real world, but in his dream world he is completely invincible. He can change things to how he wants them to be at will inside the dreams. Freddy is not limited by space and time, and will appear in his victims dreams wherever and whenever they fall asleep. He is inescapable because it is impossible to stay awake forever. The only way that Freddy is ever defeated or hurt is when he is somehow brought into the real world and defeated where he is vulnerable.
Michael Myers is similar to Jason in that he is a nearly indestructible brute who takes out his victims one by one. However, Michael Myers is not limited to victimizing immoral teenagers in a specific area and isn’t controlled by anyone. Instead, he goes after anyone who has ties to his family and will kill them and whoever interferes. He won’t stop until all his targets are eliminated or he himself is eliminated. His fatal flaw is also his biggest strength. His insanity makes him unpredictable and fearless, but also makes him very unstrategic. He can be outwitted or distracted.
All slasher movies have the same victims. They are are usually young adults or teenagers and fit into five different types of character archetypes. There is “The Big Guy”. This character is a male. He is athletic, has a bigger build, and is in good shape. He usually dates “The Cheerleader”. This character is a girl. She is attractive and has low morals. She is popular and socially comfortable. Her opposite is “The Goodie Goodie”. This character is a girl. She has high standards for morality and for the way she lives her life in general. She is smart, respectful, and most importantly pure in her daily actions. She is the protagonist in the movie. She is ironically good friends with the “Cheerleader”. “The Goodie Goodie” is similar to “The Academic”. The academic can be a boy or a girl. They are smart and virtuous, and get along well with the group. They usually provide insight as to why they are being targeted or who the killer is. The “Academic” and “The Goodie Goodie” are usually a couple. Finally, there is “the fool”. This character is usually a slacker and is definitely not the smartest. They do not make the best decisions, and are always messing around at the wrong times. Despite this, they are well liked in the group, and provide a degree of comic relief. There are also characteristics that are not specific to a character. There is always “The Jerk” character in every film. This person is insensitive, immature, and a coward. He or she is often normal and they are nothing more than a bit of an annoyance before the conflict with the slasher begins. When the going gets tough, they show their true colors: cowardice and poor judgement.
These characters appear in all of the slasher films and say more about why the movies were and are so popular. The characters are similar to characters in our own lives. Most people fall under one of these five characters. As we watch these movies, we see ourselves and the people we know as these characters. We see our own shortcomings and how we might react in a similar situation. It is this that makes the movies scary and interesting despite the poor effects and bad acting.
Friday the Thirteenth, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, with their popularity and specific styles, inspired a whole new genre of movies. The Scream series gained popularity by pointing out the flaws of the original slasher movies while following the usual formula straight down to the five characters. Scream had a higher budget and was executed more efficiently. It served as a nice compliment to the originals. Within it were allusions to A Nightmare on Elm Street through the use of a janitor dressed in a striped sweater and a fedora. Although Scream points out the problems with slasher movies, it still follows the typical formula for these movies. Not all of the copycat slasher movies are successful, however. In 2015 The Gallows, which was supposed to be the next great slasher movie, was attempted. It tried to emulate its predecessors in many ways. It's preview even made references to certain villains and their weapons, including Jason’s machete and Freddy’s glove. Despite following the five character outline and the rules, it did not translate well. What made the “slasher” movies so good and successful was that the killers were very blunt in their actions. They never danced around their victims and were very upfront. This kind of limitless confidence was a big scare factor in these movies. When we see the killer attacking the characters that we are associating with so ruthlessly, it is scary and demoralizing. We like to think of ourselves as somewhat invincible. When we think of how we might react in such a situation, we become uneasy. We fear making the wrong decision in a real life scenario. It is because of this that the movies have lasted. We see ourselves and our friends in the characters, and the characters are relentlessly pursued and killed. No matter what we say about the movies being not scary or having bad effects, we are always invested because we are invested in ourselves.
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