Analysis II:  Stereotypes and Rituals of Horror Films

Stereotypes of horror films are predictable situations or characters that are presented to the audience.  Rituals in horror films are a set of actions that are reoccurring or specific in nature, that serves a purpose to the movie.  There are several stereotypes and rituals in horror films.

The main stereotypes in horror films are the scenes, the characters’ actions and the characters themselves.  The scenes that are stereotypic are:  the woman in the shower, the romance, the telephone does not work, and the car will not start scenes.  The stereotypic actions of the characters are:  the good guy is running away from the “walking” bad guy, the individual is constantly falling down, and the individual is dropping objects of importance, such as the car or house keys.  The following characters are stereotypes in horror films: the catholic priest; the black man, who usually dies first; the non-believer, who usually dies second; the couple having sex, who typically die together enjoying the moment; the dumb blonde, who escapes death several times but the audience can not wait till she dies; the jock, who loves the blonde and once she dies has nothing to live for, so therefore his death is suicidal; the old man that has a traumatic story that relates to the horror situation; the girl that never wants to “leave” an area and once the group leaves her behind she is killed; the sexy rude woman;  the redneck, who is not afraid to kill and kill with whatever item is available; and the loner who is typically the survivor of the group.  Characters, such as vampires and zombies, are always stereotyped.   For example vampires do not like light and drink blood, and zombies are mindless creatures.  (Colebank, J. 2011).             

The main ritual displayed in horror films is the use of the Catholic priest and religion to attack and protect against demons.  This ritual is presented in films such as:  The Omen, The Exorcist and the Exorcist of Emily Rose.  A ritual is always displayed in a horror film sequel, such as Nightmare on Elm Street when Freddie Kruger visits his victims in their dreams.  Another ritual in horror films is the chase; each film is different however the bad guy chasing the good guy is always present.  (Colebank, J. 2011).

The insights gained from being aware of the stereotypes and rituals of horror films are being able to enjoy each film independently and also being able to identify how the films are all similar in comparison.

             

 References

Colebank, J. (2011, October 4). Welcome to the realm of horror news.net your online horror show. Retrieved April 15, 2013 from http://horrornews.net/.