Genre conventions of a horror/slasher film: Horror and slasher films have certain characteristics that make them easy to identify. These films usually focus on a killer, who is often masked and murdering a group of people one by one. One common factor is the "final girl," where one person, usually the innocent character, ends up surviving and faces the killer in the end. The characters surround the final girl often make bad decisions, which makes the situation worse. At the end of the film, usually the masked killer gets exposed and their motive is related to some kind of vengeance.
The scenes are know for being gory and over the top with blood which adds a humorous element to the film. The setting is also usually in a small town or isolated place like the woods. And the victims are teenagers which makes sense since the primary target audience for slashers are young people. Also a very common trope is that the final girl who doesn't have sex or drinks, survives simply because she didn't do those things. The weapon of choice is also typically a knife or machete, anything that isn't a fire arm.
Source: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-slasher-film-definition/
In our film, we use some typical genre conventions like the setting in the woods and teenage victims, but we quickly move away from the traditional slasher narrative. The audience might expect the typical masked killer hunting down teenagers, our film goes in another direction. The story gradually shifts from a slasher to a psychological thriller, where the real threat isn’t just a villain, but the protagonist’s increasingly unreliable perception of reality. This shift creates a more sinister and disturbing atmosphere, as the audience realizes the true danger might lie within the main character herself, making the horror more unsettling.
The striking use of bold colors and the drastic shift in tone set the film apart, making it its own entity. Unlike slashers like Scream, where deaths are exaggerated and desensitized for shock value, our film uses violence to delve into the psychological toll it inflicts on the characters. The slow build of tension following the shocking opening keeps the audience on edge, constantly questioning who can be trusted. By focusing on the main character's mental spiral and blurring the lines between victim and perpetrator, which I believe makes the film all the more terrifying.
In our film, representation plays an important role, particularly through the main character. At first, she appears to be a stereotypical nerd: just a girl who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But the audience quickly realizes it's more complex than that. The opening scene sets expectations for a conventional slasher, with a killer chasing down a victim and probably a final girl to follow after. However, the film quickly challenges these expectations, turning into a psychological thriller. As the narrative goes on, the audience discovers that the girl they perceived as a mere witness is actually the main character, and she’s much more complex than they thought.
While she initially follows common stereotypes: Star Wars t-shirts, glasses, and no makeup, these outward appearences act as a mask, keeping her trapped in a box. As the story goes on, she begins to break away from these expectations that society gives her, revealing a depth and darker nature that challenge the typical “nerd” persona. Her outward changes throughout the film isn’t just about shedding her physical appearance; it’s about how she evolves mentally and emotionally, confronting her trauma and the psychological toll of the events around her. By the end, we see that she is far from the stereotypical "dorky witness" but instead, she’s a complicated, unpredictable character, defying from typical conventions.
