How and why are women represented in films of the slasher genre? Paying close reference to ‘Creep’. (2004).
Hypothesis:
Women are represented to be, confidant, independent and not sexually active or, sexually fetishised, and appealing to Laura Mulvey’s “Male Gaze” theory, where The body itself becomes an object of desire for a man, and even sinful as they usually smoke, drink or take in drugs. Those who are represented to be virginal and chaste are usually the ones who are labelled “The Final Girl”, which was concluded by the Carol Clover, who is the “last person (usually a woman or girl) alive to confront the killer”
Mulvey’s and Clover’s theory are both very diverse understandings of the slasher genre. Mulvey states that the audiences are forced to view the film through a male point of view and whether you are male or female, you are forced to gaze in a fethishising manner towards the fetishised character, who is normally the women who will die next in the number of killings, which happen in the course of the film. This view contradicts what happens in the film “Creep”, as the female protagonist is not fetishised throughout the film, and she does not knowingly conform to the “Male Gaze”, however she is pretty, with blonde hair and blue eyes and does wear a yellow printed dress. The colour yellow connotes confidence and powerfulness, therefore it is portraying the character to be in control and confident.
Opposing Mulveys theory, Clover argues that every slasher film, there is a “Final Girl” character who is the only one, or one of the rare characters to be living, and in most cases it is she who kills the killer, and saves herself without the help of any authoritative figures, for example the police. “The final girl is typically sexually unavailable or virginal, avoiding the vices of the victims” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_girl therefore, the theory suggests that she in completely independent and does not follow what the other characters do in the film. Although the character is seen to be attractive, she does not conform to being sexual under any sort of circumstances. Clover also suggests the audience identify with the killer, but then starts to identify with the “Final Girl” partway during the film. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_girl. Clover argues that the “Final Girl” becomes “masculinized through phallic appropriation by taking up a weapon, such as a knife or chainsaw, against the killer” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_girl. Also Clover suggests that the villian of a slasher film is usually male, whose masculinity or sexuallity is in a crisis. An example of this would be the character of “Norman Bates”, in Alfred Hitchcocks famously low budgeted movie “Psycho”.
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the first directors in his time to make such a contraversial film, and “Psycho” even to this day is studied as one the first ever horror film. Many films thereafter followed conventions of Hitchcocks famously directed movie, “Psycho”, and these techniques and elements are picked up and repeated inorder to use on other films to make them successful just like “Psycho”. Contemporary directors for films such as, “Halloween”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Descent”, “Creep”, “Nightmare on Elms Street” and “Friday The 13th” have all used techniques from “Psycho”, in order to make their just as successful. Elements such as using a knife or a dagger, low key lighting, close ups, long establishing shots and many more are used inoder to set a scene and to create suspence.
Similarly, “Creep” is one of the many key texts in the slasher genre as it follows the typical convention that all slasher genre films are ‘the immensely generative story of a psychokiller who slashes to death a string of mostly female victims, one by one, until he is subdued or killed, usually by one girl who has survived.’ [2] this is the case in most slasher genre films. Creep follows these conventions as it includes a female protagonist whom we follow throughout the movie and we share the experiences that she faces when seeing other women dead. The killer in “Creep” however did not only kill women. At the beginning he killed Guy who was a work colleague of Kate’s. However, later we see that the killer does kill the homeless mans girlfriend. Also the fact that he went for Kate suggests that he was capable of killing her too and would have. The fact that we associate the killer instantly to be a male figure, suggests that the film is showing female strength to be stronger than that of a male’s. The audience relates to the movie and feel sadistic pleasures towards the things happening to the other characters. This builds up suspense in the audience as we are all aware that something is bound to happen, yet we are kept thinking when it will happen. The character of Sarah, the female protagonist in “Creep”, uses a dagger which she continuesly stabs the killer with. It is said that because the “Final Girl” appears to be virginal, and chaste, the reason why she is the character who kills the killer, and the fact that she continuesly stabs the killer, suggests that she is taking out her sexual frustration on the character. By using a knife or a dagger, the protagonist appears to be getting close to the killer, and intimately has contact with the killer. Also the knife or the dagger is always shown to be long, which can be referred to as a sexual object or a phalic symbol. For example, at the end when Sarah is stabing the killer vigerously, and does not stop, she is releasing sexual tension. This is why the director does not portray the “Final Girl” to be sexually active and seductive towards other characters in the film. This links to the film noir genre, where women in movies were killed if they were to be sexually parogative in any sort of way.
This is another element that has been taken in order to create the slasher genre. The director uses elements off other successful directors in order to make their movie just as successful. The low-key lighting and the fact that the sexually active character must die, also these all are used by the manipulative director in order to build up suspense. Other repertoires of elements, which are also used by the directors of slasher films, are, slow sounds, creepy background music, low key lighting, phone ringing, or the fact that it is out of service, and normally foot steps, the director is almost building up suspense suggesting something will happen. This causes the viewer to feel excitement and nervous at the same time, alongside to this, it causes the viewers to feel visceral pleasures as they are very jumpy and kept alert of every little sound and movement which is being made. This is shown in ‘Creep’ when at the beginning one of the men who went into the tunnel when working in the sewages presumably got killed by the killer, (that we see only at the end as its appearance is kept a mystery to us in order to keep the readers watching), and his friend goes inside to look for him. From features similar to this appearing in the film, we see the audiences response [3] to whether they like it. Because it follows the conventions of typical slasher genre films and does not show any variation the film is more successful. This is seen as when we notice a major variation within a textual genre, the film is not as successful as it would have been if it was to follow conventions of a typical slasher genre film. Therefore the ‘Repetior of elements’ in films is seen to be something that helps the success of the film grow. The more the film is similar to another film, in terms of storyline we see that it is more popular. However this is not always the case. Also if the characters in the same sort of genre appear frequently in the same sort of films, it also gains viewers as they know that it will be successful if that star was in it last time. This suggests the reason for including a woman as the ‘Final Girl’ to be a successful in slasher genre films. The film “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock, used the actress Janet Leigh, and in order to create a similar effect, the film Halloween, starred Jantet Lieghs daughter, Jammie Lee Curtis. This shows a repetoire of elements within the slasher genre.
“Creep” follows Propps Narrative Structure Theory [4] which suggested that each film or text contains constructed character roles. For example, the ‘Villian’, who is seen as the opposing force, in this case it’s the monster or the killer. The Princess, this is seen as the main objective of the Hero’s in the film, their main target or goal. In this case it is getting out of the train station alive. The Hero, this is the one who kills the killer and gets what he/she wanted. In this case we see that the hero gets what she wants which is to get out of the train station. This suggests that her task is accomplished. However if she had got killed by the killer, we would have seen that the audience and public would not have given the film such good feedback. The film would not have been so successful. This is because the audiences want a lot more than variation. They want to see repetition and conventions.
The fact that “Creep” used binary oppositions [5], which suggested that Levi-Strauss’s theory was being put into practice. This however, again is also a key theory which is used when any sort of text is used. The fact that the hero is seen, yet we have not at all familiarised ourselves with the killer, suggests suspense yet it also builds up a sense of opposing teams. For example, we are instantly on the team who we believe is good and our opposition is the one whom we see as the evil one. This is the case in many slasher genre films. The director intends on causing a bit of friction between the evil and the audience and this appeals more to the audience as it engages with them. Also this factor creates a sense that the main female is not dependant on a male or masculine figure as the binary opposition can be interpreted as the killer to be a male. This suggests that women are more independent a in control of their actions, needs and wants. If the audience do not see reocurring things happening, they automatically do not like the film.
Women, are usually seen not to rely upon men in slasher genre films, nor are they seen to be in a sexually actuve relationship, and that is if they are in a relationship at all. More contemporary slasher films, portray women to be virginal and show them to fight off any temptation of having sex with another character in the film. The slasher genre portray women to be strong against men, and show the other characters including women to be naïve. This is shown in the film “Creep”, where all the characters who had got killed, were not at all bothered about being inside an underground station. The homeless lady wasn’t bothered and neither was “Guy”, the man who tried to rape Sarah at the beginning, before his spine got stabbed into by the killer.
I have researched films where this repetitions of conventional aspects have arised and this is only one of my main film texts that there is a strong female character in is portrayed vastly in is the film Creep. Creep, is a horror/slasher genre, potentially arthouse movie and depicts an opposed view of the stereotype that women should only be seen as domestic housewives, and are only good in the house. Instead, Christopher Smith conventionally uses a typicality of slasher genre films and portrays the female protagonist in Creep (Kate) to be independent and unreliant on a male character for sexual needs and pleasure, instead she shows that she is better off without the a male character. For example, taking care of herself in a dark underground train station. We also see typically in slasher movies, in the past women are seen not to have a boyfriend nor be intimate throughout the movie. We are aware during the cause of the movie that women tend to fight off temptation of having any kind of sexual relationship with a man.[quote] This suggests to the audience that the woman is active as a female and is aware that she is in control. The women often aspire to the female viewers and therefore they play predominant figures in most slasher genre movies. During the cause of the film we view her experiences as a voyeur, and we see the struggles she as a character, whom we as an audience identify with, goes through. We see her determination to get out of the underground and attempt to save others' lives while doing so. By an audience who is actively engaging with the film, we feel her desperation to get out of the underground too. By playing such a strong character in the film, the audiences aspire to her as a role model. This is a key typicality in most slasher genre movies as the majority of women are represented to play stronger character roles. However in society itself this hasn’t always been the case.
The idea of women, not just in slasher movies, but in the world becoming more independent started in the time during the World War 1. This was where women in society and in the world started to get jobs because most of the men were going to the war. Their independence, freedom and opportunities to be in higher positions. The fact that their confidence grew from this also was an advantage for women. In the 1960’s, the contraceptive pill came out and this allowed women to be sexually independent and in control. They were able to have sexual relationships without the intention of getting pregnant. The slasher genre primarily began in the 1970’s where Texas Chainsaw Massacre and other films came out. The representation of women has only stayed the same, or have portrayed women to be more and more stronger and characters. This is suggested, because in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, although the protagonist who survives is a women, she is seen throughout the film, to follow conventions of being a “Final Girl”. She does not resort to having sex with her partner, although she is seen to have a boyfriend in the film, and when he goes missing, the third person to die, she say’s “I’m not leaving here without Steve!”, which suggests that she is still slightly relying on her boyfriend. When she goes to look for him, she says to the guy in the wheel chair, “I’m going whether you come or not”, suggesting she has no fear of what was in the house.
The reoccuring image of the house, which is usually seen as a suburban place, somewhere we usually see as a safe place as it’s a home and an area of residence. However, the directors contradict the norm of a house, and place a house in an issolated area, in the middle of nowhere. This makes the setting of the film more scarey, and makes us as an audience engage with the film as they become attached to it. This is a repetoire of element which is reoccured throughout most slasher genre films. For example,Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Holloween, Friday the 13th, nightmare on Elms Street, and even Psycho, which most of the slasher genre was adapted from.
However, “Creep” breaks away slightly from these common repetoires of elements, as it is not set in an area that the audience will be able to reasure safety. By this I mean, the underground is not somewhere which is seen to be helpful in terms of finding a way away from a killer on the loose, however when in a house, you are reassured that police or any sort of authortitative fugures will be able to come to the protagonists rescue. However, it is typical for an authoritative figure not to be helpful in the slasher genre films, as we have seen that all the films listed above did not benefit from the help of a police or even an inspector. Psycho, for example, the inspector was not the one who found the body of the main protagonist, however it was her sister, who we see was the “Final Girl”. Even in “Nightmare On Elms Street”, the protagonist herself killed the kill, by burning him to death, however there was not proper resolution, as hints at the end when the car was moving by itself suggested that the killer may still be around as a ghost. This is also the case with Friday The 13th as we see the killer running off at the end, which lines up the movie for a sequal.
This is not the case with “Creep”, as at the end there is a resolution where the killer is killed, without the help of an authoritative figure, and the protagonist is safe, and we see a new day with people getting onto trains. The fact that the character looks content in the final scene, when she is sitting in the trainstation, suggests her relief that the whole night is over. This shows a differenctation with the film “Creep” and other typical slasher genre films. “Creep” however, is also different to other slasher genre films as it is a British film. All the other films I have mention, except for “The Descent” are all US films, and have been hugely succesful, however recently this success has died down, as there was too many sequels being made. The film “Creep” also disagrees with the “Final Girl” theory slightly, as she is seen smoking a joint in the beginning of the film, and this is something the “Final Girl” does not usually do as she is seen to be someone who is well behaved and rule obiding.
The character in ‘Creep’ also appeals to the ‘Male Gaze’. This is suggested through the way in which she is portrayed at the beginning. Our first view of her is when we see her about five minutes into the movie, at a party. Kate is wearing a yellow dress which she is seen in through out the whole movie as it is meant to be showing her experience in one night. The color yellow suggests that she is confident and also the fact that the dress is relatively skimpy and short may imply that Kate is seen to me attractive to the male audience. We see her drinking, assuming it is an alcoholic drink, which suggests that she may be quite drunk, however when Guy approaches her with a line she does not approve of, we see that she handles herself well. This personality is reflected to the audience as the female is in control. Therefore, we as women aspire to her as she is seen to be powerful over men. This is usually the ‘Final Girl’ as she is the last one there and throughout the film is seen to be from Props theory [8] , the hero that killers of the killer (villian), suggesting a character classification.
Most populist slasher genre films such as, ‘Creep’, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Halloween’, ‘Friday the 13th’ which have, baring in mind taken elements from Alfred Hitchcock’s horror movie ‘Psycho’ all contain typical elements of being a slasher genre film. The idea of the “Lumbering masked killer who never speaks” [12] suggests that the killer is unknown until the end and this killer does not speak either. ‘Creep’ shows this view and so does ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. This is also seen in the film, ‘The Descent’ where the audience nor the characters in the film does not know who is the killer. And therefore, the protagonist is determined to find the killer. However ‘The Descent’ gos against usually conventions on the slasher genre and the five brave women that we saw at the beginning did not come out of the cave at the end. This suggests that they were not capable of accomplishing their goal, they had when they first entered the cave. However the film does not in any way present men to be more powerful than women as we witness that at the beginning the one and only male character that we see is killed off. This suggests that the fact the women went into the cave alone, they had courage and were confident, and shown in control. The 5 women are also shown as confident objects of the ‘Male Gaze’. The fact that they are all attractive and seen to be very powerful and confident people suggests this.
Hypothesis:
Women are represented to be, confidant, independent and not sexually active or, sexually fetishised, and appealing to Laura Mulvey’s “Male Gaze” theory, where The body itself becomes an object of desire for a man, and even sinful as they usually smoke, drink or take in drugs. Those who are represented to be virginal and chaste are usually the ones who are labelled “The Final Girl”, which was concluded by the Carol Clover, who is the “last person (usually a woman or girl) alive to confront the killer”
Mulvey’s and Clover’s theory are both very diverse understandings of the slasher genre. Mulvey states that the audiences are forced to view the film through a male point of view and whether you are male or female, you are forced to gaze in a fethishising manner towards the fetishised character, who is normally the women who will die next in the number of killings, which happen in the course of the film. This view contradicts what happens in the film “Creep”, as the female protagonist is not fetishised throughout the film, and she does not knowingly conform to the “Male Gaze”, however she is pretty, with blonde hair and blue eyes and does wear a yellow printed dress. The colour yellow connotes confidence and powerfulness, therefore it is portraying the character to be in control and confident.
Opposing Mulveys theory, Clover argues that every slasher film, there is a “Final Girl” character who is the only one, or one of the rare characters to be living, and in most cases it is she who kills the killer, and saves herself without the help of any authoritative figures, for example the police. “The final girl is typically sexually unavailable or virginal, avoiding the vices of the victims” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_girl therefore, the theory suggests that she in completely independent and does not follow what the other characters do in the film. Although the character is seen to be attractive, she does not conform to being sexual under any sort of circumstances. Clover also suggests the audience identify with the killer, but then starts to identify with the “Final Girl” partway during the film. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_girl. Clover argues that the “Final Girl” becomes “masculinized through phallic appropriation by taking up a weapon, such as a knife or chainsaw, against the killer” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_girl. Also Clover suggests that the villian of a slasher film is usually male, whose masculinity or sexuallity is in a crisis. An example of this would be the character of “Norman Bates”, in Alfred Hitchcocks famously low budgeted movie “Psycho”.
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the first directors in his time to make such a contraversial film, and “Psycho” even to this day is studied as one the first ever horror film. Many films thereafter followed conventions of Hitchcocks famously directed movie, “Psycho”, and these techniques and elements are picked up and repeated inorder to use on other films to make them successful just like “Psycho”. Contemporary directors for films such as, “Halloween”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Descent”, “Creep”, “Nightmare on Elms Street” and “Friday The 13th” have all used techniques from “Psycho”, in order to make their just as successful. Elements such as using a knife or a dagger, low key lighting, close ups, long establishing shots and many more are used inoder to set a scene and to create suspence.
Similarly, “Creep” is one of the many key texts in the slasher genre as it follows the typical convention that all slasher genre films are ‘the immensely generative story of a psychokiller who slashes to death a string of mostly female victims, one by one, until he is subdued or killed, usually by one girl who has survived.’ [2] this is the case in most slasher genre films. Creep follows these conventions as it includes a female protagonist whom we follow throughout the movie and we share the experiences that she faces when seeing other women dead. The killer in “Creep” however did not only kill women. At the beginning he killed Guy who was a work colleague of Kate’s. However, later we see that the killer does kill the homeless mans girlfriend. Also the fact that he went for Kate suggests that he was capable of killing her too and would have. The fact that we associate the killer instantly to be a male figure, suggests that the film is showing female strength to be stronger than that of a male’s. The audience relates to the movie and feel sadistic pleasures towards the things happening to the other characters. This builds up suspense in the audience as we are all aware that something is bound to happen, yet we are kept thinking when it will happen. The character of Sarah, the female protagonist in “Creep”, uses a dagger which she continuesly stabs the killer with. It is said that because the “Final Girl” appears to be virginal, and chaste, the reason why she is the character who kills the killer, and the fact that she continuesly stabs the killer, suggests that she is taking out her sexual frustration on the character. By using a knife or a dagger, the protagonist appears to be getting close to the killer, and intimately has contact with the killer. Also the knife or the dagger is always shown to be long, which can be referred to as a sexual object or a phalic symbol. For example, at the end when Sarah is stabing the killer vigerously, and does not stop, she is releasing sexual tension. This is why the director does not portray the “Final Girl” to be sexually active and seductive towards other characters in the film. This links to the film noir genre, where women in movies were killed if they were to be sexually parogative in any sort of way.
This is another element that has been taken in order to create the slasher genre. The director uses elements off other successful directors in order to make their movie just as successful. The low-key lighting and the fact that the sexually active character must die, also these all are used by the manipulative director in order to build up suspense. Other repertoires of elements, which are also used by the directors of slasher films, are, slow sounds, creepy background music, low key lighting, phone ringing, or the fact that it is out of service, and normally foot steps, the director is almost building up suspense suggesting something will happen. This causes the viewer to feel excitement and nervous at the same time, alongside to this, it causes the viewers to feel visceral pleasures as they are very jumpy and kept alert of every little sound and movement which is being made. This is shown in ‘Creep’ when at the beginning one of the men who went into the tunnel when working in the sewages presumably got killed by the killer, (that we see only at the end as its appearance is kept a mystery to us in order to keep the readers watching), and his friend goes inside to look for him. From features similar to this appearing in the film, we see the audiences response [3] to whether they like it. Because it follows the conventions of typical slasher genre films and does not show any variation the film is more successful. This is seen as when we notice a major variation within a textual genre, the film is not as successful as it would have been if it was to follow conventions of a typical slasher genre film. Therefore the ‘Repetior of elements’ in films is seen to be something that helps the success of the film grow. The more the film is similar to another film, in terms of storyline we see that it is more popular. However this is not always the case. Also if the characters in the same sort of genre appear frequently in the same sort of films, it also gains viewers as they know that it will be successful if that star was in it last time. This suggests the reason for including a woman as the ‘Final Girl’ to be a successful in slasher genre films. The film “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock, used the actress Janet Leigh, and in order to create a similar effect, the film Halloween, starred Jantet Lieghs daughter, Jammie Lee Curtis. This shows a repetoire of elements within the slasher genre.
“Creep” follows Propps Narrative Structure Theory [4] which suggested that each film or text contains constructed character roles. For example, the ‘Villian’, who is seen as the opposing force, in this case it’s the monster or the killer. The Princess, this is seen as the main objective of the Hero’s in the film, their main target or goal. In this case it is getting out of the train station alive. The Hero, this is the one who kills the killer and gets what he/she wanted. In this case we see that the hero gets what she wants which is to get out of the train station. This suggests that her task is accomplished. However if she had got killed by the killer, we would have seen that the audience and public would not have given the film such good feedback. The film would not have been so successful. This is because the audiences want a lot more than variation. They want to see repetition and conventions.
The fact that “Creep” used binary oppositions [5], which suggested that Levi-Strauss’s theory was being put into practice. This however, again is also a key theory which is used when any sort of text is used. The fact that the hero is seen, yet we have not at all familiarised ourselves with the killer, suggests suspense yet it also builds up a sense of opposing teams. For example, we are instantly on the team who we believe is good and our opposition is the one whom we see as the evil one. This is the case in many slasher genre films. The director intends on causing a bit of friction between the evil and the audience and this appeals more to the audience as it engages with them. Also this factor creates a sense that the main female is not dependant on a male or masculine figure as the binary opposition can be interpreted as the killer to be a male. This suggests that women are more independent a in control of their actions, needs and wants. If the audience do not see reocurring things happening, they automatically do not like the film.
Women, are usually seen not to rely upon men in slasher genre films, nor are they seen to be in a sexually actuve relationship, and that is if they are in a relationship at all. More contemporary slasher films, portray women to be virginal and show them to fight off any temptation of having sex with another character in the film. The slasher genre portray women to be strong against men, and show the other characters including women to be naïve. This is shown in the film “Creep”, where all the characters who had got killed, were not at all bothered about being inside an underground station. The homeless lady wasn’t bothered and neither was “Guy”, the man who tried to rape Sarah at the beginning, before his spine got stabbed into by the killer.
I have researched films where this repetitions of conventional aspects have arised and this is only one of my main film texts that there is a strong female character in is portrayed vastly in is the film Creep. Creep, is a horror/slasher genre, potentially arthouse movie and depicts an opposed view of the stereotype that women should only be seen as domestic housewives, and are only good in the house. Instead, Christopher Smith conventionally uses a typicality of slasher genre films and portrays the female protagonist in Creep (Kate) to be independent and unreliant on a male character for sexual needs and pleasure, instead she shows that she is better off without the a male character. For example, taking care of herself in a dark underground train station. We also see typically in slasher movies, in the past women are seen not to have a boyfriend nor be intimate throughout the movie. We are aware during the cause of the movie that women tend to fight off temptation of having any kind of sexual relationship with a man.[quote] This suggests to the audience that the woman is active as a female and is aware that she is in control. The women often aspire to the female viewers and therefore they play predominant figures in most slasher genre movies. During the cause of the film we view her experiences as a voyeur, and we see the struggles she as a character, whom we as an audience identify with, goes through. We see her determination to get out of the underground and attempt to save others' lives while doing so. By an audience who is actively engaging with the film, we feel her desperation to get out of the underground too. By playing such a strong character in the film, the audiences aspire to her as a role model. This is a key typicality in most slasher genre movies as the majority of women are represented to play stronger character roles. However in society itself this hasn’t always been the case.
The idea of women, not just in slasher movies, but in the world becoming more independent started in the time during the World War 1. This was where women in society and in the world started to get jobs because most of the men were going to the war. Their independence, freedom and opportunities to be in higher positions. The fact that their confidence grew from this also was an advantage for women. In the 1960’s, the contraceptive pill came out and this allowed women to be sexually independent and in control. They were able to have sexual relationships without the intention of getting pregnant. The slasher genre primarily began in the 1970’s where Texas Chainsaw Massacre and other films came out. The representation of women has only stayed the same, or have portrayed women to be more and more stronger and characters. This is suggested, because in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, although the protagonist who survives is a women, she is seen throughout the film, to follow conventions of being a “Final Girl”. She does not resort to having sex with her partner, although she is seen to have a boyfriend in the film, and when he goes missing, the third person to die, she say’s “I’m not leaving here without Steve!”, which suggests that she is still slightly relying on her boyfriend. When she goes to look for him, she says to the guy in the wheel chair, “I’m going whether you come or not”, suggesting she has no fear of what was in the house.
The reoccuring image of the house, which is usually seen as a suburban place, somewhere we usually see as a safe place as it’s a home and an area of residence. However, the directors contradict the norm of a house, and place a house in an issolated area, in the middle of nowhere. This makes the setting of the film more scarey, and makes us as an audience engage with the film as they become attached to it. This is a repetoire of element which is reoccured throughout most slasher genre films. For example,Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Holloween, Friday the 13th, nightmare on Elms Street, and even Psycho, which most of the slasher genre was adapted from.
However, “Creep” breaks away slightly from these common repetoires of elements, as it is not set in an area that the audience will be able to reasure safety. By this I mean, the underground is not somewhere which is seen to be helpful in terms of finding a way away from a killer on the loose, however when in a house, you are reassured that police or any sort of authortitative fugures will be able to come to the protagonists rescue. However, it is typical for an authoritative figure not to be helpful in the slasher genre films, as we have seen that all the films listed above did not benefit from the help of a police or even an inspector. Psycho, for example, the inspector was not the one who found the body of the main protagonist, however it was her sister, who we see was the “Final Girl”. Even in “Nightmare On Elms Street”, the protagonist herself killed the kill, by burning him to death, however there was not proper resolution, as hints at the end when the car was moving by itself suggested that the killer may still be around as a ghost. This is also the case with Friday The 13th as we see the killer running off at the end, which lines up the movie for a sequal.
This is not the case with “Creep”, as at the end there is a resolution where the killer is killed, without the help of an authoritative figure, and the protagonist is safe, and we see a new day with people getting onto trains. The fact that the character looks content in the final scene, when she is sitting in the trainstation, suggests her relief that the whole night is over. This shows a differenctation with the film “Creep” and other typical slasher genre films. “Creep” however, is also different to other slasher genre films as it is a British film. All the other films I have mention, except for “The Descent” are all US films, and have been hugely succesful, however recently this success has died down, as there was too many sequels being made. The film “Creep” also disagrees with the “Final Girl” theory slightly, as she is seen smoking a joint in the beginning of the film, and this is something the “Final Girl” does not usually do as she is seen to be someone who is well behaved and rule obiding.
The character in ‘Creep’ also appeals to the ‘Male Gaze’. This is suggested through the way in which she is portrayed at the beginning. Our first view of her is when we see her about five minutes into the movie, at a party. Kate is wearing a yellow dress which she is seen in through out the whole movie as it is meant to be showing her experience in one night. The color yellow suggests that she is confident and also the fact that the dress is relatively skimpy and short may imply that Kate is seen to me attractive to the male audience. We see her drinking, assuming it is an alcoholic drink, which suggests that she may be quite drunk, however when Guy approaches her with a line she does not approve of, we see that she handles herself well. This personality is reflected to the audience as the female is in control. Therefore, we as women aspire to her as she is seen to be powerful over men. This is usually the ‘Final Girl’ as she is the last one there and throughout the film is seen to be from Props theory [8] , the hero that killers of the killer (villian), suggesting a character classification.
Most populist slasher genre films such as, ‘Creep’, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Halloween’, ‘Friday the 13th’ which have, baring in mind taken elements from Alfred Hitchcock’s horror movie ‘Psycho’ all contain typical elements of being a slasher genre film. The idea of the “Lumbering masked killer who never speaks” [12] suggests that the killer is unknown until the end and this killer does not speak either. ‘Creep’ shows this view and so does ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. This is also seen in the film, ‘The Descent’ where the audience nor the characters in the film does not know who is the killer. And therefore, the protagonist is determined to find the killer. However ‘The Descent’ gos against usually conventions on the slasher genre and the five brave women that we saw at the beginning did not come out of the cave at the end. This suggests that they were not capable of accomplishing their goal, they had when they first entered the cave. However the film does not in any way present men to be more powerful than women as we witness that at the beginning the one and only male character that we see is killed off. This suggests that the fact the women went into the cave alone, they had courage and were confident, and shown in control. The 5 women are also shown as confident objects of the ‘Male Gaze’. The fact that they are all attractive and seen to be very powerful and confident people suggests this.
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posted by Representation of Women in Slasher films changing @ 5:11 PM
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