The Female Victim

Typically portrayed as being vulnerable and needing protection. She is normally someone who is blonde, attractive, and young which helps appeal to a male audience. She is usually shown to be quite unintelligent and sometimes annoying. She isn’t the first to be killed, but when she is, it’s in a very gruesome and graphic way.

 

Non-believer

This character can be either gender but is often male. They are the ones who convince other characters that they are overreacting and that nothing is going to happen. Because they are so over-confident, they are usually the first to be killed. Once they are killed, the sense of security is gone for characters and the audience.

 

Hero

This character is usually a strong male character who doesn’t show much emotion. However, in recent horror films, this is a female character which helps challenge typical conventions. Although they are known as the hero, they don’t usually have the final victory. Instead, this is the character who goes after the murderer but don’t usually return.

 

Hysterical Character

This character is usually female who doesn’t want to leave the building that they are in usually because of witnessing someone else die. This results in her being either left alone and being killed or everyone else being killed meaning she is the only one left. Either way, she is always killed.

 

Villain

If this character is human they usually wear a mask. This helps create the fear of the unknown. Because we can’t see any emotion from this character, the audience will not relate or connect with them. They will never be harmed, for example, if they were stabbed, they would get straight back up again. This helps the audience realise that they are inhuman. Paranormal killers also help create the fear of the unknown because there’s no proof as to whether or not they exist