SLASHER FILM RULES - Analysis

Although I'm calling these Slasher Film Rules, the can apply to a range of horror sub-genres.

Ten films were tested:

• Psycho (1960)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• Halloween (1978)
• Alien (1979)
• Friday the 13th (1980)
• Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
• Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
• Scream (1998)
• Wolf Creek (2005)

Of course, these films say nothing about the genre as a whole.  Certainly things can be said about the films, though.  They are usually bigger name films, smaller low-budget or less successful films may rely on the rules more.  They are mostly early films, and may have helped develop the rules rather than following them.  One is a post modern film in which the characters know the rules.  About half may not be purely "slasher" films and may not need to follow the rules.  Most are first films in a series and thus may follow the rules less.

Victims not killed in the narrative (previous victims in Psycho or Wolf Creek for example) are not being counted.  An extreme example of this is Paul Holt in Friday the 13th Part 2 who "disappeared" during a fight with Jason and who will be counted as alive since his death or body was never shown on-screen.  I'm not calling that a definitive answer for what happened to him, but rather, I need to make a call one way of the other.

ROM COM RULES - Friends With Benefits

Films have formulas and rules, but how well do films follow those formulas?  More than just being romantic and having comedy, a Rom Com follows a strict formula and a set of rules.  

Friends With Benefits references Rom Coms but does that be it is more than just one?

RULE ROAD TEST - The Bechdel test (Slasher Films)

Films have formulas and rules, but how well do films follow those formulas?  The Bechdel Test, highlights gender-bias in film, how do Slashers fare against it?

The Bechdel test is a rule devised to demonstrate the gender-bias of the film industry as a whole.  A person following the rule will refuse to watch a film that does not past the test:

• That two or more named females talk about something other than a man.

The rule points out that film is dominated by male characters, to the point where some films can fail even the first part (by not having two named female characters) and that even when there are female character, they exist only to support (and thus only talk about) the male character(s).

ROM COM RULES - My Best Friend's Wedding

Films have formulas and rules, but how well do films follow those formulas?  More than just being romantic and having comedy, a Rom Com follows a strict formula and a set of rules.

"You know, getting what you deserve isn't fair." ~ Julianne Potter.

My Best Friend's Wedding tries to break the rules.  Does it?

THE FILM RULES - Bottom 10

Films have formulas and rules, but how well do films follow those formulas?  Let's look at how the posts are going...

My ten posts on this blog that get have the lowest average weekly traffic.

Why a bottom 10 and not a top ten?  Surely showcasing the better, more popular blogs would be smarter?  Well, I've never been one to equate popularity with quality.  Sure, some may be popular because they are quality, but some may be popular because they contain the words "Doctor Who" or "Nudity" and so get more hits.  But the popular ones are already getting traffic, the unpopular ones are the ones that need the boost.