Investigating Killers
Secondary Research
Killers take many different appearances. For example they could be human, dead, a monster ect.
If the killer is human, they will often tend to wear a mask to hide their identity and also their emotions when killing someone. This is so that the audience can make no relation or connection with the killer what-so-ever.
Some examples of masked killers are;
Jason X - Friday 13th
Jigsaw - Saw
GhostFace - Scream
The typical killer that will appear in a horror film is a masked killer or they have some sort of disfigurement to their faces. This gives the audience the fear of the unknown. The masks allow the killer to not react "normally" to injuries they are causing because the mask hides and covers their emotions.
Human masked killers are not the only ones who reinforce the fear of the unknown. Killers in horror such as monsters and demons from supernatural horror reinforce the fear of the unknown because their is no proof that they do or don't exist.
Killers
Their weapons of choice are normal everyday objects and use them suggests the killers. Some examples are Kitchen Knives, Axe, Baseball Bat.
These choices of weapons suggest that the killers are sadistic. They gain pleasure in giving pain to the victim.
Killers usually have troubled backstories that define the character as a killer and is often related to the film's title.
Examples - Halloween, Friday 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Black Christmas
Relates to a specific time of year or location which was traumatic for the killer
Jaosn's backstory-
Jason has a facial deformities and mental disability. He was bullied as a child, and when he tried to get away, the bullies caught up with him and threw him in the lake causing him to drown. He some how comes back to life, witnessed his mothers dead body and tracks down the killer and kills them by stabbing them with the murder weapon that was left with his mothers body.
Source - Class notes
http://fridaythe13th.wikia.com/wiki/Jason_Voorhees
Killers are disguised by mask or deformed facial features - isolation from society and the community within.
The masks and disfigured faces represent otherness and makes threat more meancing. It also makes the killer more scary because if they are wearing a mask, they wont show emotion through the mask, its just a blank canvas. Causing the audience to be scared because it reinforce that feeling of nothingness.