Alright, so I'm embarking on a screenplay in a genre I'd never thought I'd write in. That's right, I'm making a slasher. So I must ask what is the downfall of the genre. The pitfalls I can avoid.

I want to make it as realistic as possible and also base it more on characters then simply stalk and slash.

Most slasher scripts/movies rely on gore and violence.  Problem with this is is that most people are desensitized to this.  Characterization and story take a back seat to these cheap visuals.

Rather than looking at it as writing a slasher film, look at it as writing a story with horror elements in it.


Phil

I suppose it's the endless fatalities that plague almost every screen shot.

If you make it less about the kill and more about the person, that would be better.

Writing a slasher must be a very difficult job.

My pet peeve with any type of horror is when it morphs into comedy-horror. To me, that type of relationship is always going to be fraught with problems. I either want to be scared, or what to be made to laugh - very few actually achieve both simultaneously.

'All The Boys Love Mandy Lane' is a perversion of some of the standard slasher-flicks of late. While it contained most of the standard elements - and let's be fair, it kind of has to - it was able to twist things without it being too contrived.

It's all about expectations with slashers, I think. If people enter the theatre with the intention for a realistic depiction of x and y, then they'll be ultimately be disappointed. If, however, they want some suspense and fear with a suspension of disbelief, then the film must cater for those desires. I just think that involves creating characters that you not only want to see get maimed, but characters you actually want to see stay alive. There are some pretty standard conventions that must be adhered to, but I think the writer must use every possible angle to tweak those conventions to achieve an enjoyable and engaging script.

Andrew

Yeah the feel I'm going for is one more in the vein of Paranoid Park and April Showers then Scream or IKWYDLS.

What would happen if a slasher scenario were to really happen. That's kind of the theme I'm working with.

My pet poeeves in horror/slasher movies are the cliches, standard plot points, cookie cutter scenarios, and the fact that most every movie is the same, recycled been there, seen that crapfest.

Go for unique situations.  Go for realistic charcter actions and reactions.  Make your characters think and act like real people would in a horrific situation.  Stay away from humor that is so misplaced usually.  Nothing worng with funny, humorous situations, but as Andrew said, comedy and horror don't mesh, IMO.

Create a plot that keeps us guessing as an audience.  For instance, when you set things up with 5 protags, 1 antag, in 1 setting, there aren't too many possibilities...or opportunities.  Mix it up so that the ending isn't so easily known.

Hope that helps.

Quoted from Dreamscale My pet poeeves in horror/slasher movies are the cliches, standard plot points, cookie cutter scenarios, and the fact that most every movie is the same, recycled been there, seen that crapfest.

You might have touched on this, but also the fact that they are SO predictable, the ending(s) I mean.

The thing you need to do is make us care about the victim before they get butchered. If we've never met them before or they don't so anything sympathetic then our loyalty and cares are minimal. As with any script, you have to engage us with your characters. If you fail, then you join the DVD stack of unwatchable and frankly shite films that have dared to bore the arse off us. Why do they bother?

I would like to say stories are important for slasher movies but I don't really think they are.  

I would like to say getting to know the characters and having empathy for them are important for slasher movies but I don't really think that they are.

What I would suggest is be creative and outlandish in your gore.  I think that's what the fans are looking for.  

Use the fact that everyone knows people are going to die but not when they will die to create your suspense.

Slashers bore me to fricken tears. Kill, kill, kill. It's all too easy. How about somebody write a screenplay about the 20 years Dr Loomis spent trying rehabilitate Michael Myers? That I'd watch.

But to answer your question, dude, I think most slashers lack tension.  

This is my favorite question because it gives me a chance to ask what is right about slashers?

I always go back to this documentary slasher flick where in this universe Michael Myers and Jason were real and the character looks up to them and shows us how he gets his victims.

Usually by the end after the crying and begging I want the main characters to die. How do you expect me to buy the fact that a teenager (Male or Female) can get away from a killer who has been doing this for years as seems to be the case in most of them.

The villains hold no weight when they can't even kill a crying girl begging for her life. He acts like it's the first time he ever saw this when in reality he probably has seen this hundreds of times.

My main problem with the genre is that they are repetitive and boring - watching characterless characters being hacked to death is not interesting for me (and I worry about those that find it entertaining!).

Couple to a strong story, and with an emphasis on the heroes, the people hunting the killer, or a character he is after, is a whole different thing. Then it becomes a psychological thriller and much more interesting.

It might be worth noting that "Halloween", granddaddy of them all, had few victims and even less blood!

Quoted from Chris_MacGuffin Yeah the feel I'm going for is one more in the vein of Paranoid Park and April Showers then Scream or IKWYDLS.

OK, you’ve lost me here.

You want to write a slasher movie, but your blueprints for it are about as far from the genre as you can get. It sounds like you’re trying to put lipstick on a pig.

Slasher movies rely on a formula, and that’s why it’s so hard to get creative and so easy to screw up.

You need to come up with a concept for your script that’s relatable and pertinent to your target audience. You know right away that since you’re writing a slasher script, your main crowd is probably still in school, whether it be junior high or college, and they’re probably struggling with early relationships, finding a job, discovering their sexuality, succumbing to peer pressure, keeping good grades, learning to drive, choosing whether or not to spread gossip, paying rent, and learning how to deal with their mistakes. These are people who don’t really fear boogeymen or closet monsters. These are young adults scared to death of the future.

For me, that’s why I Know What You Did Last Summer is such an effective slasher film. The kills aren’t great, and they don’t need to be, because it’s all about the anticipation of the horror that makes it so suspenseful. It touches on a lot of significant areas that young people deal with (graduating high school, choosing a career, going to college, moving away from home) while never losing focus of the main story (making a mistake and facing the consequences). It’s about as deep as a slasher movie can get.

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you luck on your script, and I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Quoted from Niles_Crane It might be worth noting that "Halloween", granddaddy of them all, had few victims and even less blood!

Actually Black Christmas was the granddaddy.

But who's the Daddy?

Psycho?