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?

Quoted from Niles_Crane But who's the Daddy? Psycho?

Friday the 13th - that popularized the genre.

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. 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.

I'm going to agree with Jeff; not because I know so much about slashers or anything at all in particular with this regard, but because I think people need to think creatively and always push the edge of what has already been created at the same time as staying within boundaries which sounds like complete irony, I know.

But I think that the modern audience in any generation demands more. And today, like in no other time in history, our audience is vivid and full of things that people in past generations never knew or considered.

The arts always play a role and are connected to our perception of reality and really make a statement about our 70 years of life give or take of which we are granted and thus:

My advice, (and it's weak in structure and technique) but it is for you to discern what statement YOU want to make through the film/movie you are intending to make.

I believe that the power comes from you and it is you that must answer those questions. Indeed, I believe you are obligated to answer those questions.

In the end, I think that the questions you ask now, about the statement you want to make and its internal purpose that will fuel and drive your work.

Be you. Don't try and be anyone else, but study what's been done before you.

Hope that big gasp of Aleph helps.  

Sandra

Quoted from Niles_Crane But who's the Daddy? Psycho?

Let's just say Halloween is way better than Black Christmas and Friday the 13th.

If you plan on writing anything worth while, slashers are a tricky genre to work within. Their simplicity and directness are what make them what they are. If you try too hard to think outside the box, you'll likely lose the slasher element altogether. I think a good slasher can be written though and I don't think you have to resort to cheap gags and novelty to do it. I think a good slasher requires strong characters who are smart and on the same level as the audience as well as creative kills, plausible twists and a good backstory for the killer. The story itself really just needs a gimmick to set it apart from the others. Like I said, if you're trying to write Silence of the Lambs, you needn't concern yourself with the slasher genre.

Slashers I think have been done right are Opera, Silent Night Deadly Night, Severence and no brainers like Halloween and Black Christmas. Sleepaway Camp wasn't particularly great but the backstory for the killer was great. Worth checking out. I know there's others but those are the best I can think of off the top of my head.

Quoted from Old Time Wesley 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.

Behind the Mask?

Either way, slashers, depending on how you look at them are either boring or exciting.

They're boring because they're all the same (nowadays). But, back when they were new, they weren't cliche. 'Cause that's what cliche means. There's a formula to it, like everything. Your job, to make it interesting, is to make the formula a science and alter it.

I'm not whoring anything out here or anything, but there's a script my brother wrote back in '98 called Hell on Earth which was really a different kind of slasher.

Five years later, I started my own version but never finished it. Was actually working on it again today but I can't get through the formulaic-ness of it. In my opinion (as it should be), it's original in areas but it falls victim to cliches by the middle of Act 2.

Point is, before you write a slasher. In fact, before you even consider writing a slasher, consider the formula (like was done in Scream, despite the fact it was a satire) and avoid it. You do that, you've got yourself something original.

Quoted from dogglebe 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 really agree here.

We are a generation that has grown up with so much that nothing external phases us anymore. We've seen Aliens galore and real planes blasting through our twin towers. What is all this trying to tell us?

There's something else. So maybe it's your job to find out what it is and show us.

Sandra

Quoted from James McClung If you plan on writing anything worth while, slashers are a tricky genre to work within. Their simplicity and directness are what make them what they are. If you try too hard to think outside the box, you'll likely lose the slasher element altogether.

Note taken. And I agree to an extent, but this same mentality had people thinking that computers were a waste and all they could possibly ever need for writing anything, they had from in their typewriters.

I know people still today that feel computers are a completely abhorrent mechanistic and dreadful thing and have the "I don't need any of that!" kind of mind with respect to them. Seriously. And maybe someone should start up a thread for that.

The thing is, it's a trick. Any new device within writing or otherwise always gets its initial flack because its new. It's kind of like an outrage. A deviancy. And when we say "deviancy", it's no coincidence that it has similarity to "devil".

So then we have all kinds of "devils" within our world that shift things and change things this way and that and nothing ever wants to stay put and bloody well rest! WHICH! Is what we equate with peace.

In this question, one whether or not to stay in the box or not?

I'm going to side with the Devil; not because I believe that the Devil is the Devil, but because I believe that the nature of things is to push always towards "new things" and that can't happen without destruction, which, all inclusively is the devil portion of all we consider to be.

So I say again: Look at the platform that has already been created with regard to slashers (and you would know that better than me) and look beyond that from your own perspective, incorporating your experiences and knowledge.

Sandra

avoid the 'no signal' on the cellphone haha!

Quoted from Mr. Blonde Behind the Mask?

Yep.

Also, kev they have so many ways around the cell phone debacle that they don't need the old cliche "No reception" bullshit.

Even if they have a working cellphone who is going to believe them and if the cop comes as he does in some movies... he will die anyway. At least he leaves you a gun to use but it won't matter because the villain can't die even when you smash his face in.

I like to watch and not know who is going to live and these days it is easy to tell. You have the slut, her boyfriend, the other guy who is a friend and the two main characters who are most likely virgins and will live to bang another day.

I dislike "Horror" as a genre because nobody tries anything but what works and what works is the tired, boring habits people have done for years. I cannot fault people for copying that formula either because it is what works and what everyone wants.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Most major film releases copy a simplistic formula that works. Horror just doesn't get away with it as much as the other genres.

Psycho is actually considered the granddaddy of slashers. This is where John Carpenter pulled the character name Sam Loomis. He was Marion Crane's boyfriend. They were -gasp!- sleeping together.

So my thoughts on slashers (to add to all the advice here so far) are to remember that you are writing in a specific genre. This genre, like any other, has certain rules and expectations, and you have to cater to those or it won't be a real slasher. Once you've figured out the cliche, however, you can work to twist it to what you really want to do, and that is give it a story.

Slashers are typically scenario scripts with kills. The story means as much as it does in a porn film. No one gets a porn flick for the intelligent and engaging storyline. No, the story is a track on which the characters get naked. Same with a typical slasher. It's a track on which the characters get killed.

So the basic expectation is scene - kill - change. That's your formula. Have a scene that builds into a kill and then move on. how can you leverage this into something more interesting? I've always figured the best way to build characters in a slasher is to spend time with them in the order of their demise. So your scene is that character interacting and filling out their part of the plot and their own story. Plot happens and boom, they get killed. We weep and move on to the next scene where the characters mourn, we get to know someone else, and they die as well. This seems to telegraph who's next, but the trick is to build everyone else while we learn about the next victim, so by the time you reach the climax where 4 or 5 get hacked all in a row before the heroine triumphs, we actually know everyone and since we've gotten to know everyone, we also don't know who the survivor will be (since the survivor traditionally gets the most development).

My thoughts on it anyway.

There's a book that might help you called The American Horror Film by Reynold Humphries. It has a chapter called Slashers, Serial Killers and the Final Girl which has sections titled:

Halloween, and Friday the 13th: Setting the scene
Recurring Themes, Recurring Structures.
Class
The Final Girl
The Case of Dressed to Kill
Father Knows Best. The Function of Freddy Krueger
Psychotics in our Midst  

My two cents --

Watch Halloween (197 and Black Christmas (1974) as teaching tools on how to deliberately pace a slasher movie.  A slow, deliberate pace builds more suspense.
I usually love the ones with very little blood and we hardly see the killer.  
  

The other kind I like have boobs and bare butts.  I like a little variety.

I was just a little kid when I saw Black Christmas in the theaters in Sweden. It scared the hell out of me for at least a couple of years. The sequal was dissappoitning

The remake of Black Christmas was TERRIBLE!!!!

Although the original Halloween was indeed great, I honestly believe that alot of its success has to do with when it came out and its competition at the time.  It really doesn't hold up that well now, when pitted against modern day horror.