In scripts of the Horror and Thriller variety, there is often an unknown SOMEONE; a Figure, perhaps masked, or hidden in shadow, or only shown in the form of close ups of their hands and feet perhaps. Whatever the case, their identity is being protected so that it can be revealed later in the story.

My question is, is it acceptable to refer to the Figure as a he? Two reasons why it might not be:

*The Figure may turn out to be female. Have you misled your reader? Lied to them even? Or do they assume that you're using He/Him/His as a generalisation, not a conformation of their sex?
*The Figure, as is most often the case, may turn out to male. Does your reader already know this for sure because you kept referring to the Figure as He throughout the script? Have they disregarded all of your female suspects because of this, making it easier for them to figure out who the Figure is before it is actually revealed?

I find it painfully difficult to write action sequences involving a person whose identity is hidden without using He/Him/His. Here's an example of some slasher script action with it:

The Killer blocks the door. The only exit. He PULLS OUT A KNIFE and lunges at the nubile young co-ed last seen on the WB’s latest teen drama.
She grabs a vase from the mantle and SMASHES it over his head. He reels back, stunned. Now's her chance. She runs past the Killer, bolting for the door.

and without it:

The Killer blocks the door. The only exit. The Killer PULLS OUT A KNIFE and lunges at the nubile young co-ed last seen on the WB’s latest teen drama.
She grabs a vase from the mantle and SMASHES it over the Killer's head. The Killer reels back, stunned. Now's her chance. She runs past the Killer, bolting for the door.

I don't like the repeated use of "The Killer" in the second version. I want to write like the first version, but is it acceptable?

Ian.

Yeah it's acceptable using he/her/his/she because it's much easier and doesn't get annoying when you repeat "The killer" over and over again.

And at the end, if you reveal the killer's identity, you can tell us their real name.

Sean

I personally prefer "he" because in English, this word functions as a neuter reference when the gender is unknown. Why? Because the general name for humanity is Man. When one says Man's greatest achievement, this does not disclude the women. If the gender is unknown, using "he" to refer to it is fine.

If you know the gender of the mystery someone, then you can use that.  If you want to keep the gender a secret from the reader, than the "he" pronoun is the generally accepted gender nuetral term as far as I know.

Do not repeat "The Killer" or the generic character title like that.  It's very difficult to read.

I'd call it "it". That way it's less complicated and more acceptable, I think. And not referring to your killer as a human but rather a "thing" even though it IS human makes it a lot scarier, IMO.