There is no sub-genre that fits the same
structure as often as the teen slasher.
The conventions were established early on and are followed with very few
modifications. The audience expects a young, often teens, group of
sexually-attractive characters stalked and killed by a knife-wielding
psychopath, usually in a brutal and shocking manner. These killers usually appear to be immortal
and unstoppable. This is the expectation
and will always be successful layout for the fans of the teen slasher. The only way to fail as a filmmaker is to
attempt to change these conventions.
The ideas presented above are nothing new. Every movie fan understands that the teen
slasher follows the same conventions. A
more fascinating comparison is the consistent approach that is taken to make a
successful film franchise. Just like the
successful teen slasher film follows the same structure as all others within
the subgenre, the most successful teen slasher franchises appear to do the
exact same. After the success of the
original film it is obvious to everyone the need to make a few sequels. Once the sequels run their course, a “final
chapter” is made; however, this “final chapter” never ends the series. After a few years pass, there is an attempted
franchise rejuvenation. And finally over
the past decade, most teen slasher franchises have completed their cycles with
reboots that combine the franchise’s initial concepts and the current
expectations, or sometimes perceived expectations, of slasher movie fan. Over the next week I plan on detailing these
steps.
