Propp's character theory and how it relates to horror

There have been many different theories that have been applied the idea of films and story telling which help to break down a narrative structure so that it is easy to identify the characters and typical story lines associated with film in general. One of the most well know theory's is Vladimir Propp's character theory which consists of breaking down character into specific groups based on certain characteristics that are present with in folk tales which is what Propp used as his basis for this study. This theory is used to help identify typical characters within a story which helps to construct the narrative and drive the story. The characters are broken down into eight groups: the hero (the character who generally leads the narrative since the story told is about them and their quest for something e.g. 'TRON'), the villain (fights against the hero and makes the audience favour the hero e.g. Darth Vader), the donor (gives the hero some sort advice or weapon to help him complete the quest e.g. yoda), the helper (supports the hero and appears in the critical moments e.g. robin), the princess (what the hero fights for and is not often seen through the narrative e.g. Disney princesses), the princesses' father (the one who sets the hero out his quest for the princess e.g. king Harold), the dispatcher (similar to the princesses father since they are responsible forgiving the hero his/her mission e.g. obi-wan) and the false hero (the one who pretends to be the hero in order to gain a reward e.g. prince charming).    


In terms of horror films this theory doesn't really fit together with the overall narrative and characters established in horror films. For instance the main purpose of a horror film isn't to try and get some sort of prize it's more about trying to survive and because of this character like the princess, the donor, the helper, the princesses father, the dispatcher, the false hero aren't often present with in horror films and even the hero character isn't often an actual hero but it's more of a case of the being the survivor at the end of the films despite often defeating the killer. The villain is the only character that is consistently present within horror films since there is always some sort of murderer or monster that kills off each character such as: Jason vorhees, Freddy Kruger, the classic movie monsters, jigsaw etc, and this character is often the character who is the most interesting and unique character since most of the other characters within horror films are simply stock characters who have one main personality trait (often with teenage character like: the nerd, the quite one, the jock, and the whore etc) and who's only purpose is to be killed in the film. Because of these reason Vladimir's character theory doesn't relate well with horror films since they character are based on fairy tales with typical character types and stories of good vs. evil where as horror films are mainly about survival against the villain.  

Horror Movies: Themes and Iconography

Something that is consistent through out horror movies is the use of iconography and the themes they portray. This is often used to help audiences to identify the genre and know what to generally expect from these films (every movie genre uses theses conventions such as actions movies having guns, swords and are often about war or revenge). They are also used as the building block for horror films since they help to construct main purpose/story (themes) and also often the type of killer (iconography). 

The iconography used within horror films consists of: weapons (like Freddy’s fingers, knifes or chainsaws), scary titles (e.g. 'Psycho' or the Texas 'chainsaw' massacre), tag lines (e.g. Halloween with "the night HE came home!"), dark imagery or lack of colour (often used in posters) etc. Themes also play a big part in horror films since they are used over and over again but are used differently. Examples of these themes are: fear of the unknown (e.g. what the killer is like in alien), death, suspense (waiting for something to happen), isolation ( being in a deserted location with no contact to the outside world), entrapment, unease, uncertainty, lack of morals (characters become more sacred and more savage) etc.

Starting a new project

In this brand new project I will be analysing the horror genre and it's conventions which will eventually lead to the creation of my very own horror movie trailer. Now the horror genre and I have an odd history together. For one thing I've never really brought into the genre since I always thought that the idea of watching a movie which consists of 90 minutes of pointless dialogue, bad acting and the occasional death seemed rather pointless. Now I will admit that's mainly due to the fact that I haven't watched many horror films through out my life (mainly due to the fact that I was too young to see them) which is probably why I have such a negative attitude towards this genre, plus the fact that the horror movies that I have watched are mostly rubbish (though I will admit that I have seen some pretty damn good horror films like Alien, Dracula and Jaws). However I'm rather excited about studying horror films this year since it will increase my knowledge about films in general and introduce me some of the more popular horror films that I have missed out on like: a nightmare on elm street, Halloween, the Texas chainsaw massacre etc.