How to Write a Killer Slasher Film

Hello friends. DJ Robbins here and I want to give you a tip for writing a slasher flick. Scream was a film that made audiences think about the slasher film in a certain way. That’s the way to think about them if you want to continue looking at them as some silly game that is a paint by numbers approach with the wrong things colored in.

Fuck all that stupid no sex and all that stupid bullshit that just happened to be in these films more than what they’re actually about. My best tip for anyone is write for the middle. This is when the characters start getting killed off one by one but more importantly when the protagonist’s friend group starts getting killed off.

This is also referred to as show how strong or bad this thing can get. Now, Child’s Play’s midpoint is where Karen discovers Chucky is alive. Different than Annie being killed at the midpoint in Halloween. The other thing the video listed in this hub tells the truth about is there an investigation in these films.

The investigation is not the obvious choice either. Halloween, Loomis is hunting for Michael. That’s his investigation. In The Exorcist, the detective has his investigation, but this isn’t what the investigation means for your script. That is usually brought on by the crimes with the cops, but we are referring to the protagonist’s investigation to find out the truth or how to stop this thing.

In The Exorcist, Chris hunts for what the fuck is up with her kid. In Halloween, Loomis hunts down Michael. In Child’s Play, Karen learns more about Chucky and how to stop it and starts her own investigation. The other thing that’s true about these films from the video is the foreplay aspect. POV shots, killer stalking, an occasional dead body or kill not a part of the protagonist’s friend group happens during these beats of the script.

In the Screencraft video they talk about something scary happening every ten pages and the first act gets leeway. Most horror films start with a cold open. It sets the tone and reminds the audience of why they’re there.

You have to keep your protagonist pretty much in the dark till that third act or at least not have that final confrontation till act three. In Child’s Play, Karen does not know Chucky is alive until the midpoint and has to go on a hunt for Andy and Chucky and meets up with Andy and Chucky again in act three for the big confrontation.

In Halloween, she discovers her dead friends and is then stalked by Michael and has to survive her encounter with him. Why do killers suffer a lot of damage in these films? Is it to show how indestructible they are? If it’s done well, it should be cathartic for the audience. Chucky gets burnt and shot, Michael gets shot and stabbed, Freddy gets burned and all this is to let the villain suffer for their crimes, saying, ‘’if you do bad to others, you’ll suffer too.

Like John Carpenter said, ‘’there is a code in much of horror where if the villain is not vanquished it is put at bay at the end so the audience can walk out safely.’’ Halloween left Michael alive, and we think he can be anywhere. In Child’s Play, Chucky is seemingly dead and defeated.