Conventions of A Slasher

All the main characters tend to be young and good looking. There is a “final girl”, who is the only one to survive at the end. She is considered pure and is a virgin.

Also, he killer has an unconventional weapon (chainsaw, knife) and part of the movie is usually used to explain the reason behind their psychopathic tendencies (like in Psycho when the detective explains the killer’s multiple personality disorder). This is to give the audience a sense of pity for the killer – and humanises him somewhat – but also makes you more scared of them.

Finally, he killer is usually male in a slasher.