Characters in Horror

Propp
Vladimir Propp, a Russian scholar, identified seven characters
which fit in with the typical narrative of a film.
1. The Hero: This character will usually be a male character who
attempts to restore the disruption and bring back normality, often
by taking on dramatic chain of events in order to save the victims.

2. The Villain: This character will be the one who creates the
disruption for victims and often makes it harder for the hero to
restore normality by hindering his efforts.

3. The Donor: This character will help the hero by providing
something such as key information that will help him to save the
victims and bring him closer to restoring normality.

4. The Helper/Sidekick: This character will typically be seen
alongside the hero as they help them at every stage to bring back
normality, though, he will typically be less credited by the victims.

5. The Princess: This character could also be the damsel in
distress who suffers the most threat from the villain and needs the
hero to save her. Also, she could be the love interest for the hero
who longs to be with her.

6. The Dispatcher: This character is the one who informs the hero
of the disruption and what he needs to do to help everyone and
sends the hero out to restore normality.

7. The False Hero: This character is rather cunning as they hide
their evilness behind their false good act until their evil behaviour
is revealed to the rest of the people.




Example: Scream 4















Levi-Strauss: Binary Opposites
Claude Levi-Strauss, a French anthropologist and ethnologist,
created his theory of binary opposites. The definition of this
term is quite basic as it simply connotes the complete opposite
to one another. Levi-Strauss identified that in all narratives,
there is a conflict between binary opposites.
Examples of binary opposites found in film narratives are:
1. Good vs Evil
2. Peace vs War
3. Young vs Old
4. Domestic vs Foreign

Example: