Character Stereotypes within Horror Comedy

Within horror comedy, stereotypes are a commonly used feature when creating characters and narratives in films. Using stereotypes is also one of the quickest ways to establish character and this compliments the comedy element to the horror comedy film genre. A narrative theory that compliments the idea of stereotypes is Propps theory of narrative. Propp deduced the theory that narratives contain character roles. These include the hero, the princess, the villain and many more. This is similar to stereotypes as in films, the stereotypical hero is a strong male who saves the princess, a 'damsel-in-distress'. These stereotypes, if exaggerated or performed in a humourous way, can easily create comedy and this compliments the character roles that can potentially feature in horror films, thus creating a nice blend of horror and comedy.

THE VILLIAN:

Villains within horror comedy tend to be the characters, along with the setting, who provide the main sense or horror. However, villains in a horror comedy tend to have some form of humourous twist to them that makes them more comedic and create a good mix of horror and comedy. These twists could include a change in costume, the ability of the villain (the horror, or lack of horror, that they give to the film), an amusing prop to associate with the villain or maybe even a strange or underwhelming voice. The villain also tends to be the main source of comedy and many horror comedy films tend to make it so the villain isn't very good at being a villain.





THE DAMSEL:

In many regular horror films, there is usually a character that comes across as a bit of a 'damsel-in-distress'. Some of the time, this character could also be the hero as they could eventually end up saving helping themselves as seen in Carol Clover's final girl theory, where the main girl overcomes the villain and is the only survivor. These characters also tend to be the ones who the story revolves around as they are commonly the characters that are being haunted, hunted or stalked (which are iconic narrative ideas within the horror genre). A good example of a 'damsel' type of character within the horror genre is the protagonist from the horror film 'Drag me to Hell'. In this film, a woman is cursed by a old gypsy woman in which she refuses to help her with financial problems. The woman is then stalked and haunted by the gypsy and then ultimately is dragged to the depths of hell. This kind of character is stereotypically a female as they are often portrayed as 'vulnerable', 'weak' and 'sensitive' however, stereotypes can be broken. In horror comedy, it is a very good idea to have a damsel character as this gives us the opportunity over exaggerate stereotypes to create comedy.

THE HERO:

Within horror comedy, the hero often turns out to be the 'damsel' as well as these characters commonly restores the equilibrium within the narrative themselves. However, if this isn't the case, the hero is stereotypically portray as a masculine and strong individually (commonly male) and in the narrative they save the 'damsel'. To create a sense on comedy with the horror, heroes tend to have a likable personality and a very good sense of humour and can, along with the villain, be a primary source of comedy. A good example of a hero character within a horror comedy film is Shaun from 'Shaun of the Dead'. Here, Shaun has to survive in a zombie apocalypse as well as save his close friends and family. In this film he is the main source of comedy. However, the stereotype of the hero being manly and masculine is broken as, even though he is still a make character, he isn't very athletic or strong but still manages to save his family (near enough).