What are Splatter films?

It is Halloween tomorrow and as we all know, horror films are the most famous films at this time of the year. Horror films though have many sub-genres. One of the most known and now rising interests are splatter films.

Splatter films are a subgenre of horror that involves a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people. In splatter films, they usually use knives or other blade-like weapons to kill people. On rare occasions or for comedic effect they use a gun. Similarly, slasher films are very alike but splatter shows kill more graphics than a slasher film would. Splatter films show lots of gore and the kills are shown in detail. These types of movies are well known but are not for the faint-hearted due to the gore and detail of the deaths.

Content:

Gore is one of the main elements of a splatter film. It makes up the entire movie and is the reason many people come to watch it.

Ex: The Terrifier series is very well known for its gore and use of detailed killing. Many movie scenes are graphic and hard to watch for the average person. (Many of the scenes are so graphic that I am not sure if I could show on here or even find them on Google).

Splatter films convey lots of emotions but one of the main ones is revulsion. Revulsion as many of you do not know means a sense of disgust and loathing. While watching a splatter film many people will feel a sense of disgust/discomfort after seeing a scene. For example, while watching Terrifer 1 (the picture shown above) there is a scene where one of the characters is hung from their feet and is then cut from their private part down to their head. The scene shows guts and blood falling as the body is being sawed in half. While watching this my friends and I felt revulsion and discomfort. Revulsion can be caused by many different scenes in splatter films.

Ex: American Psycho, though not such a gory film is still a heavily bloody movie, which can cause revulsion to man due to the amount of blood shown.

Like horror films splatter films use suspense and fear. Suspense causes the person's heart to race while watching the film and as in most horror films, their mind knows that in that suspense it is likely that there could be a jump scare but in splatter films, they know someone is going to die/show gore. The fear factor though in splatter films is different than in most horror films. Most horror films focus on a character for people to fear but splatter usually doesn't do that you fear how the person will die or how it will be shown. For example in American Psycho when Patrick puts on his raincoat and looks through his closet of weapons you fear how the guy in his apartment will die.

Production Techniques:

Splatter films use many different techniques but many are similar to horror films, like low lighting, jump cuts, dark colors, under-exposure, and more. One main technique that they use is colors and lighting. They use colors that usually contrast with red or show red more so that they can show off the blood to a great extent. They also use lighting to show off the blood in certain ways like to show off a lighter color or darker color.

Sound is one of the most important things in a splatter film. Music sets the mood of the scene, but most important is the sound effects. Since there is a lot of death in a splatter film, the slash of a weapon, the gush of blood, and numerous other things help convey what is happening.

Ex: Scream is one of the most well-known horror movies but not many people know it does fall under the splatter category as well. Scream has a great soundtrack and use of sound effects.

Marketing:

The audience for these types of films are intended for 18-25+. Though that is the intended age range many teenagers or younger like to watch films like these. The same thing happens with horror films because younger people are more attracted to thrill. Splatter films apply to both male and female audiences, sometimes more of one than the other or a mix of both. For example Scary Movie the series applies attraction for females and males or Scream because of the use of attractive killers or suriviors.

It often features blood-soaked imagery, intense close-ups, or graphic violence and monsters, evoking morbid curiosity. Taglines are typically bold, using phrases that emphasize the gruesome nature of the content (Ex: "Not for the faint-hearted"). Trailers are usually edited for maximum impact, including quick cuts of the most intense scenes, unsettling music, and abrupt sounds to create jump scares. The campaigns often push the idea of the film as a "dare," challenging audiences to sit through it and testing their tolerance for fear and gore.

Samples:

The Saw franchise is a definitive example of the splatter film genre, using graphic depictions of violence, torture, and gore as central elements of the story. Known for its intricate traps and intense psychological themes, "Saw" embodies the genre through both its visual style and narrative approach, pushing boundaries to create a disturbing experience for viewers. The "Saw" series is infamous for its detailed, explicit portrayals of violence. The traps that Jigsaw creates are not just painful but are often designed for visible harm, which the camera never shies away from. The emphasis is on bodily harm and the graphic way. The goal is to elicit shock and discomfort through graphic content. Jigsaw is the mastermind behind the traps, is iconic in the genre, and has a distinct personality, philosophy, and visual style. His reasoning for the torture is rooted in a twisted sense of justice, setting him apart from a typical mindless killer in horror. Combined with his iconic "Billy the Puppet" as a messenger, gives the "Saw" franchise a unique identity within the genre and contributes to its cult following.

The 1978 film Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, is a classic in the horror genre that contributed significantly to the "slasher" subgenre and influenced countless films that followed. While "Halloween" is not as graphically violent as traditional splatter films, it embodies horror that evokes fear and suspense rather than relying purely on gore. Unlike many splatter films that emphasize explicit gore, "Halloween" opts for implied violence and suspense, leaving much to the viewer’s imagination. Michael Myers, carries out his murders with little on-screen blood, focusing more on the anticipation. This makes the horror more psychological, heightening tension without needing excessive gore, which creates an equally intense experience aligned with the splatter film's aim to evoke dread. Although "Halloween" doesn’t feature as much blood as classic splatter films, it introduced horror elements that inspired more explicitly violent slashers and splatter films in the 1980s. For example, movies like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street followed "Halloween’s" formula but increased the gore, creating the slasher-splatter hybrid genre that would come to dominate the horror scene.

Here are some splatter movies you should watch/popular splatter films:

Terrifier 3 (2024)