2001-09-05 3:24 p.m.
Serial killers are...
Usually married with children, and are white males.
They often torture their victims for days, this giving them a sense of power.
Their victims are usually chosen totally at random. They are often in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, some serial killers may show a preferance fora certain group of people, for example prostitutes or children.
Unlike mass murderers, serial killers select their victims. They will fantasise about it beforehand, until the compulsion to commit the murder overpowers them. They will survey the location and take every precaution not to get caught.
I also found out that the two most common traits amongst serial killers are daydreaming and compulsive masturbation, although this has no relevance, I thought I would point it out anyway.
The killers in 'slasher' films are often mistaken for serial killers, however, they are usually mass murderers, however, they are often not accurately portrayed.
Mass murderers...
Usually kill all their victims over a short space of time, usually hours, rarely, it will happen over a matter of days, but this is not often the case, as it seems to be in all 'slasher' films.
Most killing in 'slasher' movies are part of a 'continuous action' ie., they usually take place in different locations.
Quite often mass murderers victims will be selected at random. They may also be part of a target group, as seems to be the case in all 'slasher' films.
They usually end the killing spree with the taking of their own life, either this or they behave so recklessly that they are killed by armed law enforcement officers. In 'slasher films' the killer never takes their own life. On the contrary, they usually plan the murders so well that they might be able to get away with it. They are often killed by a previous victim who didn't quite die, or someone else involved with the target group. They are very rarely killed by law enforcement officers, because they plan the murders so well, something which mass murderers dont tend to do.
My point is, why are there so many 'slasher films' around when they are so inaccurate? The killers certainly dont fall under the category of 'serial killers', and tend to loosly fit the term 'mass murderers'. Fair enough, it makes for good veiwing, but surely it would not make films any less interesting if they were accurate.
I also wonder why there are so few films about actual serial killers. Admittedly, there are quite a few, but there's a very small amount compared to the amount of 'slasher' films that dominate the box office. Here are a few of the ones that are around, which are almost completely ficticious;
American Psycho, Man Bites Dog, Psycho*, The Silence of The Lambs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre*.
There are ones which have been based upon actual serial killers;
Bundy:Deliberate Stranger (Ted Bundy), Rampage (Richard Chase), Citizen X (Andrei Chikatilo), The Boston Strangler (Albert DeSalvo), To Catch a Killer (John Wayne Gacy), Deranged (Ed Gein), Confessions of a Serial Killer (Henry Lee Lucas), The Night Stalker (Richard Ramirez).
Films which are based on actual serial killers tend to be less popular, perhaps because they are not usually on general release. The popularity of the ficticious films made surely shows the nation's morbid fascination with serial killers, and also that there is a vast market for more films like this.
Personally, I have seen too many 'slasher' films, one can usually guess what is going to happen, who will die, who will survive, and occasionally, who the killer is. So why arent there more realistic films about serial killers, the sort of people who actually exist in reality. I mean, who has actually heard of a real life killer similar to the ones in 'slasher' movies?
*It has now been pointed out to me by Katy that these two films are not about serial killers. They are however, based on Ed Gein. but he wasnt a serial killer either. I'm getting all confused, anyone out there with knowledge on this subject? I'd be interested.
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