Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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proves useful within the context of my overall argument in this thesis. As the Friday
the 13 th franchise has held a significant role in the evolution of the slasher film which
has both responded to and influenced contemporary aesthetic trends, it naturally
follows that the apparent influence of Friday the 13 th in terms of story would also
extend to more subtle elements of how the stories are told. Also, while there is some
crossover with regards to specific perspective positioning, the evolutional nature of
the slasher’s aesthetic demands consistent variants that are difficult to trace within
overall trends. However, what this analysis does show is that it is not the specific
perspective that is significant, but how this perspective is rendered through the film’s
form. The aesthetic similarities between the films of this genre create a picture of
dominant formal trends, and the development of less solid, tenuous aesthetic
elements into a fluid progression of simultaneous stylistic advance. Since the
beginning of the Friday the 13 th film series, films outside of the franchise have
occasionally stood as ‘classics’ of the genre and have even received
acknowledgement for their originality or significance. Although the Friday the 13 th
series has regularly been overlooked and frequently derided critically, it stands as a
more effective barometer for developments within the genre over this thirty-plus
year period.