Do the actors in a slasher film have to be goodlooking?

H

harmonica44

This is cause I was told on here that slasher films are popular for making money when you are starting on your first feature.

Goodlooking actors are hard to find where I live. I live in an average size city, but all the actors who have come to my first short film auditions... well I wouldn't call any of them goodlooking, accept for one guy, who may be kind of sorta. If I casted a slasher feature film and all the actors who showed up, were talented, but all mostly average looking, would that be a problem for most fans of the genre? Not that I'm looking to do one anytime soon, just curious for what audiences go for.
 
yes. It may seem cruel, but an cast of unattractive people simply spell "low budget". An attractive cast is very important, unless they are supposed to be ugly.
 
To be honest when everyone's good looking in a film it seems weird, and fake to me. I hate it, it really bothers me, it just seems too fake for me.
 
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..."

Unless were talking about some hunchback, toothless, balding, old wench, attractive-ness is always going to be subjective.

I've seen a LOT of slashers. Some of the people in them are attractive. Some of them aren't. That's my opinion.

In truth, most slashers revolve around a group of young adults, most of whom are not overweight and would fit the bill as being "attractive". Have a beautiful cast doesn't hurt, but I personally don't think it's necessary.

Just avoid the hunchbacks....
 
mad_hatter said:
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..."

Unless were talking about some hunchback, toothless, balding, old wench, attractive-ness is always going to be subjective.

I've seen a LOT of slashers. Some of the people in them are attractive. Some of them aren't. That's my opinion.

In truth, most slashers revolve around a group of young adults, most of whom are not overweight and would fit the bill as being "attractive". Have a beautiful cast doesn't hurt, but I personally don't think it's necessary.

Just avoid the hunchbacks....
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I think there's a general definition for beauty, good genetics.
 
If you're making a by-the-numbers give-the-people-what-they-think-they-want slasher movie then it certainly helps, because the only reason people watch those movies is for cheap thrills and looking at attractive people (usually in various states of undress) fits into that category.

If there's something more to your movie though, and it is interesting in other ways then it becomes a lot less important. E.g. no-one complained that the lead actress in the Blair Witch Project wasn't particularly attractive (Don't be tempted to make a film like the Blair Witch Project though, its been done to death now and rarely bettered - point was it was original at the time)
 
(That was basically my way of saying don't make a by-the-numbers slasher pic by the way - surely there's enough of them already?)
 
Are your semi-attractive people close enough to THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE actors?

human-centipede-first-sequence-7.jpg


Although, technically, I guess that was more of a "stitcher" than a "slasher". :lol:

Made more in DVD sales than theatrical release.
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2010/HUCNT.php
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=humancentipede.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1467304/business

Maybe you could "put something together"?! ;)
 
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I think everyone knows the difference between good-looking and ugly when it comes to actors. The majority of people who try their hand at acting have a look. Then it's a matter of taste, and what the role calls for.

A truly ugly person will very rarely be called in to audition.

Examples: People who many think are beautiful and I find ugly. 99.99% of reality stars. But, Paris Hilton, Kardashien are not in the least bit attractive to me. Jennifer Lopez has an OK face, but to me that ass has got to go.

People I find hot and sexy that most would disagree: Angela Bettis, Patricia Clarkson, Emma Stone (stardom has made her hot), if she were working next to you in a cubicle, you wouldn't look twice at her.

Pretty much 99% of actors and actresses are good-looking enough to be cast. The real question is can they act?
 
I agree with all the posts here! As long as they don't look like Tilda Swinton then you are okay. If ALL of them are super attractive then it does seem a little fake to me. If they are super good looking but can't act at all then that's even more distracting. Try to find a middle ground :)
 
Okay thanks. It's kind of ironic though, that not goodlooking spells low budget, but others say the point of making a slasher, is to appeal to the low budget audience, so you think they would understand. Maybe the slasher genre is not so easy to do cause where I live, goodlooking actors cost money. I could probably get away with an actress that looks as good as... maybe that girl from Ugly Betty? She is better looking in real life, but not the kind of woman that attracts almost all men.

I couldn't tell how goodlooking the women in Human Centipede were. Their bad acting, bad make up, and whole ugliness of the movie, overwhelmed any beauty they may have had.
 
DeJager said:
I agree with all the posts here! As long as they don't look like Tilda Swinton then you are okay. If ALL of them are super attractive then it does seem a little fake to me. If they are super good looking but can't act at all then that's even more distracting. Try to find a middle ground :)
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Tilda is HOT!
 
I like her face.....it is not Holywoodboring, it stands out. Just likke Renée Zellweger for having the most avrage face ever....I like things that are difrent.

Its just like Lady Gagga.....is she realy ugly? Its how jou present a person.
 
A general rule of thumb, if you're wondering if a decision will lower production value it probably will.

You have a decent budget in mind for a feature right? Shoot it somewhere else or bring actors in. Travel costs aren't that much in the long run for something that really ups your quality.

Do attractive people up the final product of an exploitative type of film like a slasher? The pro's in Hollywood seem to think so. In fact, in exploitative films they error more on the side of bad acting and good looking. Aren't most slashers known for that?
 
Feutus Lapdance said:
I like her face.....it is not Holywoodboring, it stands out. Just likke Renée Zellweger for having the most avrage face ever....I like things that are difrent.

Its just like Lady Gagga.....is she realy ugly? Its how jou present a person.
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Now GAGA is just awful looking. I can't stand this singer in any way shape or form. She does have talent. But, she's not attractive and her choice of material is pretty bad.
 
You have to look at slasher films (and all films) as a product being marketed to a demographic group. Slasher pix tend to be watched by males in their teens and early 20's. If you want to market to the intended group you need a couple of hot chicks to grab/hold their interest, and a little T&A doesn't hurt either.

There are formulas/ingredients/clichés (going back to the first "Halloween" in the case of slasher pix) for every genre should be honored. Now I know that quite a few people here will say "break the rules" every chance you get, but you need to understand the "laws" well enough so you can break them and not be punished for it.
 
That's really good advice. I am surprised a lot of people starting out prefer to do slashers to save on costs, because where I live, the better looking the actors, the more it costs. Since there are not near as many around to choose from, the price goes up, cause one might have to come in from out of town, or you will have very limited talent selections at the auditions, if you rule out the non good-looking people. Unless you all cast average looking people, and are able to get a really really good make up artist.
 
Just to clarify on my earlier post, most actors/actresses in slasher pics are young, fresh-faced and of a skinny-to-average build. Not necessarily "good looking", but certainly not ugly.

Take Lady GaGa for example, I don't find her attractive, nor do a lot of people. Yet, she fits the above bill... Young. Slim. Not inflicted with terrible acne or facil hair. I'd happily cast her in a slasher!

But still, you can't get any "attractive" people, so how about this... You're killer is a once average looking guy, who went for plastic surgery, but it went wrong and he ended up horribly scarred. This drove him mad. After five years in the loony bin, he escapes and goes on a kill-crazy rampage, butchering ugly people and carving up their faces, to make them as 'beautiful' as he is... That way, you can hire the ugliest people you can lay your hands on!

Maybe he could perform makeshift liposuction on somebody, using a Dyson vacuum cleaner....
 
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