Deconstruction of Villains' weapons:

Deconstruction of the weapons used by the villain in slasher films:

Jason Voorhees's machete (Friday the 13th Franchise)

~ In the Friday the 13th franchise, the main villain Jason, began to use a machete which became his weapon of choice and his trademark throughout the films. None of his victims could survive after one 'slash' of his blade.
~ I think the fact that it is quite simplistic is more effective, he doesn't use any gadgets or fancy technologies like in Saw, it's just a really large sharp knife but the slashing of his victims must be quite gruesome and very bloody.

Leatherface's chainsaw (Texas Chainsaw Massacre Franchise)

~  In the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, the trademark weapon used by Leatherface is a chainsaw (which is referenced in the title). Along with the dangers that are visible when using a chainsaw, in my opinion the ominous revving sound of a chainsaw is really creepy and deadly, considering how much damage it can do. This is another example of a murder weapon that is easily recognised with the character and movie franchise and I think the idea of this would be very effective if we could choose a good object to turn into a 'well-known instrument of death'.

Freddy Krueger's glove (A Nightmare On Elm Street Franchise)

~ Freddy Krueger, in A Nightmare On Elm Street, created his own murder weapon by attaching razor blades to his glove at the end of his fingers, meaning he could slash, cut and stab into his victims. Coupled with his creepy appearance, the weapon is deadly, gruesome and in a weird way, quite clever along with the fact that he kills his victims in their dreams, bringing in an element of psychological horror. Also this is a unique weapon, which makes the character and therefore the franchise more successful because it hasn't really been seen before.

Harry Warden's pickaxe (My Bloody Valentine)

~ In My Bloody Valentine, Harry Warden is a miner and he wears a blue-collar workman's suit with a hard hat and gas mask so to complete his 'look', his favourite weapon is a pick-axe. Again it's quite a simple, common tool, but it's how the villain uses it which makes it so murderous and terrifying, for example he often uses it to stab into the victim and cut out their heart and then leave it in Valentine candy boxes, emphasizing the title of the film. 

~ The main thing I noticed when looking at weapons, was that each villain always has a trademark weapon that is recognisable to their character and to make them memorable. I think an idea for our coursework would be to have one specific weapon that the villain prefers but have a variation of murdering methods so it's not always the same. 

"Part of it was an objective goal to make the character memorable, since it seems that every character that has been successful has had some kind of unique weapon, whether it be a chain saw or a machete, etc. I was also looking for a primal fear which is embedded in the subconscious of people of all cultures." - Wes Craven, creator of Freddy Krueger.

~ I think this quote from Wes Craven sums up what we need to think about when deciding on the weapons for our murderer, it should be unique (hopefully not seen before) but a normal, everyday object that can have a second, more deadly use and obviously it should be scary enough to frighten the audience.