Masks have many uses throughout horror films:
- Protects your identity.
- Create tension.
- Takes away your knowledge of who the attacker may be.
- Can give a power.
- Hide emotion.
There are a wide variety of films that feature the main protagonist with a mask on and we remember them for their individual masks that they use.
For example, Friday 13th, The Strangers, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Orphanage, Nightbreed, Scream, Halloween etc
The Strangers
- The primary use of masks in this film protects the killers identity's and to create tension.
- As you can see from the image above, they feature masks with the mouths drawn on, showing a fixed emotion, and only the eyes would be seen from the victims.
- Two masks are traditional masks, one without the top of the head and big eyes taking up the face, the other with hair attached onto the mask in order to match the person wearing it.
- The middle mask is a piece of fabric, with eyes cut out and a small smile drawn on, leaving no clue as to who the murderer is.
The Orphanage
- The Orphanage is a Spanish film that uses masks with children for the use of protecting an identity.
- From the trailer this is apparent as the boy kicks back the lady once she tries to lift off the mask.
- The mask is quite childlike, using primary colours to draw on facial features.
To conclude, the use of masks in horror films is a chilling way to show tension and terror.
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