About Reflections in Horror: Effective Use of Character Foils in Presenting an Inclusive Future
Character foils have long been utilized in storytelling to showcase character attributes the audience can relate to. Historically, such opposition between characters has primarily served to showcase growth in the protagonist. However, in the recent horror films Nope, Candyman (2021), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), and Scream 5, the reflective qualities in the main characters instead point to a future in the horror genre that is not only inclusive, but ripe with multiculturalism and a necessary respect for generational differences.
The stoic OJ and extroverted Emerald in Nope show how siblings can navigate family trauma and work together towards solutions. The personality differences between Anthony and Brianna in Candyman (2021) help forge a cultural legacy of remembrance and atonement. Sally and Lola in Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) present audiences with nuanced portraits of the differences between generations in navigating trauma. Mindy’s unapologetic outlook, in opposition to Amber as an aggrieved victim, in Scream 5, offers an examination of survival in a horror film and in life.
These character foils present varying personalities and viewpoints that work in tandem to give audiences nuance in human interactions on and off screen. The relevance of this juxtaposition lies predominantly in the introduction of oppositional qualities as more aligned than the surface presentation distinguishes and in illuminating character qualities that have historically alluded to undesirable traits.
About RJ Joseph
R. J. Joseph is an award-winning, Stoker™ and Shirley Jackson awards nominated, Texas-based writer who earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and who must exorcise the demons of her imagination so they don’t haunt her being. A lifelong horror fan and writer of many things, she joyously discovered and embraced writing in the academic arena about three important aspects of her life: horror, Black femininity, and popular culture. She has published works in various venues, including the Halloween 2020 issue of Southwest Review and The Streaming of Hill House: Essays on the Haunting Netflix Series. Her horror collection, Hell Hath No Sorrow like a Woman Haunted, was released in August 2022 by The Seventh Terrace.
When she isn’t writing, reading, or teaching, she can usually be found wrangling her huge blended family of one husband, five adult sprouts, six teenaged sproutlings, five grandboo seedlings, and one furry hellbeast who sometimes pretends to be a dog.
R.J. is also an instructor at The Speculative Fiction Academy, a co-host of the Genre Blackademia podcast, and the editor of a novella series with RDSP. Film/TV rep: Karmen Wells, The Rights Factory.
R. J. can be found lurking (and occasionally even peeking out) on various social media platforms from behind @rjacksonjoseph.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/rjacksonjoseph
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