Supermassive Games Wants To Avoid Problematic Tropes In The Quarry

The rules for most slashers in the 1970s and 1980s are simple: If you have sex you will die. You live if you do not have sex. The original HalloweenOne of the most well-known examples of this trope is. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), a romantically inept, slightly geeky character. Annie Kyes, P.J. The Soles and Strode are out with their boyfriends while Strode stays home babysitting. Annie and Lynda are brutally murdered by killer Michael Myers – the former on her way to pick up her boyfriend, and the latter immediately post-sex. Strode is a virgin who fights back and ultimately escapes death. 

Debra Hill, John Carpenter and others had inadvertently sex-negative messages. According to their statements, it wasn’t. HalloweenThis film falls under a large category of slasher movies that follow similar rules. The trope is actually so widespread that Carol J. Clover, a professor of film studies, coined the term in 1992. The Modern Horror Film: Men and Women – Gender Issues– The “final girls”, or the innocuous character who survives to the end.  

Since 1992, there has been much writing on the evolution of this final girl trope. It is worth mentioning that the trope was in its very earliest forms (such as this version). HalloweenAs an example, the film is primarily seen as a damaging stereotype. The films are punishing characters – mostly teenage girls, though boys frequently get it just as bad – for engaging in the kind of activity audiences applaud the male characters of a John Hughes movie (Breakfast ClubFor more information, contact the writer Pretty In Pink) for. In some cases, the girls might also be bullies – such as in 1983’s Sleepaway Camp – as an added justification for their death, but the fact remains: have sex, then die. You are punished for your transgressions – no matter how normal they are. 

These are not the modern times of 2022. And that’s not lost on the team at Supermassive Games, developer of the upcoming game The Quarry, which strands a group of teenagers at an empty summer camp. Will Byers is the creative director. He says they draw inspiration from many movies, including “The Godfather” and “The Matrix.” Friday 13thAlice is its last girl) as well as the previously mentioned Sleepaway CampThe film, which actually avoids this trope (sort of), as well as many other slashers. But, homogenizing classic movies doesn’t necessarily mean that you should use their tropes. It also means to consider how contemporary audiences might respond. The setting might be familiar but the rules are new.

Byers says that while we don’t wish to feel stuck, it is important to recognize the differences in people’s sensibilities and be open to them. This stuff doesn’t need to make us feel bad, do we? You can simply say “Okay that’s just a trope. Let’s use that trope.” Truth-or-dare. We can use that as a trope – it’s a really good trope. You can’t allow people to just go off with their own will and engage in any kind of physical contact just because they are playing truth-or dare, but you also have to acknowledge consent. That stuff is very well understood by us. This doesn’t hinder us. We are just trying to be grown up about this stuff. 

Byers claims that The Quarry does not engage in transgression punishment. He admits that the games do have nods towards the past but the rules of The Quarry aren’t as well-defined. Byers says, “We weren’t going to put our morality on anything.” All the choices that you make are up to you. They are offered to you freely and without judgement. This is not how it works. It’s not in our best interest.”

We will see if The Quarry is able to pull off any of these feats. At the moment, we have only seen a short trailer. It is encouraging, however, to learn that Byers and the rest of the team are considering the evolution of classic tropes. You can still create a brutal, bloody horror story that doesn’t rely on sex clichés. If The Quarry makes good on Byers’ word, then it has the potential to be a fun entry into the slasher canon.