Alien was released in 1979, a time period where second wave feminism was in full force after the introduction during the early-mid 1960’s. This influenced the types of characters being made and produced in films, because there was a greater need for stronger female characters. Script writer Dan O’Bannon focused on writing a diverse range of characters to really resonate with the audience. As a result, the characters included in Alien were older than the typical characters included in a horror film and there was also a gender mix. Since most of the characters get killed off fairly early on within the film, keeping Ripley as the sole survivor although she is a female, was a bold move to represent a strong female character. But this was needed drastically at the time to prove that the second wave feminism was moving in the right direction, so the character of Ripley represents the necessity of strong women for the movement of second wave feminism.

Second wave feminism developed the interpretation of a female character in horror films. The movement showed the implied inferiority of women to men, and the unfair systems implemented. In horror film, women were typically portrayed as ‘damsels in distress’ and usually saved by men. An example of this prior to the second wave feminism movement is the character Lila Crane from Psycho (1960, by Alfred Hitchcock) who relies on Sam Loomis to save her. But second wave feminism argued to change this, and during the late 1960’s there was a resurgence of new, strong and empowered female characters. ‘Alien’ was produced towards the end of the movement, which had resulted in the introduction of many new strong female characters. Over the period of the movement, there became a development of female characters from victims to survivors, which led to Clover defining the term ‘final girl’.

Although there are several examples of ‘final girls’ evident in horror during the early 1970’s, many of these lack actual development from survivors to heroines and although there was a resurgence of female empowerment; they typically just make it to the end without facing off with their antagonist. An example of this is Sally Hardesty from ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (1974, by Tobe Hooper). Although she is cited as one of the earliest examples of a ‘final girl’ and displays some qualities: she does not avenge against Leather face or the family and is eventually rescued at the end of the film, by a man.

Ultimately, second wave feminism inspired a new wave of strong female characters. There was a slow but visible decline in overly-sexualized female characters, and a growth in female protagonist who began to survive towards the end of the film. However, there was still an emphasis on survival. This represented women still as victims, who barely clung on to their lives and were typically rescued by men (see Hardesty and Strode) instead of taking revenge on their pursuers. Arguably, Ripley is one of the earliest examples of a strong ‘final girl’, she outlives her (mainly male) crew by fighting to survive and finally defeats the alien alone with no assistance from anyone. The development of ‘final girls’ were slow, but stemmed from the second wave feminism movement, many showed strong qualities during the early 1970’s but Alien is one of the first horrors which actually shows a strong heroine who does not rely on anyone aside from herself to survive but also defeat the alien.

The particularly later half of the 1970’s was a major decade for film, most specifically horror and sci-fi. From horror we got: ‘Halloween’ (1978, by John Carpenter) and ‘Black Christmas’ (by Bob Clark, also 1974). All of these films utilized the final girl trope, and were a major success. They all showed a strong female character at the forefront of each plot, not only surviving but battling against the antagonist; usually male. These films were also influenced by second wave feminism, which showed the immediate impact that the movement had on filmmakers and the horror industry has a whole because it led to the creation of strong female protagonists rather than just helpless victims. Similarly, science fiction was enjoying a major run at arguably the top of the film industry perhaps due to the massive success of ‘Star Wars’ (1977, by George Lucas). The influence of such success in both genres from the hybrid would have a profound impact on Alien as there was a large target audience for Alien who would’ve been willing to see the film based on the other successful horror and sci-fi films released at the same time.

Both films are similar in that they put a spin on the concept of ‘genre’ with combining around three different genres as a whole. The concept was accurately coined a ‘hybrid-genre’ (also known as cross-genre) where multiple elements from a genre are combined to create a new style of a film. ‘Black comedy’ was introduced into the arts by surrealist André Breton in 1935 who actually coined the term in his 1940 book ‘Anthologie de l’humour noirafter’, wrote after he acknowledged the merging of comedic and dark elements in particularly the work of poet Jonathan Swift. Within film, the first strong example comes from director Billy Wilder, with the 1940 academy award hit ‘Sunset Boulevard’ which utilized elements from comedy but also had quite a dark tone.

As film revolutionized, ‘Black Comedy’ became more popular, with around 88 films being produced after 2010 compared with only 20 in the 1980’s. this shows the growth in popularity of the genre mix because many people are wanting to see it onscreen. ‘Happy Death Day’ successfully employs elements from this hybrid by maintaining a dark and somber tone usually seen in horror films with the killer stalking Tree but also the nature of some of the killings. But this is juxtaposed with a lighter mood, with constant jokes and ridiculous moments. The film takes inspiration from ‘Scream’ (1996, by Wes Craven) to combine comedy and a dark mood to create a contemporary, successful black comedy

Whereas, arguably sci-fi horror is a much larger and more popular area. There is debate over whether or not the genre combination is actually a hybrid, due to the similarities in genre it can be difficult to actually define whether or not a film is a sci fi or horror because many science fiction films can unintentionally create fear and horror can typically rely on science for justification. So as a result, many films can be referred to as ‘sci fi – horrors’ although some can only contain minimal elements of either genre. The hybrid genre can be seen as early as 1918, with Michael Curtiz and Edward Fritz’ Hungarian sci fi-horror ‘Alraune’. Although there is not much actually known about the film since it is now lost, it is believed to be about a mad scientist creating a demonic child which perfectly unites common tropes and elements from both the sci-fi and horror genres.

Arguably, Alien can be considered a science fiction film from afar, in general terms. It involves the discovery of extraterrestrial life then the struggle for survival. The film does employ horror tactics however, with the alien itself scaring some viewers with its grotesque look but also the infamous scene where the alien rips its way out of Kane’s chest. Although the film contains elements of horror to engage the audience through fear, the main premise is science fiction which defines Alien as a sci-fi horror, with some elements of a thriller from the intense action. The success of Alien inspired many sci fi horrors, most notably ‘Predator’ (1987, by John McTiernan). The film was similar to Alien in the way that it blurred the line between horror and sci fi, creating a hit which showcased the successes of both genres.

Ultimately, both films can be classed as horror hybrids because they mainly utilize strong elements of a horror to scare but also engage the audience with the plot and the characters. HDD also uses comedy to add a lighter tone, and also adds a refreshing spin on the ‘slasher genre’with the idea of Tree’s killer hunting her down until she can break the time loop by figuring out who is behind the mask. There is also an element of sci-fi with the film because the time loop plot, but this is focused more on in the sequel ‘Happy Death Day 2U’, whereas the original focuses mainly on a slasher horror, with a general comedic tone. On the other hand, Alien centers around a sci-fi heavy plot, but the film was released at a time where horror was arguably much bigger and more widely received than it is now in contemporary cinema so as a result: the film employed scare tactics to reach the large horror fanbase. Even today, Alien is constantly referenced as a horror masterpiece, regardless of the inital sci-fi plot

Happy death day was only released in 2017, a modern take on the slasher genre, which (like Alien) subverts the concept of genres by utilizing most of the major elements from several genres itself of sticking with the conforms of the a slasher. Released at a time where strong female protagonists are the norm, this is one of the most strongest example of a contemporary ‘final girl’. However, script writer Lobdell plays around with the ‘final girl’ trope, creating a refreshing new twist since our protagonist ‘Tree’ is essentially a mean girl who we only begin to understand and invest in as the film progresses. As the concept of a ‘final girl’ has evolved over time, the expectations and traits of these females have developed too, for example the ‘final girl’ Erin from the 2011 horror hit ‘You’re Next’ (directed by Adam Wingard) is another example of a strong and powerful ‘final girl’ who is ruthless when opposing the killers.

The time-loop concept of the film was based around the infamous ‘Groundhog Day’ (by Harold Ramis, 1993) and the film even gets a reference towards the end, with the characters acknowledging that the situation ‘was like the movie groundhog day’. Also, the character development and growth throughout the film is another significant element director Landon took inspiration from. This juxtaposes nicely against the ‘final girl’ trope, because we end up rooting for ‘Tree’ and investing in her because we can appreciate and understand her character growth throughout the film.

Although there is some confusion over the genre, the film is widely and generally classed as a ‘slasher-horror’, which is simply from the concept of Tree getting repeatedly killed and having to work out who is killing her and why, as well as obliviously stopping them from doing so. Director Landon cites ‘Scream’ (by Wes Craven, 1996) as one of the main influences because it combines comedy and horror extremely well, with similar techniques being employed in HDD. The mask itself is also by Scream, with it being created by Tony Gardner who had also created the ‘Ghostface’ mask