AS Media - Murder Weapon Research

The Brief:

- To research murder weapons for the prop in our film opening

Guns/Firearms

Although firearms as awhile in real life are the major cause of death/injury related crime it is not much of a conformity when it comes down to the slasher genre. This could be due to the quick nature of death by a gun which extenuates the torture of being killed by a knife/sharp object.

Gun Stats 2016

• Total Number of Incidents 53,602
• Number of Deaths 13,854
• Number of Injuries 28,505
• Number of Children (age 0-11)
  Killed or Injured 636
• Number of Teens (age 12-17)
  Killed or Injured 2,890
• Mass Shooting 363
• Officer Involved Incident
  Officer Shot or Killed 307
• Officer Involved Incident
  Subject-Suspect Shot or Killed 1,754
• Home Invasion 2,256
• Defensive Use 1,683
• Accidental Shooting 1,988

Knife

Knives are much slower and more painful deaths, especially in horror movies showing the appeal for them in slasher movies as it highlights the animosity and audacity of murdering someone.

Expanded Homicide Data Table 8
Murder Victims
by Weapon, 2008–2012
Weapons	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Total	14,224	13,752	13,164	12,795	12,765
Total firearms:	9,528	9,199	8,874	8,653	8,855
Handguns	6,800	6,501	6,115	6,251	6,371
Rifles	380	351	367	332	322
Shotguns	442	423	366	362	303
Other guns	81	96	93	97	110
Firearms, type not stated	1,825	1,828	1,933	1,611	1,749
Knives or cutting instruments	1,888	1,836	1,732	1,716	1,589
Blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.)	603	623	549	502	518
Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.)1	875	817	769	751	678
Poison	9	7	11	5	12
Explosives	11	2	4	6	8
Fire	85	98	78	76	85
Narcotics	34	52	45	33	35
Drowning	16	8	10	15	13
Strangulation	89	122	122	88	89
Asphyxiation	87	84	98	92	105
Other weapons or weapons not stated	999	904	872	858	778