Propps character theory

One of the most well known theories is Vladimir Propp's character theory which looks at the different characters within a story based on their characteristics. The characters are broken down in to 8 parts:

The hero (main focus on their quest)

The villain (fights against hero)

The doner (gives advice or weapon to conqueror villain)

The helper (supports hero)

The princess (who the hero is fighting for, trying to protect)

The princesses father (sends the hero off on his quest)

The false hero (pretends to be hero so they can receive the reward)

Propps character theory used folk tales as the basis of his study and would explain the reason for the description of the characters.

Propp’s theory doesn’t exactly fit with the idea of a horror film genre as within a horror the main focus tends to always be the villain, despite them not being frequently seen. The other characters Propps talks about, such as, the doner, the helper, the princesses’ father, the princess, aren’t really seen within the horror genre and if they are, they often take a modern role as a ‘stock character’ (clever one, sporty one, popular girl) rather than following the main characteristic that Propp talks about.
Despite this, the characters do help to progress the narrative, making it known to the audience what to expect next, depending on the actions of each character