2. Eve – Emma Dempsey
When casting the actress
we intended to play
Eve, we had a clear image
of how we not only
wanted her to look
physically but also the
traits we envisioned her
persona to posses.
3. As our plot adheres to the conventions of
the spider and fly story type, created by
Phil Parker and his Story Types, we
wanted an actress who could be vulnerable
and repressed at the hand of the villainous
Dr. Clarke and his evil intentions.
However, we also wanted an actress who
was able to develop and evolve as a
character away from this initial
vulnerability. As a result of this we needed
an actress who could convey these two
extremes with one character moving from
a victim to a heroine.
4. Taking inspiration from the lead females in films
such as ‘Sucker Punch’ and ‘The Uninvited’ we
looked at how their characters progress and
develop to the end of the plot. This can be seen
in ’Sucker Punch’ as the protagonist gains
strength and empowerment by escaping into a
fantasyland in order to flee from the day to day
horrors she faces in the mental institution in
which she is imprisoned. This is mirrored in the
film of ‘The Uninvited’ where the female
protagonist must face the horrific hallucinations
she experiences in order to uncover the truth
behind her mother’s death.
5. Dr. Clarke – John Michael
Once again, as our
films storyline adheres
to the spider and fly
story type we wanted to
cast an actor who could
be truly villainous,
while appearing
professional and subtle
in his manipulation.
6. In doing this we aimed to create an initially
trustworthy character in order to lull the
audience into a false sense of security and make
the films revelation a truly shocking one. As his
character gains power and control over the
female protagonist we decided to cast an older
actor in order to convey his experience and
superiority over his younger and naïve victim.
This also helps enhance the vulnerability of Eve’s
character as she is helpless at the hand of this
tyrannical figure.
7. Another example of this controlling personality
can be found in the character of Jackson
Rippner in the psychological thriller ‘Red Eye.’
This is as he initially appears to be a friendly and
charming character, however it is later revealed
that he is part of a terrorist plot as he
manipulates and threatens to kill the father of
film protagonist if she does not help him
assassinate the Deputy Secretary of Homeland
Security.
8. Ghost Girl – Jessica Caluya
As the film’s
protagonist suffers
from a series of
hallucinations, we
decided to cast a
ghostly looking
character to make the
hallucinations more
haunting and eerie to
reflect Eve’s fear.
9. In having her character present throughout all
the disjointed and confusing hallucination
scenes the audience is able to link her persona to
them all, subsequently suggesting these
hallucinations are also linked in some way
through her character. Although her character
does not say many lines of dialogue it was
important that we could cast a physically active
actress who was able to express meaning and
communicate to the audience through her body
movement and gestures.
10. Taking inspiration from the ghostly apparition
who appears in the film ‘Gothika,’ leading the
films protagonist to the truth through her
appearance in horrific hallucinations, we wanted
to maintain a mystery and sense of uncertainty
around the girl’s character leaving the audience
with a narrative enigma.
11. Elaina – Laura Ireland
In casting the
character of
Elaina, we were
looking for a friendly
and approachable
person who we
wanted to represent
as highly contrasting
from the character of
Eve.
12. We wanted to convey a character who was know by
Eve before the fire, in order to highlight the
protagonists old life prior to the incident and show
how much her character has changed. Elaina’s
persona serves as a physical manifestation of Eve’s
former life to some extent as she is an embodiment
of all the traits and characteristic the protagonist
possessed prior to the incident. Despite her friendly
nature we wanted to cast and actress who could
expresses her feelings of awkwardness primarily
through her facial expressions. Therefore we wanted
an actress with a highly animated face in order to
make the audience feel her discomfort during the
superficial conversation maintained between her
and Eve during the chemist scene.
13. Another example of a character like Elaina’s can
be found in the film of ‘Donnie Darko,’ primarily
in a scene when the protagonist’s sister walks
into the bathroom while he is taking his
medication. Questioning him as to why he needs
medication, her naivety and innocence is
strongly contrast against his disturbed and
anxious nature.
