2. Genre
The film is obviously a horror film, but I’ve decided to go down the road of
classic slasher films from the 20th century, such as Halloween and Friday
the 13th. It will portray the well known conventions of slasher films, such as a
very iconic villain and a suburban, safe setting.
Also conventions such as:
•Somewhat gory death scenes, and many of them.
•A cliffhanger ending, does the villain really die?
•How the villian came to be, and why their a killer.
•The struggle against the villian done by somewhat normal people.
Target audience
It’s a violent horror film with an 18 rating, therefore my target audience
will most likely be young adults who are eligible to see the film at the
cinema with their peers.
3. Setting
Like most slasher films, it will take place in a
suburban setting but the actual location
doesn’t matter. It will also take place in both
daytime and night time. Daytime to highlight
the safety of the area, with shots of school
children etc but also night time where the
killer will strike. This is an example of
juxtaposition within the film and creates a
contrast towards the viewer.
5. Representation
Like most slasher films, it will be set in a suburban setting in which the
target audience can relate to, and represents how evil the villain is as
he’s killing normal people in a normal setting. Ethnicities don’t really
matter, characters can be anything as long as it’s realistic to the
setting as the villain has doesn’t choose his victims based on race,
which only represents more of his evil. Gender doesn’t really matter
either, although lots of iconic horror victims are female which will most
likely be the case in this film. All of these things represent the classic
and iconic slasher genre of films and the iconic slasher villain and in
turn and make it recognisable to the genre’s fans.
6. Narrative
The film starts off with the three characters moving into a new house, in a
new city and in a new state. This new state is never specified. The
characters that move in are Sarah (the protagonist), Richard (her father)
and Lucy (her mother). The reasons for their move are also not specified.
The next scene is Sarah waking up to a noise from downstairs, which she
goes to investigate. Upon entry to the kitchen she finds both her parents
murdered on the floor, with no evidence of forced entry or anything of the
sort. As she turns around, there’s a glimpse of a dark figure standing in a
behind her with a knife, which subsequently dissapears.
The rest of the film is about how Sarah copes with her loss, and the
destruction the dark figure reaps upon the small towm.
7. Characters
Sarah: The Protagonist
Mentally unstable from the loss of her parents,
often has visions of the killer and is always
terrified of it coming back to kill her. Resides in a
mental hospital on the edge of the town.
The Killer: The Antagonist
Not much is revealed in the opening scene about
the killer, but as the film progresses his identity
and his origination is touched upon.
8. Textual analysis
The film will all be filmed in a low lighting filter to add to the
atmosphere of the film. All of the costumes will be
contemporary, apart from the villain who’s will be iconic and
memorable like other slasher films. I intend to use unique and
original shots to increase the quality of the film and make it
more enjoyable.
Regarding sound, this will be a very important feature of the
film. There will be multiple ambient sounds to again add to the
atmosphere and make it more scary. Also there will be a lot of
music and soundtracks played in the background as this is one
of the key features that make horror films scary. Finally, the
editing will be key as it goes in tandem with the unique shots
and increases the quality.
9. Institution & Marketing
The film will most likely be published independently then
maybe bought by a bigger producing company if it’s a
success.
Regarding marketing it will be pretty standard with
things such as:
•Advertisements at theatres
•Advertisements on TV
•Posters
•Magazine ads
•A website.
