The document discusses plans for a psychological horror film called "Parental Figure". It will focus on a man named Joel who lives isolated in the woods following the deaths of his wife and daughter. Through flashbacks it is revealed that Joel was actually responsible for their deaths. The target audience is females and males under 35. The film aims to be original and creative rather than predictable. It will use micro-elements like mise-en-scene, editing and sound to set the mood in the unsettling film opening.

2. Genre
The genre we have chosen to do is a horror, but we
as a group have decided to focus upon the subgenre
psychological horror. This is when horror is playing
mind games and makes the audience think more
about the film. It therefore lets the audience have
more interaction with the film and ensures they are
engaged throughout.

3. Target Audience
The primary target audience for horror films are females
under 35 and the secondary target audience are males
under 35. This shows us the group of people that we
need to focus on are typically under the age of 35. When
we did some interviews with the target audience most
people said that their preferred subgenre was
psychological horror, meaning we needed to focus more
on this aspect of horror, also many of the people we
spoke to said they didn’t really enjoy horrors that are
predictable and similar to many other films within the
genre. This signifies that we need to be original, creative
and unique with our film.

4. Name
We have decided to call our film ‘Parental Figure’. This
is because the main character is supposed to be a
respectable and responsible father figure, but he is the
complete opposite.

5. Synopsis
There is a man, called Joel that lives segregated from
society because the death of his wife, Alice and
daughter, Bonnie, left him depressed and mentally ill.
Joel has a flashback of how Alice and Bonnie died at
separate times in horrific ways and then we find out that
it was actually Joel that killed his daughter and wife but
when he realised, it was too late.

6. Film Opening
The first two minutes is of Joel sitting in the corner of his
run-down house, muttering things under his breath. He
looks up and sees a girl, who he believes to be is his
daughter walking past a door way. She then runs out of
the building and he gives pursuit, shouting her name as
he goes. She takes him out into the woods to a clearing,
where there is a noose hanging from a tree. He then
begins to put it around his neck, the screen goes black
and fades out whilst the sound of a giggling girl can be
heard in the background.

7. Similar Films
There are numerous films that are like ‘Parental Figure’
such as;
 Sinister
 House at the end of the Street
 Cabin in the woods
 Mama

8. Unique Selling Point
(USP)
The USP of the film is the storyline itself. This is due to
the fact there are not many similar films out there in the
genre that contain a similar and twisted storyline such
as the one seen in Parental Figure. Throughout the
whole film – during the flashbacks, the audience never
sees the murderer and so there is plenty of enigma
throughout the film from start to finish. The film is not
very predictable and so doesn’t follow the typical
expectations of a horror film.

9. Use of Micro Elements
In the film opening we will use micro elements to add to
the mood of the film. These elements include;
 Mise-en-scene
 Performance of actors
 Editing
 Sound

10. Casting
For the lead role of Joel we aim to have an unkempt
male who is of average height and build. This is
because the main character is living isolated in the
woods and away from civilisation and so has no means
of communications with the outside world and
necessities such as toiletries.
However, in contrast to this for the daughter role of
Bonnie she needs to be clean and wearing innocent
clothing such as a plain dress. She also needs to be
relatively small for her age group, this is to show her
vulnerability.