Contextual Research

1. Contextual Research
LUKE HEADLAND

2. Director – Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Born: 1972
Filmography:
Cabin Feaver (2002)
Hostel (2005)
Hostel Part II (2007)
Grindhouse (2007)
Endangered Species (2009)
The Green Inferno (2013)
Knock Knock (2015)
Death Wish (2018)

3. Director – Eli Roth
 Why I Chose to Research Eli Roth:
Personally, I have always been a huge fan of Roth's work. I feel that a lot of
his work is very underappreciated and overshadowed by media negativity.
Ive always found Roth as a very interesting character and love hearing him
talk about his films. He speaks with a lot of passion and enthusiasm about
what he does, and a lot of his work is much deeper and more meaningful
than the media portrays them as. Roth has always been politically open
with his films. Most of his films have an underlining political commentary
that usually focuses on the time period in which they're made. Ive always
been fascinated by this method of filmmaking, and think it gives the films
a lot more meaning and a purpose and could be sending an important
message to our society. I feel that Roth will influence my product greatly
and I will be taking a lot of inspiration from his existing work. I aspire to
create something that could stand out against a large group of media,
much like Roth's films do.
About Him:
Eli Roth is a well-known horror filmmaker who debuted
with his first feature film 'Cabin Feaver' released in 2002.
He is mostly credited for his input to the horror genre
with his extreme / violent natured films, which gave him
popularity amongst fans and critics as well as notoriety
due to the explicit nature of his films. Roth became a
horror icon in 2005 after the release of his controversial
film 'Hostel' which left critics and audiences torn, with
some deeming the film as mindless uninspired gore, and
others deeming it as something with a lot more depth
and meaning. Roth's relationship with Quentin Tarantino
also greatly benefited his success in the industry, with
Tarantino lending his name as the producer for both
Hostel 1 & 2, giving him a lot more exposure amongst
film fans. After the success of the Hostel films, Roth later
went on to star in Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds' as a
memorable and likable character known as 'The Bear Jew'
which brought a lot of attention to his name and
filmography. As of today, Roth still expands his career in
the industry, and is expected to release another
unnamed film within 2021.
Bibliography:
• Corrigan, Kalyn. 2015 "It's not the Devil, its Eli Roth – The Green Inferno Interview"
THE GREEN INFERNO's Eli Roth Gets Interviewed! (bloody-disgusting.com)
• Roth, Eli. 2002 'Cabin Feaver' (Film)
• Hollywood Archive. 2006 'Hostel Interview'
(2) 'Hostel' Interview - YouTube

4. Director – James Wan
James Wan
Born: 1977
Filmography:
Saw (2004)
Dead Silence (2007)
Death Sentence (2007)
Insidious (2010)
The Conjuring (2013)
Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Aquaman (2018)

5. Director – James Wan
 Why I Chose to Research James Wan:
Much like Eli Roth, James Wan has always been one of my personal
favourite horror filmmakers. Wan's filmmaking style has always captivated
me. Every single shot of his films hold meaning told by camerawork or
visuals. Wan crafts his films with care and attention to detail which really
highlights the passion of his craft. Wan's films, much like Eli Roth's have
always ventured into a daring area of film horror that a lot of directors and
filmmakers stear clear from which I can respect him for. His films are very
beautiful visually and always very captivating which is why I always look
forward to films directed by him. Looking at James Wan's films give me a
lot of inspiration for my projects, and I know I will be constantly
referencing Wan's work withing my product, taking inspiration from his
styles of filmmaking, everything from camerawork to storytelling. I hope I
can create a project with some resemblance to Wan's work, and I will be
researching into his existing films to guid me along the way.
About Him:
James Wan is perhaps the most popular horror
filmmaker of the 21st century. His career began in 2003
with a short film he and his friend created whilst living in
Australia titled 'Saw'. The short film was extremely low
budget and poorly acted, but it caught the attention of
Lionsgate producers in Los Angeles California. After
being presented the short film, the producers flew out
Wan and his then filmmaking partner Leigh Whannell to
make the film for a budget of $1.2 million. The film
managed to gross over $100 million at the box office
thus kicking off Wan's career as a high profiled
Hollywood horror filmmaker. Wan's success didn’t halt
with Saw, and in 2013 he released his highest grossing
horror movie to date, 'The Conjuring', which was a
massive success amongst media, critics and fans. Three
years prior, Wan had also released another film titled
'Insidious', which like The Conjuring, also blew fans and
critics away, giving Wan the title as one of the best
horror filmmakers of the decade.
Bibliography:
• Greene, Andy. 2013 "Conjuring Director James Wan on the Legacy of Saw"
'The Conjuring' Director James Wan - Rolling Stone
• Wan, James. 2007 'Dead Silence' (Film)
• MakingOf. 2011 'James Wan Discusses Insidious'
(2) Director James Wan discusses 'Insidious' - YouTube

6. Director / Writer – Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell
Born: 1977
Filmography:
Upgrade (2018)
Insidious 3 (2015)
Saw 1,2 & 3 (2004-6) - Writer
The Invisible Man (2020)
Insidious 4 (2018) - Writer
Insidious 2 (2013) - Writer
Insidious (2010) - Writer
Dead Silence (2007) - Writer

7. Director / Writer –
Leigh Whannell  Why I Chose to Research Leigh Whannell:
After researching two directors, I thought it would be appropriate for my
project to also research a well-known modern day horror screenwriter. Ive
been a big fan of Whannell's work for a long time, as he has been the
creator of a lot of horror films that interest me. I also find him quite
inspiring given his talent for screenwriting and directing. Whannel has
shown with films like 'The Invisible Man' that he is a very talented director
and also has a lot of love and passion for the genre, much like James Wan
and Eli Roth. I'd like to take great inspiration from Whannell's directing
and screenwriting for my own product. I feel like I could learn a lot from
his films, and also implement some of his styles of writing and directing
choices into my own product to make it feel more professional and refined
and as a way of paying homage to his work.
About Him:
Leigh Whannell is an Australian film writer known for his
mass input into the horror genre. His career began
alongside James Wans after the release of 'Saw' in 2004,
a film that he wrote and starred in. Whannell is credited
for his screenwriting, kicking off popular horror
franchises such as 'Saw' and 'Insidious'. In 2015, Whannel
directed his first feature length film which happened to
be the third instalment of the 'Insidious' franchise, a
franchise he had created alongside James Wan and had
written the first two films. Previously, Whannell had only
been recognised with his screenplay work, but after the
surprise success of 'Insidious Chapter 3' and overall good
response from critics, Whannell began to show a talent in
not just screen writing, but also filmmaking. Whannell
would later go on in 2018 to direct 'Upgrade', received
exceptionally by critics and audiences, and in 2020 he
would go on to direct the critically acclaimed 'The
Invisible Man', which was noted as one of the best films
of 2020.
Bibliography:
• Lewis, Maria. 2020 "Leigh Whannell on Reinventing The Invisible Man"
Leigh Whannell on reinventing The Invisible Man: 'I want to change people's perceptions' | Film | The Guardian
• Whannell, Leigh. 2018 'Upgrade' (Film)
• MakingOf. 2011 'Screenwriter Leigh Whannell Talks Insidious'
(4) Screenwriter Leigh Whannell talks 'Insidious' - YouTube

8. Popular Films from, Roth, Wan & Whannell
Director: Eli Roth – 2013
Box Office: $12.9 million
Director: James Wan – 2013
Box Office: $319.5 million
Director: Leigh Whannell – 2020
Box Office: $143.2 million
Director: James Wan – 2010
Box Office: $99.5 million
Director: Eli Roth – 2005
Box Office: $82 million
Director: James Wan – 2004
Box Office: $103.9 million

9. Short Film 1 – The
Smiling Man 2AM:
The Smiling Man -
short film - YouTube
 The Smiling Man is a well-known 'Urban Myth' / Scary
Story that was interpreted into a short student film in
2013.
 Quick Synopsis: A young man decides to take a
walk down a desolate street one night and encounters
something he didn’t bargain for, something mysterious
with harmful intent.
 I chose to research this film because of how
simplistic yet captivating it us. The film itself only
has a runtime of just over 4 minutes but manages
to pack in a lot of tension through acting, visuals
and editing with key details such as body
language, setting and sound design. There is
rarely any dialogue in the film as it relies on
visual suspense and doesn’t provide any
exposition or forces information into the
audience's face, leaving the audience to interpret
for themselves what might be happening. Overall
despite being short and simple, I think the film
works well in executing its purpose; being scary.

10. Short Film 2 – The
Jester The Jester | A
Short Horror Film -
YouTube
 The Jester is a short original horror film by MakeDo
Entertainment released in 2016 that virally surfaced on
YouTube with over 16 million views.
 Quick Synopsis: After a closing shift on Halloween
night, a man stumbles upon what seems to be the
embodiment of Halloween itself. Trick or treat? -
official synopsis.
 The Jester was a film I saw when it was originally
first released in 2016. Even since I saw the film it
encapsulated me due to how simplistic, visually
beautiful and well-made it was. I think one of the
best things about this short film is the
cinematography. The colours and lighting
make every shot look beautiful, and the film has
aged well over 4 years on. The film plays out very
mysteriously. Much like The Smiling Man, there is
no exposition to give the audience information
on what's going on, which adds a certain edge to
the film, making you want to continue watching.

11. Short Film Research – How Will They
Influence My Product?
 I plan on taking a lot of inspiration from the short films I have researched.
The main reason I chose to research these two specific films is because I
would like my product to be of a similar style. Everything from
cinematography, to runtime, to simplicity. I like how both films are
structured and tell the story as they go along. They never feel confusing at
times, and you're experiencing what is happening along with characters for
the first time. I would like to create my film this way, as well as trying to get
a 5–10-minute runtime so the film doesn’t feel like its dragging. I will also
be shooting a lot of my film outdoors, so looking at these films gives me a
good idea on how I should light an outdoor night scene I.e which areas to
film in so my film doesn’t appear too dark or distorted, and what colours
work well with night scenes.

12. Genre Theory: Horror
When it comes to horror, there tends to be many things that coincide with each other,
such as low / dark lighting and nighttime settings. One reason why this style is so popular
and common is because of the international 'fear of the dark' or the common 'bad things
happen in the dark' trope. To a certain extence this is true, as it's found that a lot more
violent crime occures at night due to the lack of survaylence and general
anonymity against the public. This international fear is then interpreted in horror to give
us more reasons to 'fear' the dark and going out at night and plays on this fear as a way
to feel personal towards the audience.
The most common trait of horror movies is to trick us, the
audience, into think the impossible is possible, which is what
makes horror films so successful and scary, as they can play with
the audience's mind. One reason why horror films are
particually appealing to young people is because younger
people tend to have a more open mind compared to older
generations, which is where the trickery comes into play. THis is
also why I will be targeting my product towards a younger
audience, as I feel they are the most appropriate audience for
horror films.