Film Pitch for Media Studies

1. “Detention”

2. Genre (Horror) & Target
Audience
Conventions of horror:
• Weapons, violence, death, gore
• Killer (Antagonist)
• A deserted/ secluded area
• The “final girl” character (last female alive to confront the killer and
usually lives to tell the story)
Target audience:
Young males and females between 15-25, ideally interested/a fan of
horror films. The film is similar to Jeepers Creepers (2) as it is also
centred around school teenagers who are being hunted by something.

3. Narrative
• Equilibrium: Set in modern day, five teenagers (Ivy, Tom, Lindsey, Samuel and Lola) are forced to stay
behind in school on a Friday night for detention.
• Disruption: After hearing strange, unexplained noises and realizing they haven’t seen the teacher who
was supervising them for a while, the teenagers decide to investigate the source of the sounds. A trail
of dirt and blood leads them to the science block where they discover a hidden room that looks like
someone has been living in it. They find the teacher that was supposed to be supervising them
brutally murdered nearby, the phone line cut and their mobiles without signal. They are then attacked
by a murderous, zombie like creature who brutally kills Lola after the rest narrowly escape and hide in
a nearby classroom until the creature leaves. Due to it being after school hours, the only way of
getting out and getting help is by getting the keys in the janitor’s office in the basement on the other
side of the school and physically unlocking the school gate.
• During their journey to the get the keys, they encounter the creature two more times- the first time it
kills Lindsey and the second it injures Samuel, though Tom manages to wound the creature during
this. They successfully reach the basement and get the keys, with the creature hot on their tail, whilst
also discovering, from a diary found in the janitor’s room, that the creature is the result of a scientific
experiment conducted by the janitor and that the only way to kill it is with fire. Ivy finds a secret
tunnel, made by the janitor, that will lead them from the basement without encountering the violent
creature but the group then realize someone will have to stay behind and seal the tunnel so it can’t
follow them. An injured Samuel does this and is killed by the creature whilst Ivy and Tom escape.
• Resolution: Ivy and Tom follow the tunnel to the hidden room they discovered earlier where, after
luring the creature to follow them, they set it on fire and kill it using science equipment in the
classroom. As they make their way towards the exit, they are confronted by the disturbed janitor
who, after a violent fight, Ivy manages to overpower and kill after he fatally injures Tom, who dies in
Ivy’s arms. The films ends with the school safe again however Ivy is the only one who made it out of
the detention alive.

4. Main Characters