Villain's in horror: my inspired villain

In order to make a horror work, there needs to be an 'evil' character in the story otherwise known as a villain. Their role is as the antagonist, the one who tends to have a negative effect on other characters and constitutes an important evil agency in the plot. The villain is a foil to the story's hero/heroes and is an obstacle the hero must struggle to overcome. There are contrasting traits between the two characters, from heroic traits to villainous ones. In my teaser I aim to make a clear distinction between the two.

In many horrors, it is common for villains to do acts for wish-fulfillment. A convincing villain must be given a characterization that makes their motive for doing wrong convincing. Roger Ebert, a film critic commented that "each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph." A villain in which inspired my idea to characterise my villain is Jigsaw, who's profound role is in Saw. The character after a failed suicide attempt, experienced a new respect for his own life and set out to put others through deadly trials to help them appreciate their own lives by their will to live through self-sacrifice. His past and new person is similar to the idea in my own, as Fearane in my teaser previously suffered in an abrasive childhood which led him into teaching his victims the meaning of life by also putting them to the test. However, the test in Fearane is also psychological as well as being physical, to create more pathos unlike the physical intensity in Saw.

Every villain needs an name so we as an audience can identify with them, and the name choice was essential when naming my villain. The jigsaw name was given by the media for his practice of cutting puzzle pieces out of flesh of those who failed their ordeals and perished, symbolic of their missing survival instincts. As the name jigsaw was chosen down to meaning, I felt is was necessary to choose a name which is unique, leading to the choice of Fearane. The first part, fear, is a term humans experience when afraid which not only reflects how Fearane felt as a child, but also his character giving off this effect.

Another pointer essential when characterising the villain in a horror film is their person. Jigsaw is mysterious who kidnaps people he sees as wasting their lives and attempts to 'save' them which is ironic. This is accomplished by administering inhumane tests consisting of mechanical devices rigged to maim or kill the subjects or other victims if not completed within a certain time period. Although my villain Fearane also kidnaps those who question or justify the meaning of existence, he performs tests between his uppermost victims who know each other. When a question is answered wrongly, that is when they suffer the physical pain. He has no intention to ever release his victims from the torture put upon them, put sustains their suffering till eventually the victims lives are taken from them naturally. Unlike jigsaw, he intends for his victims to die as that is what satisfies the pain he earlier suffered in his own life.

Due to having such successful villains, films manage to earn an extremely high revenue even when behind other horror. Despite Saw ranking 3rd behind The Grudge and Ray, it still went on to gross $103.1 million in 9 weeks in theatres, with $18,276,468 earned on its opening week-end. The villain therefore was one of the highest points to consider when making my teaser trailer, as it determines the success of the overall film.

Locations for filming

I plan to film my teaser trailer primarily in a dark, cramped room with a bleak atmosphere which not only the characters are trapped in, but the audience can also sympathise with them due to the size and glumness of the room in which the two girls are tortured in. The location in the teaser will appear as an abandoned room which resembles the appearance of a squat; unkept and unpleasant. The strong dose of reality in it is what will make the teaser work, as it is a familiar setting many fear to end up in.

Villains from movies

My horror villain!!!

Analysis of The Dark Knight teaser trailer

I chose to view and analyse 'The Dark Knight' teaser trailer due to the aspects the home creator of the teaser used in order to establish the horrific ideas which influenced and relate to my teaser.

The distributor of the film is instantly displayed to us- 'A Time Warner Company' which is well-known, resulting in an increase of audience as they are aware on the expense of the film so we expect to be excited into the thrill of horror and not just cliche ridden. Certain admires for the distributor are also lured into watching the film as they feel their expectations will be fulfilled. However, although the benefits of having a well known distributor, i felt that it would be just as effective creating a low budget film as low investment still results in a high return due to horror being at the top end of the market as humans love being scared; we become awake to whatever it is that threatens us. Sanchez commented in the guardian that "The Internet will have faster and faster ways to steam video. Within 10 years you will be able to make movies and distribute them online without ever having to talk to a distributor." I was influenced from his view that it would be unnecessary to have one as emerging directors have already jumped to acting through this conclusion.

Commonly used within teaser trailers, 'The Dark Knight' begins with a black screen keeping viewers anxious as to the image next displayed. In order to make the image appear more shocking and horrific, a sharp sound is played as it is displayed, highlighting the significance to what we see. These sounds wake us up to the fear which is an expression Hitchcock famously used to say. The first shot is of cards from a pack, scattered across a table which relates to the 'joker' who is a protagonist many would have been aware of when first viewing the teaser from seeing promotional posters. Further recognisable traits belonging to the joker is of a laugh which we can hear when the following black screen is visible. Ironically, it is of an evil laugh which is a feature in my teaser which we can hear from the villain, showing that the human which we would consider normal, is in fact not. The villain therefore is a strong dose of reality which viewers may fear coming across in real life, resulting in the horror working.

Following use of editing is used through using a black screen leading onto an image juxtaposed with the sudden sound. One of these include a medium shot of a man wearing all back holding a mask in his hand whilst standing in a public place. Instead of zooming out so we become aware of the character, the camera zooms in so we are clueless as to who this man is, raising questions to viewers, teasing us. In my story board, i plan to use this technique by displaying the legs and feet of a man in a doorway which results in the fear of a female character. Another shot which is a feature I plan to use in my teaser is the hand up against a window. The horrific element in this shot in 'The Dark Knight' is of the dark knight hung, however with the famous mouth of the joker ironically. This particular shot is effective as the juxtaposition of features found on the two protagonists confuse the audience as to which character is actually is. However in my shot, I plan to use the common element found within a horror of blood which is rooted in the history of horror. The fact that the hand in my shot hits the window suddenly, then drags downwards smothered in blood, denotes being trapped and physically hurt, something that almost all human fear. One other shot which is relative to my teaser is of the close up onto the dark knight. I feel that in order to make a teaser successful, it is essential to include the protagonists face so we get an image onto this character and still no nothing about them. By showing them draws viewers into wanting to watch the film and have a distinctive idea as to what they look like as their image is important. I also liked the idea of using low key lighting as it created a dark atmosphere, conventional in a horror and is influential in my plans to use lighting effectively.

After the continuous series of shots followed after the black screen as well as the sustained, shaky, minor note becoming louder, the editing also speeds up. I plan to use this skill of editing within my teaser for variation and a wider taste into the excitements found within the film. The transition of shots are ambiguous as they can be interpreted differently. Although some being obvious such as the medium shot of a TV screen with a reporter and the words 'breaking news' behind him which suggests an alerting event has taken place, presumably due to one of the protagonists, others are unclear, raising more questions over answers. The close up onto a woman's face who is speaking, can be interpreted differently as we can not hear what she is saying, Her facial expression displays different messages; some might say she looks scared and is shouting words for her life, others may say she is being authorial, giving a speech for reassurance to others. Another example is of a medium shot of a mans middle section of the body wearing a suit, carrying a complex unfamiliar object. Despite it being clear that the man wearing green at the side gave it to him from holding the box in which it came from; what is the object for? who is the man holding it? In my teaser, I aim for the outcome to also raise more questions that answers as it is the prime element of teasing. Viewers are given an insight into snippets of the film however do not know what the snippets are all about.

As the quick edits filled with action and horrifying images end, a black screen is displayed for less than a second with titles merging out of the darkness. The first is 'The Dark Knight' which establishes the name of the movie, and the fact the writing is in a capital, icy, spaced font shows the importance of every letter and the use of words. The title is of one of the protagonists, making us aware of his important position. Usually, a characters name whom is also in the title, symbolizes their importance and heroic person. We gain knowledge that the dark knight character is present as a foil to the joker character, therefore is destined to save the victims we know the joker captures after reading the plot. The following title is 'summer 2008', the date which was decided for the films release. As it is planned to be released in the summer term, is one of the best times of year for making a higher revenue. This is because it is a time of year where many may be off work and school so are more likely to visit the cinema, watching a film with famous actors and and elaborated editing. The distributor may also have agreed to chose the release date in the summer as other high gross movies may not be released in the same period, so there is no competition resulting in more viewers.