Children In Horror Films
Children are portrayed as somewhat innocent in the media or films, this is continued in horror films such as: The Woman In Black. They are there to normally be taken or possessed during a horror film, this is because children are also valuable to the other characters, usually their parents or carers, in these type of films too. The three girls in this film are under 'the woman in black''s control and commit suicide which would immediately shock the audience.
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Other horror films that use children:- Insidious
- The Woman In Black 2 - The Babadook |
Another film a child is importantly used is 'Poltergeist'. - A family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces must come together to rescue their youngest daughter after the apparitions take her captive. The girl is taken captive by the spirits or ghosts in the house the family recently move into. She is shown very innocently at the start, making it shocking when she gets taken. The children who are used in horror film that are usually taken or possessed etc are usually of a younger age to emphasise how, again how valuable they are to their parents/carers. - Orphan - Coraline - The Shining - The Ring |
Representation of different locations
Daytime Forests
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Daytime Cabins
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A forest may seem like a lovely, relaxing place to be in the daytime, but it can quickly change when the sun goes down and the light turns into darkness.
In the sunlight, the birds are chirping and the leaves are glistening which creates a tranquil surrounding. As it is light you can see everything and it makes it a lot more enjoyable being there. |
Night-Time Forests
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Night-Time Cabins
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The difference between being in a forest during the day and night is that you cannot see everything at night when in a forest and that is the fear of people when there. Not knowing what is out there is the main fear of being in a forest in the night time. Another factor could be that as it is night time, many people are not around and when in fear you would rather have people around in case of danger.
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Scream - Representation Analysis
Victim
In the opening scene we see this character first, she is a young, blonde, female character and she fits the typical horror codes and conventions of a victim of the story.This is because of many reasons, such as: her being a woman suggests she is weaker to begin with than a man would be. The fact that she is blonde portrays the idea that she is dumb, this is because people who are blonde in society are presented as of lower intellect. We later discover that she is on her own in the house, this makes the audience believe she is more vulnerable and more prone to being hurt due to the previous points mentioned.
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Killer
In the opening scene we do not see the killer until later on. This builds tension between the audience and the characters due to the fact that we hear the killer throughout the whole opening scene on the phone talking to the victim. This character fits the typical codes and conventions for horror genres, this is because he is wearing a mask to cover up his identify which again creates tension. |