Above are shots of children that have been the protagonists in horror films such as ; "The Children", "The Ring" "The Shining" and "The Amtiyivile Horror".
When we reminisce about the memories we have gained from our childhood, it represents nothing more than innocence in its purest form. Innocence itself is representative of "good" and "goodness", therefore in combining said "goodness" with a recognised aspect of evil and/or paranormal activity, a disturbance is created within the minds of the audience. Children used in horror films simply corrupts the conventional idea we have of them which is what makes them so terrifying in this altered form. Conceptions of possessed and troubled children have been a massive influence on our teaser trailer, therefore we are going to incorporate twin girls in order to appeal to an audience which is drawn towards the psychological aspect of the horror genre, for example the appearance of the dead twin girls in "The Shining".
As audience sophistication has grown, our obsession with the innocence of children and the masochistic fears we have of the undead has also developed. Our greatest fear has become that of a helpless child, an unnatural fear which goes against the general perceptions held by society. Childlike voices and nursery rhymes reproduced in a sinister voice create a sense of unease and juxtaposition because that which we expect to be a happy situation, suddenly confronts a fear of the unknown. As a result of this during our teaser trailer, we are going to introduce this concept by playing "Ring a ring a roises" in a creepy childish voice.
Below is a short video of Louise Millar my filming partner explaining along a side the our "dead twins" why little girls scare her so much;
Iconic playground games we associate with little children have also become the source of our fears as well ; for example the film "Hide and Seek" puts emphasis on the game of "Hide and Seek" between a spilt personality father and his daughter. We have even built on the idea of horror being a game. This is portrayed in films such as SAW and Scream. Were in order to survive in real life you must survive the game. SAW takes the idea of children's vulnerability even further, by having their villain take the form a clown. Once again the terror he creates in the movie plays on the definition of what we expect a clown to be, much like the theory of an empty frame being more horrific of that filled with what we expect. Below is the teaser trailer of SAW, where the idea of a game is emphasised through using titles to explain the rules.
Children tend to send formidable chills down our spines, and this is illustrated through the countless amount of films that contain children as the main source of evil. This is why we have chosen to use children in our teaser trailer, and play on the idea of their vulnerability. The reason I believe children are portrayed as horrific characters in films, is due to them having uncontrollable power over adults which they cease to obtain in the real world. So by turning the authority we expect adults to have on "it's head" like this is truly frightening.
Reference The Shining when talking about your decision to use twin girls. Could you also speak in more detail about the children in the films you use images of? E.g. The girl in Amityville Horror with the bullet in her head scaring us because a child - who should be so full of life - is essentially a copse. And looking right at us - that juxtaposition of what we expect to be innocent and sweetness with death creates a sense of utter uncomfortableness we want to run from. Also - "destruction" in our minds??? A little hyperbolic... Perhaps tone that down a bit!
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