Below are two images of characters I am going to compare, one character is devised by me, for the production of the opening sequence, and one character has played an existing role in a previous horror film. For both characters, I will analyse their similarities and differences, and how they are presented, in terms of costume, appearance, and role played in the film.
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| This is 'Billy' from the well known SAW series |
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| This is the little girl in T3WOH, who plays the role of the antagonist |
Billy is Jigsaw's puppet in SAW (2004), and acts as an indicator for the torture/punishment about to be given to the culprit, Billy's role is to simply introduce the punishment, he usually appears on a screen. Billy symbolises danger and warning, which is similar to what the little girl in our own production also represents. However, a difference is that Billy is controlled and created by his master, Jigsaw, however in our film, the little girl is an independent antagonist, with no side-kick. similar to the girl in 'Insidious'.
Another similarity between both characters is that they are petite, which is ironic because they threat they prove to others is monstrous, and their makeup contrasts their size, which is a great tool to shock/scare the audience. Both characters ride a tricycle, this is initially where my inspiration came from, Billy himself, and the idea of utilising a tricycle. The tricycle in SAW is not given as much significance in SAW than it is in our film, as the title of our film hints upon the tricyle- 'The three wheels'.
Also, both characters are introduced in unusual ways, Billy is introduced as a puppet on a screen, anouncing the punishment, and usually says 'let the games begin'; however the little girl is introduced by myseriously sitting in the corner of a school corridor after hours, crying, to then reveal her ghastly face and hide. Billy does not have direct contact with the protagonist/victim, however the little girl in our production does. I did not want our character to play a indirect role, as this would not build up supense effectively enough, and not allow direct contact e.g. taking him and making him dissappear.
Both characters are also very clearly portrayed as the antagonist, as the audience has been able to correctly identify the protagonist and antagonist. Both characters look unapproachable, threatening, abstract and scary, however the victims in SAW and Ahmed in T3WH (the three wheels of horror) look fairly normal, and do not have ghost/clown like makeup, therefore making them normal, the under-dog and vulnerable to the antagonist.
A difference however, would be that Billy is a male puppet, and the little girl is a female supernatural being, they differ because Billy is controlled by Jigsaw and the little girl has her own motives and free will. Also, the tricycles used are different, as Billy (above) has a metal red/black tricycle which looks more authentic and suited to the torture dungeons in SAW, however the tricycle we used in our production is purposefully colourful and childish looking, to enhance the little girls age, and make her seem very small but very dangerous. We wanted to present her as being very young in age, this is similar to the little girl in 'Insidious', however this is the only way those two characters relate to eachother in terms of roleplay.
Billy is dressed in black, white and red, primary colours a director would opt to incorporate in costume for a Horror film, as these colours correspond with ideas of fear, danger and blood/death. Billy's costume differs to the little girl's costume, as she is dressed in purple girly pyjamas, to emphasise her age and gender, and contrast more with the strong face makeup.
Overall, both characters are quite similar in terms of appearance, however the roles that they play in their films are different, although they do successfully portray themselves as the antagonist, and look scary, threatening, and original.
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