[Jake Iorio]

JAKE’S HORROR PLOT

What I learned from this is the structure of a horror film. What needs to happen in order for a horror film to work.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere
of Evil established:
Jack wakes up to find his parents home early from a trip. He is concerned
and his mom and dad sit him down to let them know they have brought home
the body of a man they have killed and need him to help them bury it.

Connect
with the characters:
The family of three sit amongst one another, holding each other, trying to
make sense of this situation. We can see fear in the eyes of the parents
over what they have just done.

The
characters are warned not to do it: After burying the body, the father (Jim) says
that “what happens here stay here.” And warns his son Jack and his wife
Beth to keep this secret and to move on.

Denial
of Horror:
The three of them head to the movies for a Sunday matinee. Pretending that
everything is fine. Jack continues going onto being a bullied kid in school.

Safety
taken away: At
school one day, Jack notices a figure standing off in the distance looking
straight at him. It is suspicious.

Monster
– the nature of the beast:
When Jack goes to the shallow grave in the backyard that is now covered
with rose bushes, the ghost of this man begins to crawl out of the ground
trying to drag Jack under with him. He escapes but realizes it wasn’t real.
He can’t distinguish it from reality.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated
/ Trapped / Abducted:
Jack can see this ghost wherever he goes. Nobody else can. He thinks he’s
still seeing things and hopes it will all go away.
One
of us killed:
His dog is killed by the ghost

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought! He can kill people even though he can’t be seen. It’s real.

Full
pursuit by the killer:
Jack while at the mall is chased by the monster. He runs hysterically but
comes off as a crazy person, embarrassing his mother.
Terrorized: Jack, wanting to uncover the
grave of the murdered man, is subdued by his parents, and chained to his
bed.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Fight
to the death:
Jack kills his mother as she tries to molest him while she is drunk one
night. He stabs her repeatedly with the monster watching from the backyard
below.

Hysteria: Jim comes home and discovers
Beth’s corpse in a blood-spattered room. He goes to his tool shed to grab
a rifle to hunt down Jack.

The
thrilling escape from death: Jack
locks himself in a bathroom as Jim blows through the door with a shotgun.
Jack takes a pistol he stole from his dad’s tool shed and shoots him.

Death
returns to take one or more:
Mortally wounded, Jim fights Jack as he tries to flee the house. He begins
to choke him to death, but the dead man comes and strangles Jim to death,
saving Jack.

Resolution: Jack leaves the house as Mr.
Foster, his English teacher, is driving by seeing him bloody and looking
like hell. He begins to cry in his teacher’s arms.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Jake Iorio.

[Jake Iorio]

Jake Iorio’s Characters for Horror

Film Title : 66 Sycamore

What I learned from this assignment is the specific characterization that goes into writing a great horror story. There needs to be a specific kind of group and a specific dying pattern so it can be terrifying. Their identities are also important because it is what gives the audience a way to relate to the character.

1. Tell us your Concept and the Group you have chosen.

Social Group (Family).

My concept is a twelve year old boy, Jack, who wakes up one morning to discover his parents have murdered someone and he helps them bury the body in their backyard. It plays into the dynamics of the family as Jack begins to see the ghost of his dead man.

2. Tell us the Dying Pattern of this movie

Dying Pattern B: The characters experience the terror and survive together, but one or two die. However it will be the parents that will die because Jack will have no choice to kill them if he wants to survive.

3. Give us an Identity and a sentence for each character that makes up your group.

INNOCENT: Jack is an innocent child going into adolescence and being thrust into this terrorizing situation is in a way a loss of innocence.

THE CARRIER: The parents, Mom and Dad, themselves because they bring the horror into the house.

RESCUER: Mr. Foster, Jack’s English teacher. He becomes a sort of replacement parent figure in Jack’s life since his parents are unable to be there for him. He is also someone who is looking to help Jack because his instincts tell him that he is in a dangerous situation at home.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Jake Iorio.

[Jake Iorio]

JAKE’S TERRIFYING MONSTER

What I learned is that the monster must be shrouded in mystery. You want to keep the audience guessing on who this monster is and to make it relentless and terrifying. But don’t give too much away because there might be a sequel.

Also to give the monster a fear-provoking appearance. It’s what makes them unique and ultimately what people will think of when they watch your horror film.

1. Tell us what or who your monster is. It’s the walking corpse/ghost of a man who has been murdered and buried in a family’s backyard. He is out for revenge.

2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:

Their
Terror: This
monster/ghost terrorizes by stalking and following his victim. He pursues the child of the couple that had killed him and buried him in a shallow grave. He can only be seen by the young boy and nobody else.

Their
Mystery: We never get a full glimpse of his face and he never talks. We don’t know what exactly he wants. We just know he is scary and coming after you. He is also
not seen by most, so can he really cause harm, or is this just the character
going insane?

Their
Fear Provoking Appearance:
Grotesque, rotting hands, bugs, and maggots crawling out of decomposed
holes in his body

Their
Rules: This
ghost/monster doesn’t stop coming for you. He is there to make you remember and he wants to make sure of it. He chases you and clearly wants to cause you harm, but we wonder if he is capable of killing if he’s not real. Is he real? What does he want?

Their
Mythology:
All we know is that he is the ghost of a man who was murdered by a young
boy’s parents and was buried in a shallow grave never to be seen or heard
from again. He is risen to make sure this young boy knows he is back from
the dead.

[Jake Iorio]

What i learned from this assignment is the basic concepts and conventions of what makes a good horror film. Also learning that creating a story is like a puzzle and that you don’t have to figure it all out right away. It can change as you begin to discover what the world you are creating is like.

2. Watch the movie and as you do, note its conventions.

Title
/ Concept: IT / The shapeshifting clown
Pennywise reappears in the town of Derry, Maine every 27 years to feast on
children.

Terrorize
The Characters: Pennywise shapeshifts into
what children fear most in their lives and does this to the Losers Club, a
group of adolescent social outcasts in Derry.
Isolation:
The seven kids are isolated, all by themselves when they encounter the
clown. Usually, they are in their own home when they encounter this shapeshifting
clown where they are either being abused, smothered, or emotionally
neglected by their caregivers. He shapeshifts into what they are most
afraid of but ultimately reveals himself to be Pennywise the Dancing
Clown.

Death:
Georgie dies in the opening scene, a boy gets eaten in the sewer by
Pennywise, Henry Bowers slits his dad’s throat while he sleeps…lots of stuff
happens.

Monster/Villain:
Pennywise, a shapeshifting clown who terrorizes the community of Derry, but
also feeds off the evil that resides within the community itself. Racism,
homophobia, abusive parents, emotionally distant parents
High
Tension: When each character finds themselves alone, Pennywise
appears in one of his many forms only to reveal himself suddenly as the
creepy clown that he is.

Departure
from Reality: These kids are the only ones
who can see this shapeshifting clown. For instance, Beverly gets drenched
in blood while in her bathroom. Her Dad doesn’t see any of it. Only when
she invites the other kids over to her house are they able to see what she
sees. A bloody bathroom. “I thought I might’ve been crazy,” she says. One
of the boys replies, “Well if you’re crazy then the rest of us are crazy.”

Moral
Statement: The trauma’s we experience
during childhood can be a nightmare, even if it doesn’t come in the form
of a killer clown. Having a painful childhood is scary but can also be
overcome by sharing comradery with others to make you realize you are not
alone.

3. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film?

I felt this movie really made the point of its moral statement. The adults in the kids lives, such as Beverly’s dad, are just as scary as the clown itself.

4. With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story.

Concept: A 12 year old boy
wakes up one morning to discover his parents have murdered a man and he
must help them bury the body in their backyard.

Terrorize The Characters: The ghost
of the murdered man begins to stalk and terrorize the 12 year old boy. He
is the only one that can see it. His own parents can’t see it and they
begin to worry that their son will blow their cover.

Isolation: The boy is alone in
this. He is the only one who can see and be haunted by the entity. He is
then kept hostage in his house by his parents when he threatens to turn
them both in believing once he does the ghost will go away.

Death: A dead body is buried in
a young boys backyard. It goes after him.

Monster/Villain: The ghost of
the man his parents have murdered. It looks like a zombie almost.

High Tension: The appearance of
this ghost wherever our protagonist goes. At school, the mall, at home.

Departure from Reality: This is
something only the young boy can see. He is all alone in this and must find
a way to escape the clutches of this monster.

Moral Statement: Keeping family
secrets never stay buried. Intended to protect the family image, it does
more harm then good.