Ideas for films to study

Types of Children in horror

The Innocent/Victim

 The innocent is either a child that is the text's antagonist/another source of conflict, usually AGAINST their own will or unknowingly to themselves (e.g. posession as with 'The Exorcist') or a child that is PURSUED BY the antagonist; victimising them.

The 'Devil Child'
One the most popular and controversial type of character in horror. It's considered tabboo by some- the genre has even been dubbed with the title of 'Devil Spawn movie', argueably dating back to the original 'Omen' films; the character of Damien Thorn was the Devil's son. They're the source of conflict- appearing to be innocent.

The Flipside

The Innocent might sometimes be juxtaposed to another character that serves as their alternative/parallel to themeselves (Alessa Gillespie from the film 'Silent Hill' for example, where two essentailly identical characters represent innocence and corruption respectively).

The Hero/Heroine

Quite uncommon; a child is the protagonist of the text (as with the film 'Child's Play') and is the one to contibute towards defeating/deafeats the antagonist/overcomes the conflict themselves.

Similar to the Innocent.

All of the above listed characteristics are not factual, they are my own rough interpretation of types of children in horror with both older and contemporary examples to support my point. The list is based purely on some of the films I have seen that belong to this genre and how I felt they were presented.

Initial Ideas...

I initially began knowing that I should play to my strengths in regards to the theme of the coursework focus, so from this point I knew I should look at the horror genre. I had 4 ideas in regards to what the focus of my coursework should be:

1. Representation of 'women as victims' in the horror genre
2. Representations of children and the 'types of characters they portray' within the the horror genre
3. Representations of men in the horror genre and the study of 'geek VS alpha male'
4. How horror has evolved since the birth of the genre

The idea I decided to run with was 'Representations of children and the 'types of characters they portray' ' within the the horror genre'. I chose this topic because there are plenty of case studies already out there that I could use as reference points of what to look for in these films. Also, it is often considered a controversial subject matter for film makers, so there should be plenty of both postive and negative points surrounding the genre, giving me a well-balanced topic.

Here are some of the website links I found that could help me with my case study:

1. http://lowerthanbones.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/focus-on-childrens-representation-in-horror-films/

This blog talks about how children might often be stereotypically cast within the horror genre, and if it is a good thing or a bad thing based on audience feedback.

    2.   http://www.horror-movies.ca/2011/09/top-ten-horror-movies-featuring-freaky-children/

This blog is more opinion based as it is somebody's interpretation of 'the top ten movies featuring freaky children'. This could shed some light on some of the films I can consider studying.