Character Outline for Thriller

Character analysis

Villain:

The victim for my thriller is going to be a young teenage boy aged 18 named Josh. I have chosen this description because the innocence of a teenage boy will connote naivety and will create sympathy and empathy towards the character from the audience. However, his age will imply that he is able to think for himself and has a strong emotional personality. Although, this age will also connote that the character is easily influenced. My character’s costume will include baggy jumpers; band t-shirts; big woollen hats; backwards caps and converse. I have chosen this costume because I wanted to create an old-school alternative look for the character, which will connote he is not a cliché and has quite a strong personality and therefore is able to look after himself. My influence for this character came from Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’, an alternative thriller about a skateboarder who is involved in the accidental death of a security guard. However, the main character from this film is the killer; he is seen to be a victim due to the death being accidental. This film has greatly influenced my character as the director has chosen all the same conventions as I wish to portray in my film. The characters in both films share the same interests and influences. Josh, of my thriller, is a huge music fan who listens to alternative artists such as ‘Elliott Smith’ and ‘The Get Up Kids’. This adds to the emotional build up of my character and shows he is strong through his music taste. Furthermore, it connotes that his emotions may get the better of him after the tragedy that occurs. The music he listens to may connote that he has been through bad experiences in the past, which implies he is a strong character.

My character will mainly have an indirect mode of address, this is due to the fact that I do not want him making eye contact with the camera because he is supposed to feel alone and his character would not associate with anyone else in the real world. However, I may include some direct mode of address moments where the character is narrating previous events, using an over-voice.

Furthermore, this character is going to have the mental disability of skitzofrenia, which will add to his motive for killings. Also, this will add to the mysterious build up of the character and will emphasise the thrill of the film.


Villain 2:

The real villain of my thriller is going to be the “other half” of Josh, who convinces him to take part in unruly and bad events. His control over Josh shows the audience he is the real villain and Josh is the victim of him and not a true villain. An example of this concept is in film ‘Murder by Numbers’, whereby two teenage boys take part in the murder of a random victim. However, one boy does not kill the woman, he convinces the other boy to do it – thus making him the real villain. This villain is Josh’s multiple personality or skitzofrenia taking control of him. Therefore, the audience feel as though it is no fault of Josh’s, but it is his disorder.

Victim:

The victim for my thriller is a young girl aged 20 – this is due to the concept that women are more vulnerable than men and are more likely to be a victim in this situation. Furthermore, the promiscuous characteristic of the victim creates a motive for the killers and a negative point of view for the audience. The young woman’s career path led to a life of prostitution due to her abusive parents, forcing her to flee from home and live a life on the streets. However, she still holds on to the concept of her parents still loving her and carries their photo everywhere she goes.

By Harriet Bliss