Analysis of Media Treatment

Teenagers are the main target audience as horror films usually include teenagers. This is because they are the main group who views horror films and associates with them.

For many years Dexter, a teenage boy has had a crush on Charlie during their years of school together. At the age of 16 he finally gets the courage to ask her out on a date. At his locker, he stares in gaze at the many pictures he has collected of her through the years. When he closes his locker, he is mesmerized to find that she is close by a few lockers away. After having carefully thought about it for a long time, he goes up to her to ask her out on a date. She politely rejects his offer, thus leaving him heartbroken and shattered.

These are his feelings after being rejected. It shows that even though she was not mean to him, he still feels extremely upset.

Rejection can fuel a person's anger as one can harbour deep feelings of resentment towards that person. This would provide a motive for someone to want to kill people in horror films.

By bullying a person, it can lead to many consequences for the one being bullied, but also for the bullies as this type of character is usually punished in horror films.

It also could lead to someone killing another. In real life the victim may commit suicide, however in horror films it shows how people suffer as a result of their actions.

Later from hearing what happened, her friends Sasha, Jay and Brad find it amusing that such a guy could even think of asking her out. They begin their act of taunting him and humiliating him for doing so. During the day, Dexter is unable to hide his emotions as he begins to harbour deep feelings of revenge due to being rejected. This, added with the humiliation received from her friends leads him to think she is nothing but worthless.

By storing emotions it can eventually lead to serious implications as one may not be able to control their actions due to such anger that they have.

This can be seen as a sign that something as gone wrong because he has not returned back.

A rule in horror films is that curiosity kills. Therefore from wondering where her friend has gone we are aware that she will be met with a tragic fate.

During a period of revision between the friends after school, Jay leaves to go to the toilet, however after a period of time it goes noticed that he has not returned back. Curious as to where her friend has gone, Sasha goes to look for him. As it is after school and lessons have ended, she is surrounded by the isolated corridors and eerie atmosphere that is around her.

This is a typical convention that is seen in horror films. It conveys that she is trapped that danger is approaching. This is evident from the atmosphere and her location.

The shot reverse shot is typically used to represent fear as the victim is unaware of what is around her and is scared of what she can't see but can hear.

This suggests that she is being watched and followed. It is typically very frightful that this happens as it conveys fear of the unknown as she does not know who called her name.

She hears someone call out her name, and this makes her panic and in fear. She looks back but no one is there. She looks to the front and Charlie appears, causing her to take a fright. Sasha explains that she heard someone call her name, though Charlie says that it was probably just her imagination. Sasha asks Charlie if she has seen Jay and she confirms that she just saw him a few minutes ago. Charlie says she will leave to go home.

The repetition of someone calling her name is enough to convey the element of danger and fear. It can be seen as a sign of warning, but also the sign that something is coming to get her and in this case it is the villain calling her to her death.

As Sasha returns to go back to the study class, she hears her name again causing her to become extremely scared. She turns around the corner and a figure dressed in black appears. A chaotic chase then ensues as Sasha is confused and in fright and runs to a dead end.

Villains in horror films are normally dressed in black as black is representative of evil, danger as darkness.

This is the period of disequilibrium as being chased and meeting dead ends are typical conventions used to portray the horror, and to show that a character has met the end of their life and is faced with death.

This scene is warning Brad of the danger. He has the chance to escape however does not understand what has happened. His confusion and failure to act quick leads him to his death.

Jay's shouts further portray disorder as he is trapped and cannot get out. Also he is helpless in assisting his friends out of danger as he is aware of what has happened.

Back at the study room Brad is wondering where everyone has gone. He leaves the study room to find his friends. He stops off at the bathroom but then is alarmed to hear Jay shouting at him to leave. He tries to open the door but it is locked. Jay frantically is shouting for him to go though Brad does not understand why he is in so much fear.

As Jay is locked inside, this conveys that he will be unable to escape. It can also be seen as a barrier in stopping him from revealing what he knows as he is only concerned for the safety of his friends and wants them to get out. Therefore he does not get the chance to say what he knows.

Knives are a paradigm used in horror films as this the the most common weapon that people associate with when watching horror films.

We have made our villain dressed in black so that is represents evil and a sinister intent for his victims.

The next minute a knife is pierced through the back of Brad and he lets out a small gasp. He is badly injured but still alive. He turns around to see a figure dressed in black. Frightened as to what to do he painfully makes a run for it though only manages to walk. The villain is watching him and lets him walk. When Brad no longer has the energy to carry on walking, he stops and falls to his knees. He is helpless and cannot go any further. The villain walks slowly towards him and finishes the job by killing him.

Many times during horror films, the victims that are on the point of death arrive to the situation of no escape. They can feel helpless and with no hope. Therefore this shows that Brad has nowhere to turn and cannot escape alive.

Although Jay has escaped, he is still trapped within the area. This conveys that even though victims may think they are free, in reality they still cannot escape and their chances of survival are slim.

Elsewhere, we find that Jay who was locked in the bathroom has managed to escape through the window, however is trapped in the school grounds. He phones Charlie to let her know that something has happened. He reveals to her that he was locked in the bathroom and there written in blood on the mirror, together many pictures of Charlie, were the words You destroyed my heart, so now I will destroy yours and everything that comes with it. He warns Charlie to get far away as possible however Charlie cannot believe what has happened and insists that she is coming to back to the school.

The message in blood that is written on the mirror can be seen as a warning sign from the villain to his victims. Jay, was the one who first saw it but was unable to warn his friends. This can be seen as a turning point in the horror film as things are being revealed and the characters are being made aware of the intent from the villain and why.

As he has a mobile phone he has the opportunity to call the police or anyone for help. However when trying to get help, the victims usually come stuck at a dead end.

In this case, Jay's battery dies out before he is able to make the call, thus showing that victims are isolated from everyone else are are unable to be helped by anyone, including the police.

Jay is furious that Charlie is coming back so he tries to phone the police to alert them, however as he is just about to ring his battery goes out. Jay with nowhere to go, enters back into the school to try and find Sasha whom he believes is still alive. As he walks to the corridor, he is in shock to find Sasha hanging by a rope, covered and dripping in blood. He throws up and feels so weak from seeing this image that he falls to his knees.

Rope is another paradigm used in horror films as it signifies death by hanging. It is a horrible way to die and this is normally seen in horror films as it presents a slow and painful death. Together with the blood, it is an extremely graphic scenario that horror films usually have.

We have continued the colour scheme and kept the villain in black as this is what is normally shown when the villain appears. In this scene, only his shoes are shown at the start however as he is wearing black, it signifies evil and that Jay is now at the mercy of the villain.

From his point of view from crouching down, a figure in black shoes walks around the corner. Jay looks up and says I dont believe. A knife is then seen being brandished with blood. The villain lunges it into the heart of Jay, and continues to do this with Jay screaming until he can no longer scream.

This is quite a graphic scene, and is also representative of disorder as something like this should not occur but is. These type of scenes presents gruesome horror as it involves the use of a knife and blood which is a typical feature used to show chaos and deaths taking place.

The knife has blood on it, which conveys that it has been used previously and therefore single handedly is the murder weapon. The depiction of it at this stage conveys horror and a tense atmosphere as the audience is fully aware that the use of it signifies death.

This can be nearing the end of the period of disequilibrium as Charlie is the last person standing and her life is in the villain's hands as she cannot call for help and is all alone.

Charlie enters back into the school but as she does she receives a text. It says Your friends are waiting for you, come to the ground floor of the design and technology room and dont call the police or your friends will pay.

As the sheet used is white, it could be seen as a sign of hope for Charlie who is the last person standing. However there is the juxtaposition of the hope as the sheet is concealing a bloody revelation to Charlie that her friends are dead.

This is towards the end of the climax and it conveys a tense atmosphere as Charlie is about to find out what has become of her friends.

Charlie arrives and is terrified to be there. She calls out but no one answers her. As she walks further into the room, she sees a large white sheet covering something so she tensely goes to see what is there. To her horror, there lies the three bodies of her friends, covered from head to toe in blood. She is about to throw up when the door is heard being closed. She turns around and there is the villain in black.

Typical conventions are used in this scene, such as the blood from her friends which convey that they have been killed. Also the villain is still in black showing and she is alone, showing that this will be the last fight to occur and is the decider of who will survive.

She shouts and curses him to what he has done to her friends. The villain says it was her fault and that she caused them their deaths. Charlie is in tears and falls to her knees. The villain walks towards her right to her face. He says to her All it took was a simple yes The villain takes off his mask, and is revealed as Dexter, the boy whom she had refused to go out with.

This shows that Charlie's previous choice to refuse to go out with Dexter, has led to him spiralling out of control to the point that he took revenge on her friends. As her friends made him feel humiliated, it further made him want to take revenge

Dexter reveals that it was her and her friends fault that made him commit such horrific actions. This shows that he harboured the feelings of humiliation and rejection and turned them into feelings of revenge and evil intent. It portrays that rejection and bullying can ultimately have severe consequences for those who partake in unruly actions.

As she is backed into the orner, it symbolizes that it is the end and that she can't escape or run anywhere.

Dexter argues about how he felt humiliated when she said no to him, and he was ridiculed by her friends. She reveals that she didnt know they were so horrible to him, but Dexter refuses to believe her. A fight then ensues between the pair, at which point Charlie is slashed in her leg by his knife. She is backed into the corner. Dexter is about to finish her off when she feels a hammer behind her. Just as he is about to kill her, she grabs the hammer and lunges it at his head causing him to be knocked out with blood spilling out.

The hammer is another use of weapon seen in horror films. A hammer can be used for DIY tasks, however normally it is used to kill someone in horror films as such items are turned into weapons by the villain and also the victims as is the case as Charlie uses it to defend herself.

This represents the new equilibrium. Charlie has moved to a new location thus leaving the past behind her. However although she has done this, it was the result of the loss of her friends. This is because the new equilibrium aims to restore normality, but at a price in which it can never be the same as the original equilibrium and in this case it is through the deaths of her friends.

The film ends with a fast forward in time to a year later. Charlie has moved to a new city with her family. She has started a new school and has made new friends. As she walks to the car of her boyfriend, a boy standing by the school building is seen watching her. A friend of his comes and greets him by the name of Daniel. Daniel shows his friend a picture. His friend asks him if she is his girlfriend. He replies that she isnt, but he has known her since they were little and would like to catch up with her. The film ends with Daniel smiling with an evil intent.

This represents that the evil is not over as Daniel would most likely be the cause of any future deaths. It also shows that Charlie in being the final girl, is never truly safe from harm as it seems that someone related to Derrick wants to avenge his death. Therefore it shows in a sense that the villain never dies as the evil intent from the original villain is carried over in the presence of a new villain thus showing the victim is never safe of free from harm.

Daniel is similar to Derrick as they both begin with the letter D. It could be seen that he is related to Derrick in either his brother, cousin or friend. Therefore this would enable a sequel to be produced as it would mean Daniel would fight for justice for the loss of Derrick.