'Please could you direct me to the canine rescue centre?'


Scenario - The Horizon Dogs
I feel the text is suitable for the medium of film for several reasons. Clearly the picture included in the text of the mutated corpse of a dog like thing immediately suggested to me a kind of otherness which would be instantly recognisable in the Horror genre. It is described in the text as being like 'no animal anyone had seen before...' It is also described by one eye witness as a 'monster'. The horror genre has had an enduring appeal to audiences almost since cinema began. More specifically young audiences are traditionally associated with this genre so I would target this movie for them.

In addition the fact that we have the image of the abject and a newspaper story also suggests a film treatment as many newspaper stories etc are successfully transferred to the big screen. Furthermore the fact that the abject was discovered on an american beach causing panic, is also suggestive to me given the resurgence in the Horror genre recently in response to 9/11.
There are a number of film products which have successfully explored anxieties about terrorism and which have been popular with the demographic I've indicated above. Examples of this are Cloverfield, I am Legend, Children of Men, Diary of the Dead, The Host and The Mist. I feel my intended demographic would be familiar with these films and the genre and that i could make a successful film from this scenario on a conservative budget.

In terms of my production the primary concern would be the abject itself. Modelling and CGI would be vital in creating a believable and terrifying otherness like the darkseekers of I am Legend or the Clover monster from Cloverfield. This would be the important task of my design/fx team who I would work closely with. Audiences expect a convincing standard of illusion and they find great pleasure from the terror of the abject.

In a sense the abject would be the star of my film but because I am targeting a young demographic I should be mindful of a young verisimilar cast. I would work closely with my Casting director to find a young rising star who would not outshine the otherness but would provide a link into the film for the audience. For example Robert Pattinson (Twilight) and Alison Lohman (Drag Me To Hell) both young actors who are familiar with the horror genre and whose fee will not absorb the money need for CGI.

Although I would contract a crew to film establishing shots of the Montauk area and the beaches where the Horizon Dogs are washed ashore (echoes of Godzilla for the audience), I would film on a soundstage using green screen technology. This would enable me to work closely with my special fx team and actors in creating the terror which the Horizon dogs bring to america. The soundstage allows control over sound and lighting and all other aspects of mise en scene so is very practical.

This film with its weird abjects washed ashore on a popular beach has echoes of Jaws but musically I feel the score would be different. I would be looking to work with my Musical director on a post -rock soundtrack which reflects the fear and anxiety of the monsters and heightens the pleasures of the audience. I would be looking for something stylistically similar to Stars of The Lid and Autechre.

The opening of the film would be crucial in setting the tone for the audience and raising their expectations for fear and anxiety which they would find pleasurable. Staying within the genre markers of the Horror genre I would open the film at sunset thus suggesting the power of oncoming darkness. I would start with a low angle wide of the emptying beach. I want a low angle along with edgy music to anchor for the audience a sense of unease.

Although it is a pleasant beach it is somewhat disturbing. I would heighten this feeling with foley of the Horizon dogs emerging slime like from the sea, crawling into the shot making ghastly noises. I would then film the abjects in a tracking close up at the same low angle with low key lighting so that the audience are aware of their shapes and noises but are not allowed at this point to see them in detail thus creating pleasurable enigmas for them.

I would then cut to a side on profile shot of the otherness again at a low angle and retaining the beastly noises. The thing would stop and turn violently on the camera which would then cut to black. Hopefully this would frighten the audience who themselves through this shot are the ones under attack and this is something along with the shadowy lighting and foley noises which would anchor pleasurable fear for the audience!