Dark Twists and Fairytales

Dark films and fairytales seem to be on the two far ends of the spectrum in practically every way. Fairytales are seen as innocent and for children; dark films are the opposite of that-- obviously not for the fragile soul.

So when I see two opposites mesh together into one product, I become elated.

 One of my favorite short films, East of Kensington, throws this iconic character everyone knows and loves, Peter Pan, into a dark and twisted story, shattering the innocence and childish fun of the tale. The lighting in this film and overall art direction is well done in capturing the tone of the story. I want to play around with the light for my film, like how this film did.

Now my film is not an adaptation, but I am incorporating Alice in Wonderland into my story to create the unnerving juxtaposition of innocence and darkness; the clashing of the two. The narrative I have created for my film so far is about a girl who is insane mentally. She has this notion in her head that she is the rightful queen of this fictional world and she must return to make things the way they should be, to save her people. In reality this fantasy in her mind has manifested from a traumatic event that occurred to her, in which she was sexually assaulted while the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland was playing in the background.

This story is definitely dark and twisted, and I am so happy I finally came up with a concept I am excited about.

It's going to be a creative challenge to hint to the fairytale in different ways and I can't wait to get started and begin storyboarding the opening.