I began the process of character development by summarising each actors role.

The central
character is an American war veteran who was killed by a child in Vietnam. He needs to be
professional, dispassionate athletic. Later when his spirit becomes vengeful and aggressive his
persona needs to change radically.
The other characters are the boy who comes under peer pressure to enter the house and his friend
who dares him to confront the evil spirit. These boy characters are fundamentally more simple to
play. They are young, adventurous if a little foolhardy.
I then looked at the characters in greater depth and held discussion with the actors about how the
roles should be played. The main character VJ is a professional soldier but he is flawed and battle
weary after months fighting a difficult enemy in Vietnam. He faces emotions of extreme fear and
aggression when confronted by the child who would eventually kill him. His spirit is easier to portray.
Hes vengeful and wants to take a young life. In the end scene however he really needs to nail the
performance. VJ lowers his weapon and I want the audience to consider if he will spare the boy in an
act of mercy brought on by conscience or if he is simply taking a breather to almost enjoy the
moment of revenge.
The two boys are good friends and constantly dare each other to share experiences. They are allies
although there is an element of rivalry between them. For one boy to dare another to enter a
haunted house with a very bad reputation is quite a serious move and I need the boy who dares to
be bold and challenging while the boy who enters the house must appear fearless but with semi
hidden reservations.
I wont be able to show this in the trailer but the soldier VJ has a son. Through the horror and
desperation of war some things have remained constant in his mind. Its what has kept him from
going insane through all the killing. At home in Vermont VJ listened to classical music. Perhaps its
the contrast between his delight in music and the savagery of battle that has caused the mental
frailty.
I need to build up the final moment when so many thoughts and emotions erupt. Which side will win
? Will he perpetuate the killing by taking another life or will his memories and conscience push
through and alter his decision making.
I am conscious that my characters conform to usual stereotypes. That is why I have made VJ a more
sensitive soul at home. He is caring and emotional at home but a hard nosed killer on the battle
field.
The boys have archetype characteristics. They are both explorers, adventurers and rebellious. I hope
the target audience will associate with these characters.

I thought long and hard about development of the main character in reverse having scripted the end
sequence first. The decision on the ending played a profound role in how I developed his role earlier
in the film. VJ began as a trained a disciplined US soldier fighting the Viet Cong in a war of ideologies.
It was West versus East fought out in the Indochina Peninsula of South East Asia.

Vietnam Forest.

The soldier was holed up in a bunker during a Viet Cong insurgency but was discovered and killed
by a boy soldier. His ashes were repatriated to the US and his brother brought them to the UK. His
spirit needs to avenge his death by killing a boy which is where the final scene in the house takes
place.
The genre I am interested in and have pursued is horror. The audience feedback to the plot was spilt
pretty much down the middle and I eventually decided I would need to develop VJs character to
reflect his ultimate change of heart about killing the boy. The emotions brought out by mental
images of his family have a profound effect in making him decide against murder.
If the film was to meet standard audience expectations of a horror film, the ending would have
been quite different and very messy !
I felt that developing an emotional twist might have a more lasting and memorable impact.