Film Synopsis:
Ten years ago Akira’s older sister committed suicide after years of claiming to be the victim of night-time attacks by an unseen entity. No one, not even Akira, believed the wild claims that her sister made, at least not until the Akuma started coming after her. Now Akira’s nights are an unending terror as an unspeakable evil seeks to take her for his own. How will Akira be able to convince her family to help her before it is too late, when her older sister never could?
The pre-sales poster was originally a skipped-frame "Paranormal Activity" type DVS video presentation with static, and some minor implications of the supernatural. The colour palate was a combination of greens and flecks of red, and while it spoke to both the supernatural elements, and the camera used, it didn't stand out agains the marketing landscape for similar films.
Original creative supplied by Hidden Empire Films
I took the opportunity to reposition the found-footage project outside of the standardized branding that has been done to death.
The concept of the Akuma haunting the family, and the ties to Japanese folklore was being lost so I brought that to the forefront.
Since the family is American, having something too focused on Oni folklore or something a bit more abstract would be lost on audiences, and not speak to the dichotomy of strength and youthful vulnerability in the protagonist.
The solution was to rely on the instantly identifiable facet of Japanese culture of Origami.
I spent 3 weeks going over instructional videos and diagrams, looking for the perfect fold sequence to be able to achieve a dominating and unsettling demonic tone. I tried 8 different paper types, and several patterns, eventually settling on the one used.
Since the family is American, having something too focused on Oni folklore or something a bit more abstract would be lost on audiences, and not speak to the dichotomy of strength and youthful vulnerability in the protagonist.
The solution was to rely on the instantly identifiable facet of Japanese culture of Origami.
I spent 3 weeks going over instructional videos and diagrams, looking for the perfect fold sequence to be able to achieve a dominating and unsettling demonic tone. I tried 8 different paper types, and several patterns, eventually settling on the one used.
The poster all but does away with the "found footage" angle, instead leveraging the cultural roots and subtle implications of a supernatural childhood tormentor which is more in line with the film's narrative and core audience attraction. Everyone has seen the "found footage" horror film genre; not everyone has been tormented by a familial demon that crosses international boundaries to exact its revenge and pain upon a young woman.
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