Story: The year is 1935 and an immigrant ship from eastern Europe docks in New York City. An unnamed old woman, possessed by a demon that was drawn to the human world by the bloodshed of the first World War, exits the boat and reacts in a psychotic, violent manner, when a shipmate attempts to help her with her luggage. She collapses and is taken to an intensive care unit in a psych ward where Marian, a young nurse, cares for her as her as she grows weaker. Eventually, the possession takes its toll and the old woman suffers a fatal heart attack. Marian, being in the room at the time, becomes the demon's next victim and is possessed herself. James, an exorcist-in-training who was orphaned as a child and adopted by a priest, Father Alfred, is infatuated with Marian and begins to notice strange changes in her normally sweet, bubbly personality. She becomes isolated, hostile, and no longer shows up at church. After some research, James concludes that Marian is being influenced by a demon and takes it upon himself, with the help of Father Alfred, to save her.
Style: The film is shot in a German expressionist style, which is known to be used in films which deal with madness, insanity, and distorted realities. The film will be in black and white to keep with what was popular with the public.
Message: There is an underlying issue of anti-immigration sentiment since the demon arrives on an immigrant ship. Since immigration was viewed negatively by many Americans during the Depression era, this would not be a problem. There is also a positive message on the topic of religion, particularly Christianity since Father Alfred is portrayed as an altruistic character, and it is ultimately his expertise and James's faith in God that saves Marian.
Genre: The genre of the film is horror, which works well for this time period since many of Universal's most well known monster movies, such as Dracula, were being made at the time. The main actors and actresses have all performed together in past Universal horror movies, so they are accustomed to the genre.
Studio: Universal studios works best to produce this movie due to that they are known for their monster movies and also are a smaller studio, thus having more artistic freedom to make whatever movies they want.
Scale: The movie will have to be smaller in regards to budget because Universal does not have the funds that bigger studios, such as MGM, possess. The film will be exclusively an American release due to the limited budget and the subtle anti-immigrant tones that could possibly deter foreigners from wanted to see the movie.
Cast and Crew: The leading actor, David Joseph Manners, was discovered by the movie's director, James Whale, who was the director of Universal's many classic horror films (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein), and became a popular leading man. He filmed his most famous role as Johnathon Harker opposite Bella Lugosi, who will play Father Alfred. Una O'connor, who will be playing the old immigrant woman, has also performed with Manners and Lugosi. Our leading lady, Helen Vinson, was extremely popular during the pre-code era for her romantic characters and this film will help her transition into the industry under the code.
Cinematography: Alfred Edeson, who is known for his realist and expressionist style, will be in charge of cinematography. He has a strong link with Universal and James Whale and filmed Frankenstein.
Hays Code: The movie will be affected by the code because we cannot portray any hint of corruption in Father Alfred and the old immigrant woman's death will not be graphic and may not even be shown. Also, the moments during Marian's possession where she becomes hostile or violent will have to be toned down significantly so that the movie can be shown without scaring viewers too much.
Different Choices: If I had been working alone, I would have chosen a different lead actress, preferably Helen Chandler, who had previously worked with David Manners and Bella Lugosi and was more accustomed to the horror genre, having played Mina Harker in Dracula.
Gianna Spiega
March 5, 2014
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