This film is a short-to-feature project. The scene that plays out in our short is an adaptation of a scene which will take place in the feature: Margaret has been trapped in a barren room, and her captor, Catherine, looks to transform her and trap her soul inside of a doll. It’s the perfect scene to encapsulate the overall storytelling, look, feel, and thematic discussions of the feature. It acts as a microcosmic version of the feature’s larger story; Margaret is trapped in Catherine’s snare, and needs to escape from her supernatural abilities.

 

Our short takes place in a total of three rooms: The Bedroom, Catherine's Sewing Room, and Room of Dolls. All of our sets will be richly decorated with ornate detail befitting the Victorian era, and lit with harsh, chiaroscuro lighting for a haunting, gothic aesthetic. It will be shot in anamorphic, with wide lenses to emphasize how alone Margaret really is within the space. Sound and music will be threaded into the short, subtly at first, with more emphasis on creating an atmosphere of fear and tension the more Margaret loses her mind in the room. As she starts to lose autonomy, and the room starts to reflect her new reality, the music will reflect Margaret’s state of mind through that process.

 

The world of Poppet is of a grim, gothic reality hiding under our very noses; one built upon the themes of family, childhood innocence, and motherhood. It tells an emotionally gripping tale that leans on the psychological aspects of horror to help fuel the suspense. Will she discover the mysteries of the dolls in time in order to escape?