Our main character is portrayed by a fellow pupil from our sixth form (Matthew Foster - an A-level drama student). He portrays Dr.Damien as dark, intense and shady; we particularly wanted to represent these three aspects, as they were important when portraying the stereotypical killer in a film.

(I have decided to compare the character of Mr. Brooks with our main character Dr.Damien.)

When researching the character of Mr. Brooks, I found both similarities and differences between the two characters. For example:Similarities = Mr Brooks as well as Dr. Damien are presented as middle/upper class. This is due to the fact that both have wealthy jobs. For instance Brooks is a well-off businessman and Damien and well-off doctor. This shows that it is typical for a killer within a psycho-thriller to be seen as average on the outside. Both Brooks and Damien are placed in similar costumes. This is seen through the usage of suits. I believe that by placing the pair in suits, you can tell that the men are rigid and in power (in this case power of taking a life). Similarlybothcharactershave a secret life where they live a life of a dangerous serial murderer. This links the plot/ storyline to both films, as both are about the journey of two individuals going on a killing spree! Another factor that can be found similar between the two characters, is the fact that both characters try to cope with their issue of killing. For instance Mr. Brooks attends addict meetings (in an attempt to prevent anymore pleasure from murder) and our doctor soon goes on medication to deal with the Schizophrenia after which herealizeshismistakes. And he also plans to commit suicide and although he doesn'tfulfilhis plan, his signs of clear regret were present. Mr. Brooks like Dr. Damien also suffers from Schizophrenia, in his case he turns into an imaginaryalter-egonamed Marshall when he decides to kill victims. Brooks also tends to kill the young, similarly to Damien. This may be down to the fact that it is stereotypical for victims within thrillers to be of a young/ innocent age group (as their purity reaches the audiences anger towards the killers more). Like Dr. Damien, Mr.Brooks is also wrapped up in a corrupt police investigation dealing with his murders. This usage of police work adds to the theme of murder. The fact that both characters have similar names also adds to the link between characters, as they both have a title of two letters (Mr and Dr). This is crucial, as it represents their authority and power (in which they use to kill). Also, their names are short and have a devilish ring to them (Damien being another name for the devil). Differences =

They however, are different in the fact that Mr. Brooks iswell-knownto the public as theTriumphantKiller, whereas our character is only known to the police. This therefore shows that Mr.Brooks is a better/ more skilled murderer than Damien, which means his story has been going on for a while (unlike Damien's who has just begun killing). Unlike Damien, Brooks is a lot older (with a wife and family).This is crucial, as the daughter of Brooks' pregnancy takes a main role in stopping his serial of murders. It is also different in the fact that Mr.Brooks' daughter killed someone (proving it to run through the family). Leading him to fear her, as he believes that she will someday murder him. So unlike Damien, Brooksreceivesinternal threats. Unlike Damien, Brooks is blackmailed by a man named Mister Smith (another psychopath who wants to assist in the murders), this splits the two characters as we wanted to portray Damien as a beginner in killing (rather than someone skilled enough to train another murderer). Although he wanted to commit suicide he ends up deciding not to as he wants to meet his grandchild and live a normal life. So unlike Damien, Brooks has something worth living for and is perhaps not as religious as Damien (as he doesn't believe that God will meet him on the other side). The fact that he remains undetected by police, as Smith's DNA covered up for him also differentiates from Damien (as his serial of murders soon lead to policediscovery). Unlike Brooks, we displayed Damien as unskilled and new at the game of killing. For example unlike Brooks he did not own his own cemetery.