Who would be the audience for your media product?

Other thriller movies that would attract our target audeince:

(Our target audience: 16-24)

We felt the target audience for our movie would be someone between the ages of 16 and 24. Due to the references in the film, the main character attending college and the age of the cast. All of these things would appeal to someone in that particular age range. Many films are specifically aimed at younger audiences. I have chosen to look at 2 thrillers that are aimed at the same age range and explain how I know these movies are aimed at them.


1. Donnie Darko- Donnie Darko is a sci-fi thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie is based around a troubled teenager who does not fit in and is interested science, particularly the thesis of time travel. He begins to have visions of Frank (a man in a bunny suit) and is informed that he must save the world in 28 days.



Plot summary: "Donnie Darko doesn't get along too well with his family, his teachers and his classmates; but he does manage to find a sympathetic friend in Gretchen, who agrees to date him. He has a compassionate psychiatrist, who discovers hypnosis is the means to unlock hidden secrets. His other companion may not be a true ally. Donnie has a friend named Frank - a large bunny which only Donnie can see. When an engine falls off a plane and destroys his bedroom, Donnie is not there. Both the event, and Donnie's escape, seem to have been caused by supernatural events. Donnie's mental illness, if such it is, may never allow him to find out for sure."




The audience for Donnie Darko is clearly for people between the ages of 16-24. The storyline is based on a troubled teenager going through all the problems other teenagers face as well as suffering from a mental illness. The story is also loosely based on trying to find acceptance and love. All the things people from this age range worry about the most. The star of the film is a young male that females in this age range may find attractive and the males may look up to him. Donnie Darko does also appeal to older audiences in some ways, such as having Patrick Swazye (an admired middle aged actor at the time) and the academic references in the movie (the thesis of time travel). But the main target audience is for people between the ages of 16-24.




2. Sorority Row- Sorority Row is a horror/ slasher thriller that was released in 2009, the movie has no well known actors in it but did very well at the box office.

Plot summary: “After finding out a guy cheated on their sister, sorority house Theta Pi play a simple prank on him. They trick him into thinking that he has killed his girlfriend, then take him into the middle of nowhere to 'dismember" the body, only then revealing it was a prank. However, the prank goes horribly wrong and all involved swear never to speak of it again. A year later at graduation though, they are all reminded of the past…”

Again sorority row is aimed at younger audiences, but the film may not only appeal to 16-24 year olds but possibly 25-31 year olds too. This is because the film is based at a university, and it is usually expected that people between the age of 18 and 31 are those who attend university. It may not appeal to older audiences as there is a lot of blood and gore in the movie, stereotypically older audiences would not be expected to watch a movie with lots of blood and gore in it as it isn’t in their taste.