Hemlock Grove

The series I have chosen to do is Hemlock Grove. I hadn’t watched any of the series on the list that Kat had provided us therefore it was hard for me to choose which I want to do especially as I’m not a fan of horror films. I looked them all up online, and found that Hemlock Grove caught my attention the most.

Hemlock Grove is an American horror fantasy thriller. It is based on McGreevy's novel of the same name. The show premiered April 19, 2013, with all 13 episodes made immediately available for online viewing.

The show examines the strange happenings in Hemlock Grove, a fictional town in Pennsylvania. Roman Godfrey, heir to the town's wealthy Godfrey family, befriends the town's newcomer, Peter Rumancek. Recent brutal murders in the town have stirred up rumours, and the two work together to shed light on the case while also hiding their own dark secrets.

Hemlock Grove appears at first glance to settle snugly alongside teens-to-thirties targeted fare like ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘True Blood.’ However, the show is intended to have a wide appeal and has a large secondary target audience, such as people interested in horror, supernatural, or vampire shows.

It’s a supernatural soap opera for a niche audience; a strange concoction of genre credibility and homage, often risible dialogue and genuine out-of-the-blue oddness. Attempting to fix a single point of comparison is a useless endeavour; it’s all over the place in a way that will prove exhilaratingly unpredictable to some and immensely frustrating to others.

Target Demographics

I want Claudia to be Shelly in Hemlock Grove. Shelly’s character stood out to me as I believe she is somebody young women can relate to. She looks in the mirror everyday, and only sees imperfections. She is a strong woman, with a pure heart which makes her a commanding character. The reason I want Claudia to portray this character is because she is described to be ‘psychotic.’ Claudia is never content with her appearance as she is said to ‘model herself on a variety of girls, often twisting her look’ – which is very similar to Shelly’s situation as she also doesn’t approve of the way she looks. 

Claudia is said to be a cheerful character in this ‘mad world of hers’. Again, Shelly is also said to be hideous to society, whereas in actual facts, she’s like a child on the inside. 

Ideas for Claudia

For my Claudia shoot, the scene I am re-creating is where she (Shelly) gets shot by the Sherriff. I want to create a bullet wound on a particular area of Claudia’s face (haven’t decided yet). I wish to shoot this outside, as I believe that is where the incident is most likely to have happened. I’ll need to practice bullet wounds, and look more into them. I also want to create a slight dirt effect on the face and body – to show the effect of how intense the fight was that she had thrown herself in.

Chosen keyword:

I chose the word ‘save us’ as I believe both Shelly and Claudia need to be saved. Neither of them is to blame for their situation in life and are looking for a way out. They wish to be someone else, and live a normal life like other teenage girls however this isn’t possible for the neither of them, and they learn to accept this.

Claudia makeup ideas

I want Mrs. Laderman to be Olivia in Hemlock Grove. Oliva is a mother therefore I’m assuming she is in her 40’s, similar to Mrs. Laderman.

Olivia is said to be Shelly and Juliet’s mother. Throughout the second season of the series, she only wears black. ‘Due to Olivia's immortality only certain things can kill her. She also cannot be killed by the same ways a normal human can.’ 

In my version of the series, I want Mrs. Laderman to remain being the mother of Shelly (Claudia). Olivia, similar to Mrs. Laderman ‘changes into a variety of alter egos.’ She’s also said to be Claudia’s friend, which makes sense is this case as they’re now mother/daughter. Olivia is believed to have not aged ever since her young years. Her appearance means everything to her. She is very different to her daughter, Shelly. She’s done harm to a lot of her close ones, which is why I want to create a scene to show her burning. I want to show my audience that she is being punished – and that she will never be able to look the same. 

Ideas for Mrs. Laderman

For my Mrs. Laderman shoot, I’m obviously creating third-degree burns due to the acid attack. We’ve already practiced burns in Sue’s technical lesson therefore I have a rough idea of how I will be doing it. Instead of gelatine nuggets however I will be using powder. I will need to practice this in my own time in order to be prepared for my shoot. I will also be using my mum as my model, as it’s quite difficult to find middle-aged women that are willing to model for me.

Chosen keyword:

I chose the word ‘face’ as I want the main focus of my shoot to be on my model’s face. I also chose this word as I believe it best describes Mrs. Laderman and Olivia’s two-faced personality. They both seem to hide their inner selves and true colours. 

Mrs. Laderman makeup ideas