Day 27 : The Murder of James Bulger - Child's Play

Child's Play is a (1988) film, about a evil and twisted doll named Chuckie. This Horror film was found in the house, of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables who murdered and tortured a 2 year old named James Bulger. They were said to have recreated a scene from the film, however there was no evidence to support this theory.

Why were the general public and media fixated on this case?

Moral panic was created due to the issue of the mass media, including films influencing children's minds making them more prone to committing crimes. People started to worry about age ratings and what they should allow their children to watch, as it could possibly end in bad behavior being learnt subconsciously. This relates to audience theories as in media, there are various views which explore the ability for the audience to be influenced passively or with choice. In the future I will make a post on these theorists, as it can interlink with what makes a film scary and how your Horror movie can effect those who watch it.

Reference: http://s294.photobucket.com/user/ashantikat/media/cool%20pics/street.gif.html