 |
| First frame of the sequence |
The opening sequence is very conventional to the film's genre of psychological/supernatural horror. It begins with the stereotypical phrase within supernatural horror films, "Based on the true story", written in an identifiably horror, typewriter-like typography. The setting is in a typical remote old style building during a thunder storm at night; this holds negative implecations for the inhabitants and connotes the inability to escape.
Form and Style
The opening's style is a blend of montage and live action with the mix of archive footage and real-time footage being used to create a sense of forboding through displaying an events and the implecations it has in the world of the narrative. The title bridges the gap between the live action section and the montage with the transition being a simple cut on both sides. It is also positioned solitary in the middle of the frame in white with only a solid black background; as well as the typography of it being a conventional 'scraped' style font connoting mental instability individual. The title itself is a cultural allusion to the horrific real life event that many would associate it with, also the fact the word 'horror' is in the title establishes its genre before viewing.
Film Language
Mise-en-scene
The characters in the live action section of the extract have been specifically casted as white, affluent looking indivudals to conform to the generic expectations of white lead characters within the horror genre. Also, the murderer is male holding the residual ideology of male dominance as well as the male traits of being weak minded but possessing brute strength, as he is easily able to murder the other members of his family and be controlled mentally. The serious, emotion devoid non-verbal language of the man used in conjunction with the prop of a gun creates a sense of unease about the sequence from the start and the lack of emotional response after each killing also instills fear.
Camera
 |
| Low angle on murderer |
An eye-level BCU shot is used at the start of the sequence on the man's eyes to immediately position the audience with this character. Following this there is an establishing shot of the house amid a raging storm to present the dark and dire situation he is in. The CU shot of the photo of him in a university atire creates juxtaposition to the situation he is in now and what his life could have been like instilling a compassionate feeling in the audience. Also, further in the extract as he opens the wardrobe to find his daughter, a low angle MU shot is used on him whilst a high angle CU shot is used on his daughter connoting both his dominance over her and how distant the audience is becoming from him since his introduction before the murders.
Sound
The sound mix in the extract is dense despite having no definite soundtrack. Non-diagetic sound is still apparent, however, as ghostly sound effects and white noise can be heard to unsettle the audience. Diagetic sound is used effectively (depite lacking a large amount dialogue) as many aspects including door slams, gun shots and breathing/gasps are amplified to create visceral pleasure. The non-diagetic sounds of a camera taking photos also connotes the event being recorded and forshadows that the murders will be discovered with the photos likely to be used as evidence.
Editing
 |
| An archive shot from the montage |
The cutting rate anchors the action on screen as at the start before the murdering begins, the cutting rate is slow to convey the tense build up whilst during the murders it is much faster displaying the eratic nature of the killings. The montage afterwards also serves the purpose of conveying the result of the murder as well as providing more information to the audience so they can forge an interpretation of the events and keep the fear lasting too.
Narrative
The dialogue in the extract is used sparsely during the opening to create and maintain tension. The live action section features the voice of an unseen being with a satanic tone creating the aural iconography of evil demons controlling the man. The second section features archive dialogue that has an old tonal quality with clear use of sampling. The major themes in the narrative include murder and lack of self control, both of which are presented with a serious delivery and hold the connotations of supernatural intervention and mental disorder.
Representation & Ideology
The extract as a whole deals with the representation of mental health from a negative point of view. The demonic voices controlling the man in the opening resemble that of schizophrenia and convey the murderous implecations as a result of the issue. However, the dominant hegemonic position is that the murders were out of the control of the murderer and the audience is positioned with him despite being alienated from him and identifying with the victims. Also, the murderer is placed in a dominating position as a middle aged male which reinforces the dominant ideologies of age and gender being that people of his classification (male and of relative age) are the most powerful in society.
Media Audiences
The target audience is the core horror audience of males aged 15-24. However, due to the cultural reference in the title of the film, they may hope to attract older viewers who remember the event. The opening sequence can be read in many ways with a possible aberrant reading being that the man wanted to murder his family out of his own free will. Although, other possible readings include a negotiated position with the idea that he murdered them with the intention of doing so as the voice was himself rather than a supernatural being. Despite this, the dominant hegemonic position still suggest the murders occured due to supernatural intervention.
No comments:
Post a Comment