Monday, 29 December 2014
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Friday, 19 December 2014
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Friday, 12 December 2014
Thursday, 11 December 2014
History of Horror
History of Horror
Horror is a
type of film, a specific genre in which it seeks to receive a response from the
audience such as scaring them or receiving negative emotional reactions.
Frequent themes of horror are macabre, which is a horrifying atmosphere, and
supernatural which is not subject to the laws of physics, going beyond nature.
Horror in
the 1980’s began with Alien in 1979 and it was the era where special visual
effects began to reinvent gory imaginings of both horror fans and movie makers.
Behind the camera, people started using animatronics and liquid latex, allowing
them to create supernatural looking scenes and distorting humans in a new way.
One iconic use of the animatronic was Rick Bakers work in An American Werewolf
in London, where they created an animatronic for use of the famous
transformation scene. Using an animatronic for this scene allowed the producers
to show the audience what would happen to a human’s muscles and bones in this
situation and how painful it would be. This scene turned out to have one of the
most realistic appearing werewolf transformation scenes and in the time, CG
effects were expensive and practical effects were the way to succeed.
During this
decade, horror films delivered full colour close-up special effect, something
previous practitioners could only wish to do.
1980’s Horror produce a new energy and delight in the genre, as special
effects were creating sequences in horror films that had never been attempted
in film history.
Some films
show no monsters at all, such as Cat People, The Blair Witch Project managed to
scare the audience through suggestion, providing triggers for the audiences own
imagination and then having them end up scaring themselves. Yet other films
take the visceral approach, showing images of body horror to produce a physical
reaction of fear and challenging the audience to keep watching despite the
revulsion. Zombie films also had a huge comeback in this decade, as films such
as Dawn of the Dead (1979) and Brain Dead (1990) show this. Research and
experiments on the effects of violence in films have shown that even hardened
viewers find it difficult to watch a surgical operation, as the insides of our
own bodies produce a repulsive outcome. In these terms, audiences of horror
have hardened throughout the years as the Hays code, a set of industry moral
censorship guidelines brought out in 1930 ended in the 1968 and more body
horror and violence has been shown in films since.
The Horror
genre was a good box office business in this decade, as the main demographic
was male 15-24 year olds, audiences seeking thrillers and also seeking to prove
they’re strong enough to watch the movies. The reason this was the demographic
in that decade was because movie studios believed this audience was attracted
to violence, action, shock, sex and excess in everything.
Some Iconic
films produced in the 1980’s are The Shining (1980), The Evil Dead (1981),
Friday the 13th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), An
American Werewolf in London (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), The Changeling (1980),
Day of the Dead (1985), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and so many
more classics.
1980 was
also a decade where some incidents became historical context used in films,
this is as the incident is so disastrous and new to the world it scares the
audiences, plays around with their fears and memories of the incident. Bologna
Massacre and Ed Gein are only a couple of the many contexts.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) 2nd Movie Review
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Genre and Context
Analysis (2010)
Director: Eli Craig
Genre: Comedy/Horror
Plot: Tucker and
Dale are on a vacation at their mountain resort cabin when a group of college
kids assume they have kidnapped one of their friends and are attacked.
My two favourite scenes
In the film Tucker and Dale vs.
Evil my first favourite is the scene where Allison has awoken from being
knocked unconscious and then saved from drowning by Dale and the college kids
surround the cabin in an attempt to jump both Tucker and Dale to save Allison. The
scene opens with Allison’s point of view as Dale enters the room she’s being
looked after in and the parallel music is tense which treats Dale like he’s
holding her hostage. Allison shouts and Dale assumes she “doesn’t like pancakes”
then the camera focuses on Allison murmuring “pancakes” to her as if that was
the big deal. When Dale next enters the room with a different meal the music is
parallel showing Allison has understood Dale is trying to help. They then play
a board game which Dale knows the majority of answers too despite playing a
hillbilly who is expected to be stereotypically be dumb. As Mitchell attempts
to go near the cabin, Tucker has chainsawed into a bee’s nest and runs from it
while being attacked, the camera focuses from Mitchell and then deep focuses on
Tucker after it zooms in when Mitchell runs away also known as a rack focus. The
pace in the parallel music and the shots pick up as we enter a chase sequence,
where the montage of shots include a lot of fast tracking on both of the
characters. Slow motion is also included in this fast paced montage when Tucker
runs past Mitchell and we see Mitchell’s face become confused, the tracking
continues to focus on Mitchell even as he is stopped and impaled by a branch.
The montage then ends on a bee landing on Mitchell’s nose which represents both
the fact he’s beginning to understand that the pair are not dangerous and that
he’s met his end.
After this scene Dale and Allison
work together to build a “Crapper House” outside the cabin. This short sequence
shows them getting to know one another. Tucker is throwing wood into the wood
chipper and the camera is at a low angle, showing how powerful the machine is.
This utilises both collision cutting and using suspense to show it’s leading up
to something. As the college kids are watching them, we’re shown a point of view
shot from one them and as they do not know the full story and we do (dramatic
irony) it seems to them Dale and Tucker are making Allison do their dirty work,
and building her own grave.
When the ambush begins one of the
college kids runs straight for Dale but as it’s humorous, Dale steps out of the
way and the college kid is stabbed with his own weapon in the ready dug grave.
Adding to the humour in this scene Tucker also bends down to reach another
chunk of wood as a kid goes to jump on him and ends up falling into the wood
chipper.
Another point of view shot is
shown from the females from the group, watching Tucker holding the feet making
it look as if Tucker had pushed him in there. Not once are we shown what’s
happening inside the chipper as its restricted narration, although we are shown
the body after it’s pulled out and also the body horror of the blood which
replaces the wood chippings splattering onto the female.
My second favourite scene is
towards the end of the film where Chad and Dale are told to sit down and
negotiate by Allison. Foreshadowing is played out when Chad sits against the
“pure evil” and says with humour that a specific type of tea messes with his
asthma and an ingredient of this is what Dale uses to save Allison later. Also
while she’s explaining the story, we’re shown a longshot of the 3 characters at
the table, where we can also see both sides holding a weapon ready. Chad
explains the story of why he has such a hatred for hillbillies which is also a
continuation of the story he begun to tell at the campfire. The story involves
a slowly paced sepia montage where he says the group was attacked by hillbillies,
brutally murdering everyone for fun and his mother ran for her life, this sequence
shows close-ups of each student’s murder and tracking of the phallic weapon
used. His father is then locked into an oven and the camera zooms through the
flames into the radioactive symbol on the wall of the chamber and the hillbilly
is laughing through it.
The symbol and fire are both graphically matched cutted
into the next shot of Chad’s eye, representing the anger inside of him building
up and his hatred for the hillbilly “kind”. Another misunderstanding is when
two more college kids sneak up on the cabin and look through the window, this
is a point of view shot as we see the blurriness of the glass and the window’s
frame, they believe for the gang inside to have been trapped and ready
themselves to save them. Suddenly the two other college kids from outside burst
in creating a collision cut which makes the calm scene build parallel music
while short takes of close ups show Chad attacking Dale. Even the sound effects
of the weapons and punches are emphasized to show the action and pace of the
scene. The low key lighting and chiaroscuro play a huge part in this scene as
the cabin catches fire. What overall makes this scene my second favourite is
when the cabin blows up as we view it from long shot outside the cabin and
Tucker, Dale and Allison all escape the cabin and we assume everyone inside is
dead, point of view shots from Tucker watching the entrance to the house as we
watch Chad crawl out of the door, shot reverse shots to show the reaction of
the characters and then finally the camera zooms into Chad where he is almost
presented as a silhouette from the flames. The flames in the background also
make Chad stand out as the low key lighting on his face makes the burns on half
of his face stand out, representing the half of goodness inside of him and the
evil taking over. We finish off with an emphasized roar from Chad representing
him as a demon, as “pure evil”.
Characters and
Representation
In the film, the character’s representations can be seen in
multiple ways as at the beginning we believe them to be the Protagonists and
the rednecks in the shop to be the antagonists from the low-key lighting in the
shop. But throughout the film, the aim of the college kids is to save Allison
from the redneck “antagonists” but with the series of misunderstandings they
end up being the death of each other. Overall Dale and Tucker are the
protagonists and Chad is the antagonist. The college kids also represent the
“vs. Evil” in the film title.
The group of college kids are all victims of each other, and
the policeman is a victim to an accident “waiting to happen”. The victims are
made up of both male and female victims while Allison is the “final girl” of
the group and Dale become the overall male hero. These representations of the
characters also provoke the theme of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
Mise-En-Scene
The cabin which was told to be a holiday resort turned out
to represent the creepy location in the film, this cabin also reminds me of the
one from The Cabin in the Woods
as a group of people end up trapped in a similar cabin. This cabin also
includes newspaper clippings from unfortunate events and Taxidermy, overall
reflecting the creepy enclosed location. On the side of the wood chipper is a
symbol of a circular blade, representing the story told by Chad where the
redneck uses it as a weapon. When the cabin is alight, the use of the jars
makes the flames grow and also puts the cabin in a more creepy position and
when Chad is standing in front of it the use of the lighting creates a
Rembrandt effect on his face, indicating the personalities of Chad are mixed.
The use of the farmer tool at the beginning of the film
where the college kids leave the shop looks to be a scythe, essentially
connoting the grim reaper. When Dale and Chad are fighting with phallic weapons
towards the end of the film, Dale is holding the chainsaw, compared to Chad’s rod;
this shows that the “dumb” hillbilly has an advantage in the fight due to the
more powerful weapon, yet at certain parts the weapons are switched showing who has control of the situation.
Sound
In the film a mix of both parallel and contrapuntal music is
used as we’re shown two sides to each type of character. When we’re watching
the film at Allison’s view, we begin by hearing music which is tense as she
believes Tucker and Dale to be bad guys, but this is eradicated when she thinks
Dale was screamed at by her because he cooked her pancakes, she’s then given a
meal which is presented with parallel music as she’s understood they’re helping
her. The harmonica is used a few times in this film (such as in the scene when
Tucker and Dale drive to their cabin) which is an instrument associated with
rednecks, this adds to the theme of showing what rednecks/hillbillies are like
while also creating both parallel and contrapuntal music in scenes.
Editing
Montages are a huge part of this film, due to the constant ambushes
made by the college group. One of my favourite sequences is when the group
commits their first ambush and end up killing themselves in both horrific and
comedic ways. The editing in this scenes creates suspense and there’s always
something going on for each character (Tucker and Dale) keeping the action
going. One strong scene where editing is
used is when Chad has Dale’s dog hostage and creates his own nail gun, a short
montage of close ups of each object being put together shows it’s being built.
After this, we watch each side shoot at each other while wild west theme plays
over through parallel music.
Cinematography
Close-ups are used in every sequence to show the
misunderstandings, showing the emotions and feelings of each of the characters.
One main use of close-ups in this film are at the beginning, when the mix of a
handheld and point of view shot of a cameraman captures a reporter being
attacked by Chad in the building seen at the end of the film, and when the
cameraman is knocked out and we watch as Chad picks the camera up and points it
closely to himself. Also another strong use is low angles, always switching between
the two types of characters specifically in the saving Allison scene towards
the end when both Dale and Chad are fighting with phallic weapons and the
cameras angle heavily focuses on each camera when they are in control,
representing the power each of them have at the moment. One of my favourite
shots in the film is when we’re shown a long shot of the forest and the
moonlight is reflecting upon the mysterious pathetic fallacy of the smoke/fog drifting
through the woods, and we see a silhouette. We’re only shown one shot in the
film where the camera is upside down, and this is a point of view shot from Tucker
as he is hung upside down and restricted narration of his fingers being cut
off, this shot is also out of focus, representing his consciousness and goes
into focus as he wakes up.
Themes
In the film, the only use of sex and the taboo I found was
played out through the use of one of the college females skinny-dipping. The
strongest theme was loneliness and isolation, this is found in Chad’s life when
we realise his father was killed and mother committed to a psychiatric hospital
making him left looked after by his grandparents.
Narrative
The film begins with an open ending which was played at the
start where Chad turns out to be alive from the scene where his asthma caused
him to tumble backwards out of a window and believed dead. The film has also
been confirmed for a second movie which in the average horror film will bring
back the last film’s antagonist. The ending was supposedly happy as Dale goes
bowling and has a relationship with Allison, but this happy ending is depleted
after realizing the opening scene of the cameraman and news reporter are both
attacked by Chad.
Ideologies
Chad seems to contain some misanthropy towards the
redneck/hillbilly “kind” and is misogynistic in that he also blames Allison for
his psychopath feeling for being with the redneck through “Stockholm syndrome”.
One example in the film of a Cultural Dominant Ideology is how people view
Rednecks and Hillbillies as being poor, white, trash. Which in this film the
rednecks/hillbillies are represented as dumb, yet caring and heroic, therefore
challenging the CDI. Finally Chad is presented as a sadistic character through
him being drunk with power with the axe, showing his bloodlust after the final
scenes where his face becomes half bloody.
Context
The assumption of the film is how the teenagers judge the “rednecks”
on what they look like, which is why hillbillies are always represented as
being dumb, poor, white etc. This film shows that how you look doesn't always
reflect your personality or how you act. In society today we look upon
hillbillies and rednecks to live on farms and country houses, with shot guns
and not caring for anyone else but there own “kind” as Chad says.
In my own film trailer, I would
like to use and develop around how this film uses amplified sound effects while
echoing out background noise.
The best aspect and most enjoyable moment in the film was
realizing the intro scene connected to the ending of the film, finding out the
“pure evil” antagonist Chad was still alive. I enjoyed this because it
presented it’s cliffhanger at the beginning of the film, making the film become
more interesting and action packed.
I also loved how in the story Chad begins to tell to the
group at the camp, the murderer changes the song the group was listening too,
to the song “Meet my Maker” which represents the college students meeting their
killer, which plays contrapuntally through the montage of fast paced shots and
close ups.
Finally while Dale and Allison are communicating and bonding
after she had believed herself to be kidnapped, she talks about her profession
she wants and how “the world’s problems are caused by lack of communication”. This
line I felt as one of the most important lines throughout the film as it
reflects the story of the film, how the hillbillies and college kids had no
communication which led to the “problems” of them not understanding the
hillbillies were saving Allison. Even as the hillbillies Tucker and Dale were
trying to tell the college kids what they were actually doing only half of the sentences
are heard making them sound to be attacking the group.
The film Tucker and Dale vs. Evil was given an age 15 rating
despite how the film is very body horror orientated, this shows how much the
censorship has relaxed since the Hays Code ended in the 1960’s. For example
we’re shown the body of the male who jumps into the wood chipper when it’s
pulled out, yet when he jumps into the machine we’re not shown the inside as
it’s restricted narration. The film relates to other comedy horrors in the way
that they are successful sub-genres of horror such as Cabin in the Woods (2011),
Shaun
of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009) which he directed
and shows his auteur style through the use of body horror and phallic weapons
such as chainsaws and such.
You're Next (2011) 1st Movie Review
You’re Next
Horror Genre Analysis (2011)
Director: Adam Wingard
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Plot: During a wedding anniversary get-away, the Davison family
becomes under attack after a gang of mysterious killers attempts to kill them.
Until they learn one victim has a secret talent for fighting back.
My two favourite scenes
The first scene that impressed me is the first scene in the
film, as it starts off with the theme of sex and the taboo we understand
something will happen due to the common use of this theme in horror films. The
female is being watched and we can tell due to the point of view shots looking
through the window at her.
She closes the doors while the camera focuses on a wind chime, keeping her blurred in the background to show she’s looking at it worryingly. A montage of close-ups of a video player showing the female is playing a song while the player reads “DISC REPEAT” and shows the time the song is “Looking for the Magic” by Dwight Twilley Band. This becomes an important factor to the film as another female character later on in the film goes round to borrow milk, while no-one answers and the same song with the same montage of close-ups are shown, also when a female character escapes to this house this same process is shown representing how long these two characters at the beginning have been there. As she starts the music a montage of close ups of her pouring a drink, drowned out by the shower in certain shots of the male. The female notices the lights of her porch turn on from the reflection in the mirror, and the shots then focus on the male character, as he exits the shower and notices writing reversed on the windows, which the camera then pans down to the females body laying outside the porch. Both collision cutting and contrapuntal music is used as the male backs up, the camera panning as he backs up and when he turns the murderer stands in front of him, when the collision cut starts.
The second scene is where they’re under attack. The family
are at the dinner table talking, the scene begins quite while the shots of the
characters and their reactions slowly begin to pick up and an arguments breaks
out, which is one example of collision cutting. Straight after, one male
character notices something out of the window and approaches it, leading our
attention off the argument and to this guy. Something shoots through the glass
and the argument slowly dies down after people notice, going back to quite
until we see the character shot with an arrow in his head and collision cutting
happens again. My favourite part of the scene is how it emphasis the title of
“You’re Next”, as some characters are getting shot we keep wondering who will
be next while point of view shots from the murderer holding a bow and arrow
target the characters through the window. This whole scene compiles of smaller
collision cuts as well as the overall collision cutting of the peaceful dinner
contrasted with the threat of the psycho killers. We also learn that Erin is
the female hero due to her being the main character the shots focus on. The
montage of close-ups of each character’s face quickens the more times an arrow
is shot through the window. Foreshadowing is shown when an arrow is shot at the
family portrait, showing either the fact the family is crumbling or a certain
person to be targeted.
Watching the film helped me understand this genre of
filmmaking as this film’s genres of both Horror and Thriller are executed
perfectly to make the audience scared. This film uses point of view shots from
the killers that are outside a lot to make us feel uncomfortable, we know who
they’re watching and targeting. The film also uses low-key lighting in a
majority of scenes to make the murderers look more sinister and threatening
while wearing goat masks. Collision cutting in the film gets across the genre
of thriller, making the viewers jump at unexpected times through the use of
short takes and amplified sounds.
Characters
and Representation
In the film, the antagonists are the mysterious group of
psycho serial killers which are also fast moving which seem to be attacking the
family for no reason at all. Due to the introduction of the film where the same
killers attack two people which are and were not important to the plot.
There are multiple victims from the family throughout the
film as they are being killed off one by one, emphasizing the film’s title of
“You’re Next”. The victims entail of both male and female victims, while there
is one “final girl” from all the family members shown.
Mise-En-Scene
There is limited restricted narration in the film and a main
example of this is the intro to the film, where the male character is pushed to
the floor and attacked while the contrapuntal music plays. After then Body
Horror is shown in every attack, making the killers seem even more “Psycho”.
The house alone seems creepy and enclosed as when one of the characters is
asked to collect milk from the neighbours, she walks a while to get there,
telling us there house seems to be in the middle of nowhere. It becomes even
more so when the power cuts out. Low-key lighting is used in this case making
the villains hide amongst the darkness and shadows, adding to the theme of
creepy locations. We notice at times the masks of the villains which are always
the first thing we see, either in reflections of windows or mirrors as they
hide in low-key lighting.
Sound
Both parallel and contrapuntal music is used in the films,
contrapuntal being used at the start of the film when the female plays the
diegetic song “Looking for the Magic” which is also bridge music in some parts
of the film. This song is played a couple more times throughout the film when
characters approach the house, showing how long the bodies have been left there
while also showing representing the insanity of the Psycho villain. Another
example of this is when one of the female family members escapes the house, and
as she runs to the house we hear the music drowned out by the glass, but as
she’s pushed through the glass the music is played clearly. Also in this scene,
the song playing says "Because a photograph is, like an hourglass out of time, and then I never laughed, because I never had no time" the word photograph may refer to the fact the family photo was shot at with an arrow, while the
hourglass of time represents the family is near the end of their time. Contrapuntal music is also played when the female hero Erin sets a trap, the
music is fast paced which fits the scene as she needs to set the trap quickly before
she’s attacked so she’s hurrying; this same tune is played after she
sadistically attacks one of the killers. This may represent her heart beat, as
she’s hurrying to set a trap alongside killing one of the psycho killers
rapidly.
Editing
This film uses a lot of montages to get both the mood and
pace of a scene set. One of my favourite examples of this is when the video
player at the beginning of the film is turned on, close-up shots of the digital
display showing that the song is on repeat and this montage is played again
every time the house is approached. Collision Cutting in this film always gets
across the action, an example of this is the dinner scene, where they are all
talking, collision cuts are used twice here, once for the argument and another
after the argument dies down after a character is shot to when they are all
reacting an multiple arrows are shot. Quick to slow montages are also edited
through the use of slow motion to show the pace of the scene and to capture the
action, one of my favourite uses of this is when a female victim gets ready to
run out of the door to a car to find safety, but tension is built up when she
begins to run as it’s in slow motion, we see the emotion on everyone’s face as
she runs. As the door is opened, the viewers are told by the characters that
the killers won’t be expecting any of them to run outside full speed, but when
the slow motion ends, the character runs into string, aimed at her neck,
destroying the hope and tension built up in us.
Cinematography
Close-ups are a main element in both horror films and this
film as it doesn’t just set the mood and atmosphere but also represents the
tense feeling in the characters. Close-ups are used in almost every montage of
the film, emphasizes the change of moods and atmosphere. A close up of Erin
removing a piece of glass from her leg, makes the body horror more grotesque as
we feel we are too close for comfort. Alongside close-ups is the use of
point-of-view shots, which are limited to both the psycho killers as they watch
the house from outside, while also aiming their weapons and Erin’s character,
when she’s keeping an eye out for the killers with limited view which lead to
jump scares.
Themes
Sex is played out twice in the film, at the start of the
film before the two characters are murdered and later on in the film when two
of the family members are revealed to be in on the psycho killers plan. The
taboo is faintly shown when the female half to these two sinister characters
wants to have sex next to the corpse of the male half’s mother.
Threat to family is also a theme represented through this
film as the main idea is the home invasion to the family, which is an illegal
event in which people do in real life to steal or attack the house.
Narrative
The film ends on what would seem to be happy, as the female
heroine has survived, but is then shot by an officer after he thinks she is the
one the police were called for. This supposedly happy ending is depleted by
both a comedic and grotesque way to start credits as the trapped she set up;
intended on the killers is activated on the only officer there. We are unaware
of how many of the mysterious Pyscho group there were, this alongside the
survival of the female hero may leave an open ending.
Ideologies
The female hero Erin seems to be sadistic due to her actions
when she retaliates on her psycho killers and attacks them rapidly and
repeatedly even beyond death. An example of this is half way through the film
when she walks into the dining room with weapons telling the other family
members “we should each carry a weapon”, commonly we’d be settled and not
expect anything due to the lack of built tension and sightings of the killer,
but the psycho killer jumps through the window in slow motion and makes an
attempt to kill Erin with an axe, which she rolls away from and kicks the
murderer and killing him, but the frustration and anger leads her to
manipulating his face with her weapon. Her strength is also represented through
the use of the close-up shots of her nailing nails through a plank of wood with
a hammer; the close-ups show her strength with a phallic weapon and her place
of being the hero.
I would like to include these from the film in my own
trailer:
- Intro with contrapuntal and collision cutting
- Amplified sound effects
- Using reflections (from windows and mirrors) to show the antagonist
And I would avoid these in my own trailer:
- Overly using body horror because it can look overly comedic
The best aspect and most enjoyable moment, other than Adam
Wingard’s classic style of blood-soaked body-count films, in the film is the
plot twist, which explained why the attack was focused on that family and what
the result and reward would be for it. Recreating this in a trailer will be
hard without ruining a story in a trailer, but I plan on finding my way around
this through the use of dialogue.
You're Next (2011) Shot Analysis
My favourite choice of scene from my horror research is from
Adam Wingard’s “You’re Next” (2011).
This scene is shot from the point of view of the antagonist,
being one of the murderers of a group of psycho killers. What I love about this
specific shot is how we see one of the family members from the killers point of
view, making us the audience feel uncomfortable. The killer’s reflection can be
seen in in the window he’s looking through and the use of ambient lighting from
the kitchen setting gives low-key lighting on the killer’s mask which is a
rabbit; these represent the killers as almost parahuman.
While we’re watching this particular shot in the scene, as
the handheld camera moves, the reflection comes into play as a collision cut,
providing a jump scare to the audience.
These masks represent the historical context of animal
sacrificing, where animals were sacrificed to maintain peace with a certain god
in a religion. Although in this film it’s reversed and has the family members
become the sacrifices until they retaliate back onto the animal mask wearing
murderers. Animal Sacrificing also relates to when it was going to be
reinstated in Jerusalem in 2010,
through “Passover lambs” which is why the lamb seen in this shot is the main antagonist
with the majority of the camera time.
Through the use of mise-en-scene in this shot, the toaster
on the shelf shows the reflection of what we’re seeing and the view of the
female victim in the shot, yet the window is completely black representing the
theme of Voyuerism in
the killer.
Dawn of the Dead (2004) 3rd Shot Analysis
Finally, this shot is a beautifully captured because of the
sun shining on the boat, Ana and also the American flag. This bright ambient
lighting of the sun I see it as representing freedom, either into a different
place or to heaven, signifying and foreshadowing their death. The lens flare
also adds to this sense of freedom.
The American flag also adds to the theme of freedom as it
refers back to the historical and institutional context of them being known as
the land of the free, while also showing these characters are fleeing from the
disease, or as represented in the opening credits, the terrorists. Another film
which shows how the American Flag helps the idea of freedom is The
Hills Have Eyes where Doug Wood enters a house in which he uses both a
baseball bat an icon American Sporting tool and an American Flag as weapons
representing the idea of freedom from the people he’s being attacked by, who
reference the terrorist attack through the dialogue “you dropped your bombs,
turned everything to ashes, you made us what we’ve become” then repeating “boom”.
This scene also includes a lot more close-ups as Frank has
come to shot himself after being infected, and there was an American flag
behind him when he done this, showing how he’s killed himself rather than
joining the army of the undead, showing his loyalty.
Dawn of the Dead (2004) 2nd Shot Analysis
The elevator sequence when the group run away from Zombies
which have broken their way into the mall is one of my favourite sequences in
this film, due to the elevator music. While they’re being chased by the undead
they run into this elevator, and the theme of claustrophobia is played out as
the undead crowd the outside of it, creating a sense of panic in the audience
as there’s no way out that way, the parallel action music playing contrasts
against this sequence making us think the doors will not close. Yet as they do,
the action music is not off and replaced with contrapuntal and almost ironic
elevator musak showing collision cutting as well, like all the tense action has
literally been left behind.
The camera is also at the entrance of the elevator and
exactly in the middle, almost as if the silver line on the other door is
separating the two groups. The phone poster to the left is also ironic due to
the lack of the consumerism theme and there’s no-one to call.
In this specific shot, the character Ana is central in the
frame showing that she is the leader and strongest in the group through the
positioning. She’s wearing clothes which cover the whole of her body and chest,
going against the idea of the female victim, in which they would normally
flaunt their sexuality. Ana’s clothing also reveals her arms, which shows that
she is flaunting and showing her arms, leading to the idea of her muscle
showing her dominance. Her clothing also represents her as a modern version of
the “final girl” as she is a blonde, smart woman who is in control of the whole
group and situation and takes the position of that of a man.
This scene plays out as a little break, as it’s calming and
the character CJ humorously says “I like this song” while everyone else is
catching their breath and due to his character and personality he begins to
develop into more of a helping and humorous person.
Dawn of the Dead (2004) 1st Shot Analysis
The song playing is "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash and is about judgement day, linking to the opening credits as the shots show people dying and becoming part of the undead. Referencing to the old Christianity testament, also referring to the quote "When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth".
I love this opening scene and specifically this shot because its
pixelated, showing that the footage has been captured either on a low-quality
device such as a phone to capture this event as quick as possible or the signal
isn’t strong enough due to the world wide panic.
Dawn of the Dead (1979) 3rd Shot Analysis
This films hybrid genre of Body Horror
is shown in a scene such as this one, where the bikers invade the mall and some
end up being caught and eaten. This specific shot is a close-up of said biker
who was captured after attempting to escape the mall, and is part of a montage
of deaths and the other bikers escaping. The use of body horror in this scene
shows how powerful the zombies can actually be and give them a more threatening
representation.
Tom Savini brings his signature style,
vivid realistic gore/body horror special FX to this film and specifically this
shot, and he works closely with George A. Romero as this is how he got his
breakthrough. His realistic gore comes from his memories of his history, being
in the Vietnam War and said “If I was going to portray violence, it had to be
the way I saw it” meaning that Tom himself is as much an auteur on the film as
Romero is. This brings in the historical context of the horrors that were in
the Vietnam War, which Tom experienced himself. Tom Savini also features in
this film and plays one of the invading bikers, and is killed by being shot off
a ledge in the mall.
I love this shot because it has been
captured perfectly, the camera was positioned at a long shot before his stomach
had been mutilated and then a close-up of the gore to catch the viewers’
attention in this montage. The use of the hands all coming in from off-screen
leeching at these organs creates an eerie unsettling effect.
The bikers were invading the mall in
an attempt to take over it, but through Stephens’s stupidity and greed which we
have seen to be consuming him throughout the film attempts to attack the
invading bikers show his character progression, more camera angles from below
him represent the idea of him becoming more of a powerful/dominant male hero.
The bikers were invading the mall in
an attempt to take over it, but Stephen has been consumed by greed which we’ve
seen develop throughout their time in the mall. He says “It’s ours, we took it”
showing the use of the greed theme growing within Stephens character. His
attack with his phallic weapon, the gun he uses to shoot down the bikers in an
attempt to both kill and scare them off. This shows his character progression
how he’s being consumed and corrupted by greed and consumption. The camera
angles from below Stephen represent the idea of him becoming a more powerful
and dominant male hero in the film.
Dawn of the Dead (1979) 2nd Shot Analysis
This shot is a point-of-view shot from the security camera they’re
posing for, this is ironic as people who steal money tend to avoid the security
cameras. The contrapuntal music played by the Mall’s speaker’s plays over this
specific scene, making it out as George A. Romero
is mocking consumerism, these two characters are taking money when the whole
world is almost undead and there’s no use for it.
George also represents his auteur style of playing around with
racism and making it seem like it doesn’t exist because of how stupid he saw it
as. This is represented as Stephen and Peter are shaking hands which in this
film’s institutional and historical context most people would avoid. Stephen’s
character also changes with this scene as he was more scared in the mall,
presented as weak and this shot shows him almost proudly shaking hands and
stealing money which is pointless when he has control of the whole mall.
What’s also interesting about this shot is how the camera is at a
high angle looking down upon them, despite it being shown as a point-of-view
shot from the security camera. This shot also foreshadows the fact that soon
something big will happen, going from stealing money and an upbeat contrapuntal
song making the scene seem silly as of what’s happening around them in the
world to what is going to happen when the zombies eventually strike.
Dawn of the Dead (1979) 1st Shot Analysis
This long shot represents the historical context of consumerism,
as does the whole shopping mall theme as the zombies have been identified as
approaching the mall through thought, wanting to be here. This is irony as
zombies are known to being mindless, and through consumerism people buy what
they may not need, being labelled as mindless and falling for the
business/market. The clock which is placed through composition in the middle of
the shot has two arms which go through each other, the arms also represent
phallic symbols and the fact they go through each other represents the idea of
murder, I analyse this as symbolising shopping malls have murdered society.
With Janet Staiger’s Audience Studies theory, we the modern
viewers find this film to be less horrifying due to the censorship and how
horrific films can be now days. Another part of Janet’s theory is how that the
audiences context is a main highlight in how we respond, for example when this
was filmed, consumerism was a massive part of society as well as the Vietnam
War, which Tom Savini’s special FX body horror relates to.
This film also fits in with George A Romero’s auteur style, a
theory developed by Andrew Sarris, that being his gruesome and satirical horror about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. Also
his other style where he focuses upon the theme of racism, and he loves to
represent how stupid and pathetic racism is in the world. An example of this
satire as well as his views on racism in George’s films is Day of the Dead (1985) as we grow feelings for the zombie
Bub and he’s shooting towards the racist character until he meets a dead end
and is pulled apart and we see body horror used in a victorious way. Another
example of this style is Night of the
living Dead (1968) while the final survivor, Ben is a black male hero
and is killed off by Romero’s representation of Rednecks, continuing to show
the racism theme in this institutional context against that of the theme of
rednecks.
The zombies are also
always looked down upon by the camera as it’s at a high angle, this is
effective as it gives the zombies a less threatening look most of the time,
making them seem a lot weaker despite the fact of what they’re capable of.
Psycho (1960) 3rd Shot Analysis
This shot is still part of the shower scene, and is the shot
after when the camera pans to the bathtubs plughole, and through the use of
editing a graphic-match cut of the plughole transitioning to the eye is played
out. This represents her life is being washed away, as of the blood from her
body going down the drain. This is also presented as collision cutting as the
fast-paced montage of short takes when Marion is being attacked becomes her
body on the floor and her eye almost as if it’s watching us. Also the idea that
the eye is the window of the soul is played out here, due to Marion’s life
ending, we’re shown her ended life first through this shot of the eye, watching
it as a window of her soul draining away.
The water from the shower in this close-up shot is running
down her face, but the camera being focused on her eye gives off the impression
that the water represents tears and that she’s crying.
As the camera rotates while zooming away from Marion’s eye,
it signifies how her life has been turned upside down, it also shows her idea
of stealing the money then readying to go back and return it gives a sense of a
twist, a plot change and this rotation signifies that. As it’s spinning, it
connotes confusion which is exactly what the audience would be feeling after
assuming Marion is the main character, and being killed off less than half way
through the film is surprising.
Psycho (1960) 2nd Shot Analysis
This shot is
from the iconic shower scene which is what makes us believe the sense of the
mother being alive. The reason for us believing this is as we do not once see
the face and have to guess and assume through the clothing, which we see a
dress and a wig. We don’t see the face yet we’re presented with point of view
shots from Marion looking at the killer, yet the back-lighting in the scene
makes the killer shown as a silhouette.
Being shown
Marion’s view puts us in her position which is unsettling. The phallic weapon
being a knife, used by Norman is not seen entering Marion because of the Hays
code but back then it was disturbing to watch due to the blood through body
horror.
Hitchcock as
an auteur shows how Hitchcock was a master of montage and specifically in this
film. Making this scene powerful even without having the knife enter Marion
this still scares the audience due to the fast pace and amount of shots used,
keeping the audience on edge. This scene is also a strong example of collision
cutting as we watch Marion happily shower quietly, which is quite relaxing and
from this music picks up dramatically and the shots become shorter and much
quicker, presented in many different angles to back up the horrifying and eerie
music, maximising the shock.
Being shown
Marion’s point of view puts the audience in her position, which is unsettling
as we feel like the victim and how we’re being attacked, almost as this
character is based on the context of Ed Gein is scares the audience more,
playing around the nightmare of yourself being killed brutally and this scene
shows that through the point of view shot. Norman is using the knife, which is
a phallic weapon connoting his normal Norman side to this schizophrenia, how
Norman lusted for Marion and the mother is taking that away from him through phallic
means. The knife isn’t seen entering Marion because of the Hays Code, but back
then it was disturbing to watch due to the context and the blood used through
the body horror concept.
The overall
threat and pace of the scene is presented through the short takes edited
together in a fast montage, and the short takes of the knife present the
sadistic theme.
Psycho (1960) 1st Shot Analysis
This scene
from PSYCHO is when we’re introduced to Norman’s “murderous” mother when Lila
enters the basement and finds her in a rocking chair, only to find the mother
is just a rotten corpse. The corpse, being mise-en-scene looks to be smiling
and is dressed in the clothes we presume she’s died in and is positioned in the
rocking chair to add a sense of creepiness. Her corpse helps make the overall
creepy location of the Bate’s house seem even more unsettling.
In the
scene, Lila hits the light bulb after being scared through collision cutting
when Norman enters the room dressed as the mother, revealing to us that he has
been committing all the murders and the swinging light animates the corpse,
giving a sense that the corpse is both laughing and watching the group. This is
done through low-key lighting of the bulb which covers half the corpse’s face
which switches sides as the light bulb swings making the audience feel
uncomfortable.
This
specific scene also relates to the context of Ed Gein and how he also dug up
his own mother and made an attempt to preserve her corpse. This context is part
of a theory in which Janet Staiger had researched and developed and processed
into her own book Interpreting Films
(1992). Janet’s theory involves how important context is with the audience, as
this film’s antagonist Norman relates to the real life murderer Ed Gein,
portrayted through historial context as their actions are similar due to Norman
being based off Ed. Norman is represented as film version of Ed Gein, and as
his murderers and actions were close to the time of this films creation it adds
a more realistic horror theme to this film, creeping out the audience through a
way of having the story based on a real event.
This
sequence ends on the shot of the corpse seeming to watch and laughed and a fade
transition of the face of the corpses becomes a shot of the County Court House,
representing that is where the mother has ended up, even though it’s through
the mind of Norman.
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)