These ‘Saw’ posters definitely represent a horror movie. The main focus of them is the body parts displayed; part of an arm and part of a leg and foot. Both posters anchor the title and therefore give an idea to the audience as to what the film is about. The title of the film is pretty self explanatory; however the body parts anchor the meaning further. The arm and leg are also very repulsive and disgusting, showing people the genre. At the top of each poster, there are also parts of an image of a saw, again representing the title. The use of blood which is associated with death also shows what may take place in the film. Despite the fact that the main colour used in the background didn’t really follow the conventions of other horror posters I looked at which mainly used black to make it a dark background, it is still effective in representing a horror movie. Every puzzle has its pieces...
This poster for the horror movie ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ represents the film well. The main image shows one of the main characters with their mouth covered up by an odd looking hand. This immediately alerts the audience that the characters will be in danger and there will be enemies to fight. She has blood on her face which emphasises the fear further as this colour is related to death and danger. The woman’s expression also shows extreme fright, and this can especially be seen clearly in her eyes. The background helps set the scene and this is related to the title as it is hills. This shows the audience where the film will be based and an area like this seems quite isolated. Overall, I think the poster represents the film well and the feelings/themes that will be conveyed, especially fear by the characters and audience.
The lucky ones die first...
This horror poster of ‘The Ring 2’ is different to the previous ones as it doesn’t really reveal much to the audience. It features a young girl sitting on a seat and looking down towards the floor. Her face is concealed by long black hair, leaving the audience unaware of what she looks like, possibly ready to shock them in the film. She seems quite isolated in a deserted room, leaving the audience feeling quite sorry for her as she is highlighted in this dark, empty room, but seems trapped. This use of lighting creates mystery and the use of black was a common convention that I saw associated with horror films. This sinister and mysterious atmosphere created by the poster all creates enigma as the audience are unaware as to what will happen. The use of the ring above the girls hard relates to the actual title, and the font relates to a child’s handwriting. The overall feeling of the poster created is quite mysterious, setting up a feeling within the audience that will make them want to watch the film.
The opening sequence begins with titles introducing the production company. This text is displayed using a wipe effect against a dark background and flashes of lights are seen occasionally. This sets the tone of the whole movie, where the girls are eventually stuck in the dark in a cave, have slight glimmer of hopes, but can’t seem to find an escape route and encounter dangerous situations. It is accompanied with quite creepy music, which seems to show an approaching disaster.
The film begins with a family and their friends on a trip doing white water rafting. There is screaming and laughter, but the audience still seems to get a feeling that an accident and tragedy will take place now. This is down to the camera techniques used, for example the hand-held, jerky movements of close-ups in the boat. There is also a use of wider shots to set the scene.
As we are introduced to the characters, we are also shown that the man and little girl standing on the rock are related to one of the women, as the little girl shouts “mummy!” at 0:36. They are shown again at 1:15 clapping and waving. This shows that the women in the boat are out of danger, for now, as the audience are unaware as to what will happen next, but are relieved for the moment.
The use of slow motion at 1:02 builds tension as it shows they are falling clearly and keeps the audience, as well as the occupants of the boat anxious. This also shows that they are heading for disaster.
The next few seconds of conversation and laughter shows the strong bond between the people, but as it reaches 2 minutes, the audience are made aware that something is not quite right, and possibly, one of the friends likes the other’s husband or is having an affair with him, this is shown at 1:55, 2:01, 2:10 and 2:17. The third friend notices this at 2:12, but as the man returns to his family at 2:14, the disappointment is shown on the woman’s face. This all begins to show the breakdown of friendships that will occur as a main theme throughout the film, due to the situation that they find themselves in.
At 2:33 the scene changes to the family returning home in their car. There is no music, just the background sound of the car and conversation between them. The conversation between the mother and daughter portrays happy family life, but this soon changes as the woman turns to her husband who replies quite bluntly and seems distant. This is to be their last words, as the man isn’t watching the road, we hear the breaks of a car and there is a car accident, where the poles go through the car killing the man and daughter. There is then a crane shot which moves out to show the disaster of the accident and the shot fades to black. This portrays the death of the characters.
The next scene then enters the dream of the woman, who is currently in hospital. The music used is very eerie; the shot begins out of focus, showing just the candles on the birthday cake of the daughter. This again symbolises the darkness they will enter. As the camera tracks in towards the cake, it becomes in focus and we are able to read the writing ‘Happy Birthday Jessica’ on the cake and are made aware that it would have been her fifth birthday. We then hear the little girl blowing out the candles, and this sound is enhanced and exaggerated, making the shot seem unnatural, and therefore a dream. It then cuts to the woman lying in the hospital bed who is shown to be disturbed at this memory, but the audience are made aware that it is still part of her dream due to the use of low key lighting that doesn’t look very natural. It is then cut back to the little girl who is shown fully in this shot and all the candles are blown out, moving straight to a black shot, again signifying the darkness that surrounds the woman at the moment, and what she is going to encounter in the future.
At 3:43, it cuts back to the woman at a medium close-up, who we believe is beginning to wake up, as she looks around the hospital room. The audience hears the sound of hospital the machine beeping, which becomes a consistent sound as the woman removes the wires and we feel the sense of her urgency.
At 4:11, it cuts to a deserted and dark hospital corridor, as the character moves into the shot at a medium shot and calls for her daughter. It then cuts to an extreme long shot, and we are shown just how isolated the woman is. This signifies the people she has lost (her family) and how she now feels alone. The corridor frames the shot as a tunnel, and in the distance, we see darkness approaching and closing in on her as each light goes out. As she turns and realises this, it cuts to a medium close-up at 4:22 and we see the character’s expression of shock and horror. This shot is quite strange as the camera doesn’t seem to move, but the background seems to be moving, this gives the effect that escape is further away.
At 4:25 it cuts to the woman looking back into darkness and realising that she has to run to avoid this darkness. As she runs and passes under each light, they turn off and it turns black, giving the feeling that she can’t escape the darkness and it feels very claustrophobic. It seems the faster she runs, the faster it closes in on her.
At 4:38 however, it cuts to the back of her and begins to give a bit of hope. The camera stays in the darkness, but shows the woman heading for light. However the darkness catches up and the screen goes pitch black again.
At 4:45 it then cuts to the woman running into the arms of her friend and the audience are made aware that it was a dream. This next scene is very emotional, as the woman grieves for her lost loved ones. She completely breaks down in tears and falls to the floor. The camera then circles her, showing that she is in this nightmare that never seems to end. This is shown when the film ends in a cliff-hanger, and she is still stuck in the cave.
At 5:07, it then cuts to a close-up of her friend also crying, this really conveys the emotion felt by the characters. At 5:09, it then cuts back to the woman crying on the floor and reverse tracks. This shows the same corridor as before, one of the friends leaving, and the woman distraught on the floor with her friend.
It then fades to black and at 5:20, it introduces the title of the film ‘The Descent.’ This is in white font, but is wiped off the screen, leaving the screen black again. This again conveys the darkness, and we see a torch light effect again as before with the credits, signifying the whole theme of the film.
At 5:29, it cuts to a helicopter shot of a forest, which sets the scene and the audience is told that is in the mountains in the USA. The music hear is eerie again, which alerts us that another disaster might strike. We are also told that it is one year later, therefore we know time has passed since the accident. The area is shown to be deserted, emphasising their isolation when they are alone in the cave, or so they believed.
We then see the car they are travelling in, as the music changes to a slightly happier tone from the radio, and the woman talking. Then they turn off the radio and we are shown bullet holes through a road sign. The music changes back to the eerie type and we are shown their destination, ‘Chatooga National Park.’ However the fact that this sign has bullet holes through it, already signifies the danger they are entering.
As they approach the house they are staying in, the music changes to more adventurous music, to seem as if they are going on a journey. The rest of the scenes are just of the women meeting again and having conversations, seeming in a good mood, but unaware of what is going to happen.
The feelings sensed in the opening sequence are also conveyed in the trailer, as it states
Claustrophobia, Disorientation, Hallucination and Fear.
Costume, hair and make-up are often a huge part of horror movies. They are part of what makes the films successful and as scary and shocking as possible.
An example of good costume and make-up is in the horror movie, ‘The Descent,’ (2005).
Plot Synopsis: After a tragic accident, six friends reunite for a caving expedition. Their adventure soon goes horribly wrong when a collapse traps them deep underground and they find themselves pursued by strange, bloodthirsty creatures. As their friendships deteriorate, they find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive the creatures and each other. With a lack of supply, they fight for survival and they face the hunger and savage breed of predators.
SCREAM YOUR LAST BREATH! Characters: The whole construction of characters and their appearance is used to heighten the shock and fear in the film. The villains in the film are created as strange, unrecognizable creatures, and the dark cave adds to the mystery as to what they exactly are.
As well as these villains, the make-up of the main characters (the six friends) is essential, as their situation is shown to gradually deteriorate and a lot of make-up such as blood and slime is used to add to the fear.
Another example is in ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ (2006)
Plot Synopsis: The Carters, an idyllic American family are travelling through the great American southwest, but their trip takes a detour into an area closed off from the public, but more importantly from society, due to being misled to a shortcut going to nowhere by the owner of an isolated gas station. An area originally used by the U.S. Government for nuclear testing that was intended to be empty...or so they thought? When the Carter's car breaks down at the old site, they're stranded...or are they? As the Carters may soon realize that what seemed like a car casually breaking down, might actually be a trap. This trap might be perpetrated by the inhabitants of the site who aren't pulling a prank, but are out to set up a gruesome massacre. Absolutely trapped by the psychotics, they have to fight to survive.
THE LUCKY ONES DIE FIRST…
Characters: The group of deformed cannibals that begin to attack this family were created well using skilfully designed costumes and make-up. They are made to appear very savage and threatening, frightening the audience who are watching. This adds to the experience of watching a horror movie. As the audience feel for the main characters (the family), they realise that they are in danger as the creatures are unwilling to give up and determined to kill them. The villains’ appearance emphasises this feeling and the family find themselves in numerous dangerous situations.
The family member’s costumes are originally normal holiday makers clothes, but are also adapted as time passes. Time, attacks by the villains and injuries all affect the costumes, therefore they have to be changed to fit the storyline. For example there is use of a lot of blood and dirt added to garments.
Below is the trailer, which shows some of the costumes and make-up of the characters:
Horror Genre Conventions: CHARACTERS: Victims - Female Male villain/killer - (distorted image? monster? demon? mask? psychotic?) Human heroes Children are common
CAMERA MOVEMENT: Distorted – different angles Fast paced - action Slow movements - tense moments Tracks Hand-held Point Of View Shots Enigmatic Shooting Use of lots of close-ups
LOCATIONS: The ordinary – home (bedrooms, bathrooms, basements) Deserted/abandoned buildings Forests Hospitals Dark Alleys Dark Places Haunted, isolated places
Psycho was a horror film made in 1960 by the extremely well-known and successful director Alfred Hitchcock. He was an iconic and highly influential British filmmaker and producer. Psycho was a powerful, complex psychological thriller and is seen as the "mother" of all modern horror suspense films. Despite the fact that the stark black and white film was low-budgeted ($800,000), it was brilliantly-edited and shocked audiences when it was released in 1960. The master of suspense skillfully manipulates and guides the audience into identifying with the main character, luckless victim Marion, and then with that character's murderer - a crazy and timid taxidermist named Norman. Main Characters in Psycho: Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. Janet Leigh as Marion Crane. Martin Balsam as Detective Milton Arbogast. John Gavin as Sam Loomis. Vera Miles as Lila Crane.
Plot: The movie opens in Phoenix, Arizona, where discreet lovers Marion Crane and Sam Loomis, want to get married but cannot due to financial problems. Unhappy and desperate to improve their situation, Marion steals $40,000 from her office and drives to California, where Sam lives. All the while, Marion is nervous and apprehensive; eventually arriving at the Bates Motel, but this choice is proven to be an extremely wrong decision. The Motel is isolated and out-of-the-way, with no other guests staying; however she wanted to avoid a suspicious policeman. She is greeted by the young, boyishly handsome and innocent-seeming owner, Norman Bates. Norman does what little work is left, and also looks after his mother in a sinister-looking house on top of a nearby hill. Forgetting the problems that plague her for the time being, Marion takes a shower. Suddenly, a human figure enters the bathroom, shadowy through the shower curtain, and brutally stabs Marion to death (the famous shower scene.) Meanwhile, Marion’s friends, relatives and a private detective are growing increasingly worried as to her whereabouts. The detective, Milton Arbogast traces her to the Bates Motel and questions Norman, who lies poorly. Arbogast sneaks into the old house to question Mrs. Bates, but is stabbed to death and falls down a flight of stairs. Lila then sneaks into the house with the intention of talking to Norman's mother. Furious and panicked, Norman knocks Sam unconscious and races to the house. Seeing him come through a window, Lila hides from him in the fruit cellar, where she discovers that Mrs. Bates is a semi-preserved corpse. At that moment, Norman (wearing his mother's clothes and a wig) enters, screaming and holding a knife. However, Sam has regained consciousness and arrives just in time to save Lila. At the end of the film, we realise that Bates's mother, is dead, but is still living on in Norman's mind. When his mother found a lover, Norman became jealous and murdered them both. He was so dominated by his mother while she lived, and so guilt-ridden for murdering her ten years earlier, that he tried to erase the crime from his mind by bringing his mother back to life. In effect, he is half Norman, half mother. The last scene shows Norman Bates seated in a cell. The physical shell of Norman Bates sits unmoving, as "Mother's" thoughts dominate the mind, free of "Norman's" mental presence. We hear "her" internal voice as a voice-over. She blames Norman, and plans on demonstrating to the authorities that it was Norman who did the crimes, whereas she is utterly harmless. She knows that people must be observing her, and will show them what kind of a person she is. As a fly appears, Mother continues, "I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching. They'll see, they'll know, and they'll say, 'Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly'". We see "Mother" give a smile of satisfaction, which shows through Norman's demented stare. The film's final shot is of Marion's car being recovered from the swamp. Many of Hitchcock's films contain cameo appearances by Hitchcock himself. In Psycho, he makes his cameo appearance 7 minutes into the film through a window, outside Marion Crane’s office.
The original trailer of Psycho made in 1960 has extremely different conventions to the trailers being made presently. It features the director of the film, Alfred Hitchcock, giving a visit of the set, it begins with “The fabulous Mr. Alfred Hitchcock is about to escort you…on a tour of the location of his new motion picture, ‘PSYCHO.’” The main difference that I can notice is the length of the trailer, it is six and a half minutes long, compared to the average of one and a half minutes that we see nowadays during advertisements of films. Hitchcock’s continuing commentary throughout the six and a half minutes implies that what he is describing is a real incident that has taken place. As he takes us on a tour of the house, we are immediately informed of the house’s sinister feeling. He drops little hints to the audience of what’s to come, for example “the bathroom, well, he cleaned all this up now, big difference, you should have seen the blood.” Also the trailer doesn’t follow conventions and is the opposite from trailers nowadays as it is a continuous structure, where it doesn't follow a narrative and usually just features different parts of the film. The trailer then ends with a shot from the famous shower scene, of Marion screaming and part of the music used in the scene.
My Opinion: Overall, I thought Psycho was quite a good horror movie. I think it was extremely successful for the time period it was produced in, despite the lack of technology and knowledge of other effective techniques in the 60’s. Psycho is generally identified as the ‘mother’ of horror, as it established the genre and no similar film had been made previous to this. I thought the shower scene and ending scene were extremely effective in the film. The shower scene was really disorienting for the audience, with the use of frequent cuts, fast pace and the sound. The combination of music and Marion’s screams really adds to the fear. Music is also used effectively in the scene when Marion is driving, before arriving at the Motel. This music adds to the suspense and alerts the audience that something is going to happen. The shower scene lasts three minutes and features fifty cuts with various different angles. The use of many close-ups is really effective as the audience feels closer in the shot and can clearly see reactions of the character, making it more intense. I also thought the ending scene was extremely effective and successfully finished the film. Instead of using violence to put across the idea of horror, Hitchcock effectively uses psychological horror to scare the audience. Anthony Perkins plays this character extremely well and displays good acting. The audience is aware of Norman’s problem that he has, after the explanation from the detective, but after being lead by the camera into an empty room containing Norman, they are scared once again. We hear Norman’s mother’s voice and then Norman bows, giving a creepy smile. “As if I could do anything except just sit and stare--like one of his stuffed birds. Well, they know I can't move a finger. And I won't. I'll just sit here and be quiet, just in case they do suspect me.” “They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of person I am.” “I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching. They'll see. They'll see, and they'll know, and they'll say...'Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly!'”
1. Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be seen as representing ‘horror’ This shot that we created could represent horror, mainly for the use of lighting and expression, which are key elements in the genre. The medium shot includes a boy (victim) in a dark room who is extremely scared of something, however we do not show the audience what that is. It is left to the audience’s imagination to identify the second character; however we did use a claw/monster hand created in a shadow to add to the horror element of the shot. The positioning and size of the hand is quite distorted to look unnatural, which immediately connotes something scary and something to be feared of. The reaction of the boy, with his action code and facial expression add to the fear. The shot is also quite tightly framed and dark, in order to create the shadows, however it is still clear enough to see the character.
2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect? To achieve the effects, we used different techniques. For the setting, we found a dark area and plain wall to place the actor against. We then shone one light from underneath the victim and one from further, on the right side. This light was used to create the shadow, which was created with someone’s hand in a weird position, to make it seem larger and distorted. The actor then made a scared facial expression and hand gesture to add to the effect of horror.
3. What is successful about your shot? In representing horror, I think our shot is quite successful. It creates the feeling of fear and apprehension within the audience, which is important in horrors. The expression of the actor clearly represents this feeling, which immediately shows the audience that they are scared. As well as the expression of the actor, their action code and hand gesture also shows the fright. The use of low key lighting means shadows could be cast on the actor, adding to the sinister atmosphere of the shot. Also the fact that it is a dark room brings in the element of mystery and tension as the audience are unaware of what will happen next. We also created a shadow in the shape of a monster hand, which the audience would identify as the enemy, and the man in the shot as the victim; therefore there is a sense of two characters. The shot is also quite tightly framed, which connotes entrapment and the feeling of claustrophobia. All of these points help the shot look scary and contribute to the elements of the genre of horror.
4. What would you do differently in hindsight? In hindsight, I would make some changes in order to improve the effect of the shot. I would have used more lighting, or more powerful lights on the face, in order to create a stronger contrast in light in the shot. Increasing the lighting would have also made the shot slightly clearer and therefore easier for the audience to see the character’s expression. This would have made the shot more intense. I would have also liked to make the setting and character slightly more dramatic by using make-up and props. I also could have changed the angle of the shot to make it more distorted and unusual.
Hii I'm Tanya and this is my AS Media Blog. We're doing a project on films which I love so I'm really looking forward to it! Anyway hope you like my blog...
These ‘Saw’ posters definitely represent a horror movie. The main focus of them is the body parts displayed; part of an arm and part of a leg and foot. Both posters anchor the title and therefore give an idea to the audience as to what the film is about. The title of the film is pretty self explanatory; however the body parts anchor the meaning further. The arm and leg are also very repulsive and disgusting, showing people the genre. At the top of eac
h poster, there are also parts of an image of a saw, again representing the title. The use of blood which is associated with death also shows what may take place in the film. Despite the fact that the main colour used in the background didn’t really follow the conventions of other horror posters I looked at which mainly used black to make it a dark background, it is still effective in representing a horror movie.
This poster for the horror movie ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ represents the film well. The main image shows one of the main characters with their mouth covered up by an odd looking hand. This immediately alerts the audience that the characters will be in danger and there will be enemies to fight. She has blood on her face which emphasises the fear further as this colour is related to death and danger. The woman’s expression also shows extreme fright, and this can especially be seen clearly in her eyes. The background helps set the scene and this is related to the title as it is hills. This shows the audience where the film will be based and an area like this seems quite isolated. Overall, I think the poster represents the film well and the feelings/themes that will be conveyed, especially fear by the characters and audience.
audience. It features a young girl sitting on a seat and looking down towards the floor. Her face is concealed by long black hair, leaving the audience unaware of what she looks like, possibly ready to shock them in the film. She seems quite isolated in a deserted room, leaving the audience feeling quite sorry for her as she is highlighted in this dark, empty room, but seems trapped. This use of lighting creates mystery and the use of black was a common convention that I saw associated with horror films. This sinister and mysterious atmosphere created by the poster all creates enigma as the audience are unaware as to what will happen. The use of the ring above the girls hard relates to the actual title, and the font relates to a child’s handwriting. The overall feeling of the poster created is quite mysterious, setting up a feeling within the audience that will make them want to watch the film.
