The Saw franchise is made up of different horror films, the sub genre of the film is 'Slasher/Gore Horror'. Where we can see that this film belongs to that sub-genre is where we can see a man in the opening scene laying on a table and he is tied to it and unable to get up. Above him, we can see a blade which is swinging above him in a 'pendulum like' motion and it eventually catches his stomach and it kills him. The audiences generic expectations are fulfilled in this film because in the opening scene, straight away we can see a man who is being killed in a gruesome way which is iconic of gore/slasher horror. The film, Saw V is a film which does not treat the characteristics of a gore/slasher film in a playful way.
Film Language
In the opening scene, a medium long shot is used to show the setting in which the protagonist is shown tied to the table. This connotes that the man is vulnerable. Close ups are used to show the man'snon-verbal language in which we can see he is scared of what is about to happen to him. Shot Reverse Shot is used to show the reaction of the protagonist when he can see the antagonist talking to him on the TV. Continuity editing is used to show us the lead up to the situation the man is in.
Low key lighting is used to show the man's face when laying on the table. The character's costume is just a pair of trousers, he is not wearing anything on his upper body. There are also lots of tattoos on his stomach which could connote that he may be in a gang or been in prison. Phallic props are used, iconic for horror films. Through dialogue and non-verbal language we can learn that the man is scared and he knows what is going to happen to him. He screams, "Oh god!" several times during the opening sequence which connotes he is scared and wants to get out. Non-verbal language shows that the man is really scared, especially his facial expressions. Through post production, the sound of the blade swinging was emphasised and made louder to help create visceral pleasure for the audience. This helps to anchor the audiences attention to the blade as it is slowly coming down. The only titles which are used in the opening sequence of the film are the ones at the beginning which show the producer, director etc. They are position in the middle of the screen but there is a unique font which is relevant to the films. At the end of the opening sequence, when he has been killed, there are more titles which just say Saw V. Narrative
The stock characters in the opening sequence of this film are the antagonistand the protagonist. The antagonist is a man who is tied up to the table with metal chains around his hands and his neck. The protagonist is the Saw doll which is shown on the small TV screen which is shown in the corner of the internal location. The sequence is shot in a continuous form which shows the lead up to his death by the blade and the torture he suffers when his fingers are crushed. In relation to the narrative, the audience are positioned around the man on the table so we can see exactly what is happening to him. The main themes in the narrative.
Representation and Ideology
The social group which is shown in this opening sequence is the traditional antagonist and protagonist, they are shown in a conventional way as the film treats the genre of the film in a serious way, not playfully. The man is being punished for what he has done to others, he is being treated the same way as he treat other people. Although the man is a murdered himself, he is depicted to be weak and vulnerable.
Media Audiences
The target audience for this film is 15-25 males. The reason for this is the age certificate for the film is 15 so it will not be aimed for people below that age. Also, males tend to be the people who go to watch this genre of film because they enjoy the visceral pleasure they get from watching people die in the worst ways you can think of. As a teenager and part of the target audience for the film, I find this genre of film because horror films have low budgets but have high productionvalues and they are successful as they make 3 times their original budget, which this film did. My gender influences my reading of the film because these are the films which teenage boys would normally watch with their friends.
Institutional context
The main characters in this film are Tobin Bell who has been in all of the Saw films which keeps the audience keen as the main character in the film should stay the same. In its opening weekend, Saw V grossed $30,053,954 in 3,060 theatres in the United States and Canada, ranking number two at the box office, behind High School Musical 3: Senior Year. It grossed $56,746,769 in the United States and Canada, and an additional $57,117,290 in other markets, for a worldwide total of $113,864,059.This was the second film in the series to not be number one at the box office, the first was the first film. As the film made 3 times its budget, it was a success. It is Lionsgate's tenth highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada.
Genre
- The film sinister belongs to the psychological\slasher horror sub genres; this is clearly evident through the hanging scene within the film opening, clearly showing a family suspended from a tree which is quite gruesome. The psychological elements are not overly shown in the opening sequence however we do not see the person hanging them and we are not shown how they got there, which does create questions and tension amongst the audience.
- The audiences generic expectations for this genre of film is to be scared and to be made uncomfortable during the opening. Almost all horrors at some point during the movie have a death in them, during sinister there are four before the movie even starts! There is a large crocked tree in the first location surrounded by mist, this is almost a stereotypical feature of a horror movie. Horror movies can effectively use old features to create a sense of terror, the flicker of a celluloid projector is used during the opening scene, making it seem old and dated. One characteristics or horror movies is inevitability, you know what is going to happen, and you are made to wait for it, creating suspense, for around 10 seconds we can see the family stationary on the floor before they are hoisted up, we can see that they are going to be hanged, because of the noose
.
Film language
- The first sequence is all one long shot, for about a minute, this is because it is supposed to be a home video. It gives it an edgy feel, and questions arise like who would film this sort of thing? For editing, there is the tick of the film being played. In terms of prevalence, they are all displayed equally, and the cut is motivated by the movement being stopped in their bodies because they have died. There is no pace of cutting in the hanging scene as it is all one shot.
- In terms of mise-en-scene, the lighting of the scene is very dim, and there is a mist in the background, this creates fear and a gothic edge to the movie. The four people being hanged are all dressed in everyday smart clothes, however they all have a brown bag over their heads, which is synonymous with hostages, as they are seemingly a normal family, it makes them seem innocent and unable to help themselves. While they are hanging it becomes obvious their hands have been tied and their bodies start jerking in an attempt to break free, however they are seemingly calm and unresponsive while they are on the ground, their non-verbal language leaves questions whether their actions are involuntary or if they are drugged or something similar.
- There is non-diegetic sound in the form of spooky music to go with the hanging scene, this is the sort of music you would definitely associate with horror movies. There is no dialogue until the celluloid clip ends and we are shown the family, and the conversation between the policeman and the man allows us to see that the family are not welcome in their new home, which again is a generic convention of horror movies. Once again the ticking of the projector is significant as it's scary when used in the context of the film.
- In terms of visual techniques there is a square on the left hand side as if the tape had been damaged somehow and making it seem old, however the people are wearing modern clothes, and there is a slight flickering between frames, adding to the eerie mood. The title is extremely subtle, it is in white handwriting and appears on the right of the tree once the people are dead, this adds to the homemade feel of the opening.
Narrative
- The basic plot is a hanging scene, which is used in many horrors as it is quite a gruesome way to die and is associated with executions from the past, it is quite a sinister activity and is associated with punishment and public entertainment, due to the image movies have created of large crowds gathering around and jeering at criminals. It is a what seems to be a common nuclear family, two parents and two children. Then a family is shown moving into a new house in, what we can assume from the policeman's outfit and trees, quite a rural area, and it doesn't really get much more stereotypical horror than that, as it features in pretty much every horror movie ever created!
- There is a clear contrast between the two opening sets, for one the first one is edited to be like a 35mm film, while the second one is just a normal continuity edited film. Obviously there is a clear contrast between the death of the family and the very much alive family. It is organised to straight away dive into the horror and action and then calm it down with the family, this created tension and develops it into an anti-climax. The audience seeming knows more that the characters, as they are not aware of the characters knowledge and their purpose, the fact the audience have witnessed the hangings before we meet the main characters is quite significant, as questions arise about what they are doing there and it becomes obvious that sooner or later something will happen to them!
Representation and ideology
- In terms of the hanging, there is not a lot to be said about ideology, however you could note how the dad is on the end of the row, while the mum is closer to the children, which could refer to the dominant ideology that the mother is more the carer to the children and the father is the head of the family. However this is more obvious in the second part of the opening when the male is sent over to deal with the police officer which has pulled up at their house, this shows him as the protector of the house. There is a small emergent ideology, which is the fact that they are all carrying boxes, this is progressive as physical labour is stereotypically a males job, however the wife is helping with this. There is a slight ideological discourse between life and death.
- Evidently death is clearly the negative one as it is shown with darker lighting during the hanging scene with deep scary music. And the family is shown alive and well while moving into their new house, while still dark it is lighter and clearer than the hanging scene and the music is more upbeat.t
Media audience
- The audience of this film would be from 15-25, this is because the film has a certificate of 15 meaning it would not be possible to aim it at people younger than this. The fact it has a low budget of around $3m, and was produced by alliance films; a company which focuses on horror movies, tells me that it is aimed at fans of the genre, and the fact that the film brought in box-office revenue of around $48m suggests that it didn't really expand beyond this target audience. It would be aimed at people who get visceral pleasure from scaring themselves and like that sense of being uncomfortable you get with certain horror movies.
- The beginning of the text is easy to understand, so the audience will be negotiated, meaning they understand the text yet question the meaning. This is their desirable outcome as the purpose of their introduction is to create questions about the movie and to make it evident there is something sinister going on, and to let the audience realise their is imminent danger.
- As a British teenager, I completely understand the text, I know that there is clearly some sort of psychopath or supernatural creature at large, and the fact that they have recently moved into a new house, and as I have seen many horrors, I know that it is very likely someone's going to try and kill them!
Institutional context
- There are no A-Listers in sinister, this is because it is a low budget movie and that would dramatically increase costs, as I said earlier it had a budget of $3m, this combined with the fact it was released on the 12th October (near Halloween) and it was released by a small studio, gives it all the factors of an independent film, even though it turned over a $48m box-office, granted it is one of the better horror movies in my opinion, scoring a 6.8 on IMDB, which is quite high for a horror! The opening scene has low production values, this has been cleverly hidden by using it to effect to create a home video style.
Woman In Black - Opening Sequence - 'Woman In Black' (James Watkins, 2012) was based on the novel by Susan Hill, with the same name, that was published in 1983. The film focuses on Gothic horror, is set in Edwardian England, with A-Lister Daniel Radcliffe starring as the main character, Arthur Kipps. The opening scene depicts three young girls playing with dolls, with happiness shown through facial expression, but that happiness is juxtaposed by string instruments playing slowly; sound which is synonymous with horror. The girls suddenly look at something in the corner. That 'something' then causes a sudden change of expression within them, and the girls become transfixed on the large window in the room, as though they are possessed. They then walk towards it, each at the same speed, stepping on and, subsequently, smashing the dolls they were playing with as they walk. They then step onto the window sill and jump to their deaths as the non-diegetic music comes to a halt, and is replaced with a moment of silence, before a woman screams 'my babies'. The dead girls and the woman are not seen by the audience, but it is apparent that the woman has discovered the dead girls.
Genre
'Sinister' (Derrickson,2012)
- The sub-genre of Gothic horror is enforced within the opening sequence, as the girls' costumes, toys and bedroom are old fashioned and clearly from the Edwardian, or Victorian, era, of which most Gothic horror films are set; such as 'Dracula' (Fisher, 1958).The opening scene is typical of Gothic horror in numerous ways.
- One way being the non-diegetic music that is played over the scene, and lack of dialogue, as string instruments play with a slow tempo, to create ambiance and enforce to the audience that something bad will happen, as the music is strongly associated with the sub-genre. The use of this type music in gothic horror to anchor what happens, or what is going to happen, is common and used in most films of the sub-genre, one modern example being 'The Orphanage' (Del Toro, 2007) which was praised for the use of music to convey horror.
- The opening sequence of 'Woman In Black' is conventional in terms of what the audience expect from a modern horror film, as something traumatic happens, which is then the basis for the film, and the main cause of, or of strong relation to, the horrific occurrences throughout the film. That convention is one that is used in numerous horror films, such as 'Amityville Horror' (Douglas, 2005) and 'Sinister' (Derrickson, 2012).
Film Language
'Annabelle' (Leonetti, 2014)
- Camera distances, movements and angles are important in creating tension within the scene. This is apparent straightaway in the scene as a close-up on the old fashioned children's china cups and tea pot is used, and shows how the girls pretend there is tea, as they pour it into cups, emphasising the playfulness of the children, and how innocent and young they are, which is important as it creates more empathy and shock for the audience when the girls die. Close-up shots are then used again on the cups, as well as toys, when they are being smashed by the girls before they jump out the window. So close-up shots enforce the creation and destruction of innocence and life as the young girls become possessed and end their lives.
- Mise-en-scene is integral in any scene, and so is the case in the opening scene of 'Woman In Black', as the costume and props create the sense that the film is set in the Edwardian era. The use of dolls is particularly important, as the dolls are clearly old-style and from that era, but children's dolls are also associated, in horror films, with possession and horror, due to films such as the 'Chucky' series (1988-present) and 'Annabelle' (Leonetti, 2014). Character blocking is also important in the scene as the three girls jump out of the three windows, at the same time, and the focus is on them as they jump, and take up the majority of the screen. There is no dialogue within the majority of the scene, which creates a sense of mysteriousness, and emphasises the only piece of speech in the scene, which is a woman screaming 'my babies'. Non-verbal language and facial expression enforce the sudden change of happiness and playfulness, to that of seriousness and possession, as the girls stop smiling and appear transfixed on the same thing, before stepping to their death without any expression of fear, showing they are possessed by someone or something.
Narrative
- Children are stock characters within horror, as they are the most innocent and vulnerable, in comparison with adults, so more shock is created and the audience are more scared and shocked by the film. That conventional use of children to portray the destruction of innocence is clear in the 'Woman In Black' opening scene. The audience are made to feel helpless and shocked by the scene, as it is clear what the girls are going to do, when they walk towards, and become transfixed on, the window, but the audience cannot stop the innocent children dying, creating more sadness, and horror among the audience.
- Tension is created through the use of slow non-diegetic music, and the overall slow pace of the scene; even when it is apparent the girls are going to kill themselves, the death is still prolonged due to the slow walk, and opening of the windows. The audience then feel extremely empathetic and shocked at the end of the scene due to the piercing extra-diegetic scream that is heard.
Representation and Ideology
- The main social group presented in the scene is that of young children, who are represented conventionally in the scene as they are happy, playful and innocent. That end to the innocence and happiness that occurs in the film could reflect the lack of innocence that modern-day children have as they get older, but within horror, young children, girls in particular, are depicted as they are seen in society, as pure and innocent. That convention and view is not broken within the scene, as the girls do not choose to die, they are possessed, the innocence remains within the children, and that is what makes the scene so horrific and shocking.
Media Audiences
- The target audience for 'Woman In Black' was those from the age of 12-25, particularly females, and was anchored by the starring of popular actor Daniel Radcliffe. The use of Daniel Radcliffe also meant that the film attracted, or interested, millions of Harry Potter fans, so the target audience was teenagers and young adults. It is clear through the fact that the film is of the horror genre that the target audience is not young children, and that is emphasised in the opening scene as there is the serious theme of death. The death of the girls would also most likely disgust the older generation, beyond the point of being scared as most older people are not used to the realism created through HD cameras and filming techniques, and the death of children would not be seen as acceptable, particularly if they have young children or grandchildren, so the target audience of young adults and teens is conveyed in the scene.
- I saw the film at the cinema when it first came out, with a group of friends, and we all fitted into the target audience of 12-25 year olds. Before studying the techniques of the film in depth, or even starting the AS Level or GCSE media course, I was scared by the film, and especially the opening scene through shock at what happens to the young girls, as death in children is not something I had, or have, experienced as a British teenager. After studying the film techniques and details from an AS Level media student's point-of-view I would imagine that my views would not represent those of most teenagers in Britain watching the film, but I see the opening sequence as conventional of horror, as a film that scared me, and was impressive in the creation of verisimilitude, and therefore shock value.
Institutional Context
- The leading actor was Daniel Radcliffe, who is most famous for his lead role as Harry Potter in the 'Harry Potter' film series (2001-2011), and this lead to the film obtaining audiences that were only, or primarily, watching the film in order to see Radcliffe. The film was industrial but was not produced by any of the major six Hollywood studios, and only had abudget of $15million, but made $127million at the box office, so proved a huge success. That success was down to the fact that the film had a 12 certificate, which is rare for a horror film, so younger teens could go and see it, yet remained scary enough to shock older teens and young adults. The use of popular actor Daniel Radcliffe also would have greatly increased revenue from the box office.
Why
are we afraid of zombies - Research
by the Open University show that people are scared of near human faces. The
research started in the 70’s, with robots, they were investigating whether they
should make robots resemble humans or not, and they found that people found too
close a resemblance to be sinister. Simple things such as empty eyes on a face
with uncanny human resemblance can be scary for people, which is why zombies
are so scary! Why
people love the zombie apocalypse - People
like the zombie apocalypse as is seen as a time where peoples strengths and
weaknesses shine through, and our characters really come through. It is seen as
petrifying; however it shows things that we see as normal such as cities and
towns, in complete destruction. Humans have a natural instinct to survive, and
really we all fancy ourselves as a bit of a survivor! Why
we love zombies - Our love
for movies started with the night of the living dead, zombies are easy to
interperet with make-up and costume, and limbs can be missing or blood all over
them. Zombie movies are focused on the survivors, rather than the killer, and
the battle is usually between humans and humanity, and puts people in difficult
situations. The slow moving nature of zombies helps to build up tension. Also
it shows how people come into existence alongside with zombies, showing how
they even get used to it! However their guard always has to be up because
zombies always seem to be hiding round the corner ready to bite them
Why are stories that 'aim to scare
their audience' so popular?
Nosferatu, from the film 'Nosferatu' (1922)
Daniel Cohen observed that stories that have the purpose of scaring the audience are popular due to meanings and associations that society have with monsters and the paranormal. Movie makers and scriptwriters play on the fears and taboos that the audience have, creating stories that are tense, scary and surprising, which keeps the audience anticipating what happens next, who does what, and how it all ends. The fears and taboos within society that relate to the paranormal and monsters have remained similar for years, so whilst the most popular comedy sub-genre may change, or certain styles of films are outdated and unsuccessful; for example western films; films that scare the audience remain extremely popular, as many fears society had over 100years ago, when the first celluloid horror film was developed, have stayed the same, and film genre can adapt and develop even when they do change.
What insight can the study of horror monsters give us?
The
study of horror monsters shows, and emphasises, people’s biggest fears. One
example is that of vampires, and gothic horror as a whole. The fear of vampires is shown as one that many
people have, as gothic horror has been around for a very long time (the first
wave of gothic horror novels was in 1790s), and remains, arguably, more
popular today than ever before.
What did Nosferatu (1922), one of the
earliest horror films use the vampire as a metaphor for? -The use of a vampire in the film had multiple meanings and associations, but the main one, and what made it so popular, is the association with the flu pandemic that hit Germany after WW1, just before the film was released. The association was derived from the fact that the vampire and the flu both ended with death and infection, as a result of swapping or releasing bodily fluids. That connection between real life and that of film, made Nosferatu so popular when it was released, and that popularity has meant that remakes have been made, and even songs have been composed based on the film, emphasising how societies' fears at the time, and in certain eras, impact popularity and longevity of films.
Read to the end of the article. Make notes on how there are different readings of horror based on socio/cultural contexts of the decade.
-Horror sub-genre changes as societies' views change, and ideas are modernised or new. For example the cult horror film, 'The Exorcist' (Friedkin,1972) focussed on a young girl, post-WW2. from a single parent family, who went against religion and, for that reason, was possessed. A single parent family was extremely rare before the war, but was staring to become more common, so the film presented ideas from modern society at the time.
-'The Exorcist' also sparked outrage as it used a young girl to depict the idea of the devil and demons, but that 'outrage' led to more publicity, and the horror becoming a cult film. The film has also been the basis of many films, such as 'The Devil Inside', and the 'Paranormal Activity' films.
-'Slasher' films were very popular in the 1970s and early 80s, but the audience grew tired and bored of them as they became predictable and clichéd, they then became less economically viable, so less and less were made.
-The 'Saw' films then brought the idea of blood and gore back, as they created more complex plots, and increased the visceral experience through use of computer generated imagery (CGI), and torture porn was created.
-Technology has created new ways of distributing film, and communication as a whole. Those technological advances had led to a change in horror films, as most monsters and antagonists in horror are no longer like they are due to poor parenting or something tragic happening, but because they have a desire to kill, and are desensitised, like the technological generation in modern-day society.
In the final paragraph, why according to Hendry is horror still relevant to audiences?
- Hendry highlights the fact that horror is adaptable, and the films change to meet societies' taboos and fears, as they develop. There are numerous sub-genres that have been developed to do with horror, and more and more can, and will, be developed as popular culture develops, and technological institutions change.
When, and in what way were women repositioned within the horror genre?
- In horror films, women are shown to be the vulnerable characters who have to be rescued by the masculine heroes.
- But then women were repositioned and shown to no longer be weak and unable to defend themselves; 'New Women'.
- The repositioning of women in horror films did not happen until the late 1970's due to contextual issues at the time such as the Vietnam War and the growing feminist movement.
What are the conventions of the 'stalk and slash' sub genre of horror?
- Stalk and Slash sub genre films is an American product and is a sub genre which is intensely formulaic.
What is the general plot of a 'stalk and slash' horror movie?
1) A mixed sex group of teenagers travel to a remote location.
2) The teenagers indulge themselves in drugs, alcohol and sex.
3) After the first 2 have happened, they are steadily murdered by an unknown killer who normally is wearing a mask.
4) One member of the group is left and to survive, has to confront the killer.
5) Once they have been killed, their identity and rationale for their murder spree is revealed.
Who originally watched these films and why?
The core audience for this genre of film were mainly teenage boys and young men. The reason for this is because the groups with in the film tend to have teenage boys/young men in so they like to see the gruesome way in which they are killed. The more gruesome, the better. Increased violence sustained audience interest.
Why does the author argue that the films were 'significant'?
The author argues that these films were significant because on the superficial level, the Slasher sub genre created two of contemporary horror cinema's most enduring icons - Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. As a consequence of this, these films created the notion of sustained narrative through popular horrorfranchises.
What is the concept of 'The Final Girl'? Summarise and give examples.
- A girl or woman vanquishes the killer and gets away.
- All the girls share similar characteristics; sexually unavailable; sometimes has a unisex name; sometimes have shared history with the killer.
- The final girl is no longer the damsel in distress which they normally are in horror films.
- The final girl becomes 'masculinised' through 'phallic appropriation'.
- Zombie horror is a sub-genre of Horror. Zombies are fictional characters which are human like, but they are dead and tend to have wounds to the face and covered in blood. The popularity of zombies in movies has led to them sometimes having been taken out of their usual element of horror and thrown into other genres, for example the comedy film Shaun of the Dead.
- The "zombie apocalypse" concept, in which the civilized world is brought low by a global zombie infestation, has become a staple of modern popular art.
Mise-en-scene in Zombie Horror - The costumes the zombies where tend to use prosthetics and they have ripped clothes which are stained in blood.
- The zombies tend to be dangerous and you cannot go near them because they will kill you.
- Props - phallic symbols used when attacking the zombies.
- Semiotics - The Zombie has certain injuries which we can use to make judgements about them
Slasher Film is a subgenre of thriller and horror film, typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and murdering a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a bladed tool such as a knife, as used in 'Scream' (Craven, 1994, bottom-centre), or, more extremely, a saw, as used in the 'Saw' franchise (Wan, 2004-2010, top-centre) . Although the term 'slasher' is often used as a generic term for any horror movie involving acts of murder, the genre has established its own set of characteristics, which make it different to those of splatter films and psychological thriller.
- One thing all of these movies have in common is that they are all gothicto a certain extent, one of the most notable being se7ven (the man with his face in the bowl). The image is quite gruesome and the lack of bright lights add another element to this. The movie 'the shining' may be an exception to this, however things like period decoration and non-diegetic music within the movie help to allow it to be classed as slightly gothic in my eyes.
- All the movies have a protagonist with either mental health issues or supposed possession, this extends the possibilities and shows humans to have inhumane characteristics, allowing brutal deaths to be included in movies such as 'American Psycho', a movie based around a crazed murderer. Propssuch as blood and violent looking weapons such as chainsaws and machetes seem to appear frequently in this genre of movie, this is because they are seen as scarier and more offensivethat things such as penknives.
- They are all set in a relatively modern era, with the exception of 'shutter island' which is based around a half century or so before the others, however they all have old or abandoned features about them, such as the chair in the deserted room, this is a common fear for many people and leads people to scare themselves with thoughts of ghosts and the expectation of what is going to happen consumes their thoughts, which is the psychological part of the horror
The Saw franchise is made up of different horror films, the sub genre of the film is 'Slasher/Gore Horror'. Where we can see that this film belongs to that sub-genre is where we can see a man in the opening scene laying on a table and he is tied to it and unable to get up. Above him, we can see a blade which is swinging above him in a 'pendulum like' motion and it eventually catches his stomach and it kills him. The audiences generic expectations are fulfilled in this film because in the opening scene, straight away we can see a man who is being killed in a gruesome way which is iconic of gore/slasher horror. The film, Saw V is a film which does not treat the characteristics of a gore/slasher film in a playful way. 
