The second film clip that I am going to be analysing is a scene from The Conjuring released on July 19, 2013, directed by James Wan, distributed by Warner Bros. and the studios being The Safran Company, Evergreen Media Group and New Line Cinema. The film earned $318,000,141 worldwide at the box office and has garnered generally positive reviews from critics.
Key character types and stock characters:
In this scene we are introduced to two young female characters, who we can assume are the protagonists in the film and another female character who enters at the end of the clip which we can assume is the antagonist in the film. A clear antagonist and protagonist are stock characters that we typically see in supernatural horror films.
Female characters are conventionally seen as the victims in supernatural horror films as they have the archetypal traits of being weaker, and less emotionally stable than a stereotypical masculine male.
We can also tell that the female characters are most likely sisters and typically, families are usually the main protagonists in supernatural films.
Narratives and stock situations:
A key stock situation that we generally see in supernatural horror films is good versus evil. This can be seen with the character on top of the wardrobe (the evil) which attacks the young female character in the bedroom (the good). In this scene, the evil character is clearly winning this fight, and this is a situation that we also typically see in the genre as the good only ever defeats the evil at the very end, or sometimes not at all as conventionally, evil usually wins.
The situation is also taking place in a bedroom and at night time. This is a stock situation as conventionally, these good versus evil supernatural scenes usually happen in family houses and typically happen during the night as the darkness gives the scenes an eery atmosphere.
Icons of supernatural horror:
The location used in the scene is a bedroom which has old-fashioned furniture and decor in it such as the grand wardrobe. These are icons of the genre as supernatural horror films are typically set in grand, old locations.
The low-key lighting used in the scene gives it an eery and ominous tone and the use of moonlight coming through the windows, casting shadows across the bedroom is also an icon of the genre. This also relates to the fact that the scene has been set during the night, and the nighttime is something we conventionally see in supernatural horror films.
Having the antagonist in the film being a supernatural being is an icon of the genre as the main theme throughout in supernatural horror. We can tell that she is some sort of supernatural creature due to her un-human like pose on the top of the wardrobe and her deformed looking face.
In addition to this, in terms of mise en scene and the way the characters make-up has been used also makes the genre clear. The antagonist that is seen on top of the wardrobe has a dirty and slightly deformed looking face and her hair is messy which suggests that she could be possessed by some sort of demon as she doesn't seem to care about her looks. This is a part of the iconography of the genre as we typically see demon like creatures in and possessions in most supernatural horror films.
Themes of supernatural horrors:
A big theme that we see in supernatural horrors is the fear of the unknown. In the scene, we do not know how or why the antagonist, which is on top of the wardrobe, is there. The diegetic sound of banging coming from the wardrobe also adds to the sense of mystery as the audience do not know what is making that noise.
The supernatural is a topic that most people don't have a full understanding of anyway as we do not generally encounter these things in everyday life. This adds to the sense of mystery that we get from this antagonist character.
Score:
The incidental music that gradually builds up to add tension just before the revealing of the character on top of the wardrobe. When this character appears on the screen, the music suddenly increases in volume and becomes faster. This has been used to emphasise the power and threat that this antagonist has against the other characters in the scene.
It is conventional that this type of incidental music is used in supernatural horror films as a lot of tension is needed to create these big crescendos which make the scary moments even more scarier for the audience.
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