The first film scene that I am going to be analysing is the opening to The Possession (2012), directed by Ole Bornedal, distributed by Lionsgate and the studios being Ghost House Pictures and North Box Productions. The film earned $78,515,363 at the box office and garnered mixed reviews from critics.
Key character types and stock characters:
In the opening scene we are introduced to a middle-aged woman who is the predominant character that the audience sees. We are not introduced to a clear antagonist or protagonist although the woman that we do see is clearly a victim as in a LS, she is forced to the ground by this mysterious, invisible being. This is just after she is seen in the MCU, seemingly about to destroy a box seen in a MS, with a hammer. This suggests to the audience that this mysterious box or whatever is inside it, could be the antagonist throughout the film which is a typical stock character of the supernatural horror genre.
In addition, the stock character of the middle-aged woman in the scene looks to be quite an average, normal character. This is conventional of supernatural horror films as the victims are usually everyday people as this means that the audience feel more vulnerable as it makes them think that the situation could happen to anybody. Also, its typical to see female characters become the victims in supernatural horror films as it is archetypal that they are weaker people.
Narratives and stock situations:
A key narrative and theme that we generally see in supernatural horror films is good versus evil. This can be seen in the scene as the antagonist (the evil) which is the mysterious box, is attacking the, what seems to be the good character as generally the victims in supernatural horror films are usually good.
The woman is seemingly being possessed/attacked by this invisible being and again, this is a stock situation that we typically see in the genre. The evil is seen possessing the good character which shows the good versus evil theme that is typically seen in supernatural horrors. The fact that this mysterious, invisible non-human being is supposedly possessing this female character is a conventional situation, specifically seen in supernatural films.
In addition, the female character in the scene looks to be in distress as in the MCU shot, we can see that she is wiping the tears from her face. The female characters in supernatural horror are conventionally the characters who are hysterical throughout the films.
Icons of supernatural horrors:
Often seen in supernatural horrors is blood. This is seen when the female character is being attacked on the floor by the evil being. This connotes that the rest of the film will see a lot of violence which will result in blood and gore, which is conventional of the genre and is something that the audience expects and wants to see and so pleases their needs when watching the film.
Also, the stock location in the scene which looks to be a large house with old-fashioned furniture in it, is conventional of the genre as supernatural horror films are generally set in relatively normal locations so it makes the audience feel that it could happen to anybody. Furthermore, old looking locations are also an icon of the genre as usually, old locations are said to be most likely haunted and the location of supernatural beings such as ghosts.
A hammer is used as a weapon by the woman as she is seen in the MCU shot about to destroy the box that is on the mantle piece. Weapons are generally not as common in supernatural horror films than other horror sub-genres such as slashers, however, it is still something that is conventional, although not as much as other horrors, and also connotes that there will be further violence and battle between good and evil throughout the rest of the film.
Themes of supernatural horrors:
One big theme of supernatural horrors and other horror genres is the fear of the unknown. As I have been mentioning throughout the analysis, the whole scene and especially the antagonist in it is very mysterious which intrigues the audience into why this being is attacking the woman and more importantly, what it actually is.
Another predominant theme in the genre is the use of female characters as victims throughout the film. Stereotypical, feminine women are seen as the archetypal weaker gender and are also seen as the ones who are more emotional and are usually hysterical when it comes to some of the situations seen in the films. In the scene, the middle-aged woman is seen wiping tears from her face which shows that she is emotionally unstable and is most likely due to the fear that she is feeling. This simply emphasises to the audience the power that this box must have if it is causing this effect on the female character, and so makes them feel more scared when it builds up to when she is attacked by the being. It is also a way of the audience empathising with the female character.
Score:
The diegetic sound of the strange whispering that is coming from the box in the LS is establishing that whatever this being that is coming from the box is, is sinister and menacing. The whispering is conventional of the supernatural horror genre as it sets an eerie and ominous tone.
As it builds up to the LS where we see the female character being forced to the ground, faint incidental music is played which adds tension for the audience and tells them that something bad is going to happen. This non-diegetic music builds up as a crescendo to the climax of the attack.
The sound effects such as the smashes of glass, and the sound of furniture hitting the ground are used to emphasise the force that the woman is being pushed around the floor with. These are conventional of the supernatural horror genre as a lot of violence is typically seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment