Tilton Road
Genre of film: Crime / Drama - A film about a gang of football hooligans
Film
Opening scene to lay the setting of the film
Target Audience: Football supporters 16-55
Key stylistic elements of sequence: Cinematography, Editing, Music
Monday 25 November 2013
Sunday 17 November 2013
How does the use of cinematography create suspense in the prison cell sequence from Halloween?
How does the use of cinematography create suspense in the prison cell sequence from Halloween?
One distressing scene is the scene where two cousins are working late hours at the prison and decide to rape a new female inmate in Michael Myers' prison cell. The scene begins with a long shot of the prison at night which chillingly sets the scene, it is a common slasher horror convention as it is a large, isolated prison at night. This made me feel uneasy because at night is the time when the majority of security guards go home and dark shadows begin to appear and creates mystery so i wasn't completely comfortable with the surroundings. Both cousin's have hats on which stops the high key lighting above them reaching their faces making them shady characters inferring that they are not going to be trusted. One of them is wearing an orange beanie, the colour is same as a pumpkin which is suitable for the title of the film, Halloween because when we think of Pumpkins we think of Halloween. That same character then says "Mikey, Mikey, Mikey" looking up the long empty corridor while the camera cuts to a long shot of the corridor, specifically at Michael's door. This creates suspense because it means he has something in mind so we have to wait nervously to see what he does. I feel like this technique has now become a common device in horror. It reminded me of a scene in Scream 4 (a slasher film) when the killer is on the phone to a young woman and is tormenting her. He is teasing her and makes us think he is in the wardrobe by focusing on the closed door; therefore creating suspense because we don't know if he is inside it. When the camera cuts back the other cousin has arrived out of the cell with the new female inmate, holding her arms from behind making her vulnerable and powerless.
The woman herself is wearing a white garment indicating she is pure, innocent and the prey of the twisted cousins. The camera then exploits the fact her chances of escape are very slim by framing her in the middle of the two men with a medium long shot. They then begin tormenting her and touching her in inappropriate places but they do this is in low key lighting as if they would not commit this act in daylight or if anybody was around. Throughout this, we see closeups of the men and you can clearly see that they have no remorse or guilt. They drag her up to Michael Myers' cell and go in there with her. The mise-en-scene in this cell features masks that Michael has made covering the walls from top to bottom. By this time Michael had lived under a mask for 15 years making no one know what he properly looks like. Even though Mike has his backed turned from the cousins and victim, the masks are facing them giving me an indication that Michael is aware of what is going on behind him. The cousin in the orange beanie then proceeds to persuade Michael to join in with abuse of the woman. When the man viciously forces the woman onto the bed, the low non diegetic sounds we were previously hearing suddenly changes to a high-pitched screech with a fast drum beat that is gradually getting faster. This created suspense because we know that it is building up for something.
However it is not just the sound that creates the tension, it is also the cinematography. The editing is cutting very fast, moving around fast and adding closeups of the rape making it also very distressing. When Mike doesn't respond one of the cousins hits him across the back of the head. After that, the camera cuts to a high angle shot in the ventilation system behind a cage. This made me feel like the woman was trapped and was in cage with no means of escape. The two cousins then proceed to mock Mike by calling him "faggot" and taking his masks off the wall and wearing them, the camera cuts to a close up of Michael when he is turning round. He is wearing a mask so the only thing we can see is his eyes. In his eyes you can see that he is feeling angry and provoked. The camera then does a tracking shot of him standing up. In this frame you can see Michael standing over one of the cousins, I think this means he is the more dominant and is looking at him as if he is the predator and the guard is the prey. The camera is focusing on Mike and not the cousin and this created suspense because we know that Mike is evil; he is staring at him and we are unable to see any emotion so we cannot predict what he is going to do to him.
While the camera is building suspense the music is getting louder and higher. It reminded me of an air raid siren and air raid sirens are let off when a dangerous force is about to attack so I now had an idea of the outcome after this. Mike then grabs the one who hit him across his head pins him up against the wall and repeatedly keeps smacking his head off the wall. While he has him pinned up by his neck, medium close shots show Michael in full control and one of the cousins struggling to breath. The main rapist then pulls out a truncheon and screams for Michael to put down his cousin. The camera then cuts to a low angle medium-long shot and Mike then throws his victim near the camera. In this shot we witness the strength that Michael has and his resentment to pain as he has the ability to throw a man and get it hit by a weapon at the same time. It made me feel like the main power in this sequence had shifted from the two men to Mike.
Meanwhile the camera is cutting very fast creating suspense in this sequence because its a fast paced action scene, meaning that I held my breath nervously waiting for what was going to happen. Michael turns from the man he had just thrown on the floor to the other man, who soon realises that Michael is going to kill him. We know this because the camera cuts to a close up of him looking into Michael's face and we can see that Michael has put the fear of God into him. He tries to escape the cell and leave his fellow companion but fails and falls over because his trousers are still round his ankles from when he was raping the inmate. Again, the camera cuts to a close up of the cousin trying to escape on the floor. It made me see that he was struggling and also I felt like I was on Michael Myer's side for once because the man on the floor deserved to be killed.
Throughout the whole film, Mike takes actions that make him a horrible person. He kills many innocent people and even people who try to help him. However, when I seen the closeup of the man struggling on the floor the suspense was making me thirsty for the death of the man as I felt like justice would have been served then. Michael wraps his hand around the neck of the man and slowly drags him up the wall. I think this was done so that it gives the camera an opportunity to do a close up shot of the man struggling to breath and to show he is powerless. When he is standing up against the wall looking into Michael's eyes the camera cuts to a long shot of the corridor and see Michael land the final slam to the man's head. The long shot created suspense for me as you are waiting for the kill, I felt that this camera shot was out of place because throughout this scene all the camera has been doing is short range shots, exploiting the claustrophobic environment in the prison cell. I think the long shot was to also show Michael is now free as well as create suspense. The camera cuts to a close up again and you can see the now-dead rapist slowly sliding down the wall with a trail of blood. At this point the music stops, emphasising that the suspense has been built up and passed. Blood is a normal horror convention and this film's sub genre being a slasher; you would expect to see blood in a death scene.
One distressing scene is the scene where two cousins are working late hours at the prison and decide to rape a new female inmate in Michael Myers' prison cell. The scene begins with a long shot of the prison at night which chillingly sets the scene, it is a common slasher horror convention as it is a large, isolated prison at night. This made me feel uneasy because at night is the time when the majority of security guards go home and dark shadows begin to appear and creates mystery so i wasn't completely comfortable with the surroundings. Both cousin's have hats on which stops the high key lighting above them reaching their faces making them shady characters inferring that they are not going to be trusted. One of them is wearing an orange beanie, the colour is same as a pumpkin which is suitable for the title of the film, Halloween because when we think of Pumpkins we think of Halloween. That same character then says "Mikey, Mikey, Mikey" looking up the long empty corridor while the camera cuts to a long shot of the corridor, specifically at Michael's door. This creates suspense because it means he has something in mind so we have to wait nervously to see what he does. I feel like this technique has now become a common device in horror. It reminded me of a scene in Scream 4 (a slasher film) when the killer is on the phone to a young woman and is tormenting her. He is teasing her and makes us think he is in the wardrobe by focusing on the closed door; therefore creating suspense because we don't know if he is inside it. When the camera cuts back the other cousin has arrived out of the cell with the new female inmate, holding her arms from behind making her vulnerable and powerless.
The woman herself is wearing a white garment indicating she is pure, innocent and the prey of the twisted cousins. The camera then exploits the fact her chances of escape are very slim by framing her in the middle of the two men with a medium long shot. They then begin tormenting her and touching her in inappropriate places but they do this is in low key lighting as if they would not commit this act in daylight or if anybody was around. Throughout this, we see closeups of the men and you can clearly see that they have no remorse or guilt. They drag her up to Michael Myers' cell and go in there with her. The mise-en-scene in this cell features masks that Michael has made covering the walls from top to bottom. By this time Michael had lived under a mask for 15 years making no one know what he properly looks like. Even though Mike has his backed turned from the cousins and victim, the masks are facing them giving me an indication that Michael is aware of what is going on behind him. The cousin in the orange beanie then proceeds to persuade Michael to join in with abuse of the woman. When the man viciously forces the woman onto the bed, the low non diegetic sounds we were previously hearing suddenly changes to a high-pitched screech with a fast drum beat that is gradually getting faster. This created suspense because we know that it is building up for something.
However it is not just the sound that creates the tension, it is also the cinematography. The editing is cutting very fast, moving around fast and adding closeups of the rape making it also very distressing. When Mike doesn't respond one of the cousins hits him across the back of the head. After that, the camera cuts to a high angle shot in the ventilation system behind a cage. This made me feel like the woman was trapped and was in cage with no means of escape. The two cousins then proceed to mock Mike by calling him "faggot" and taking his masks off the wall and wearing them, the camera cuts to a close up of Michael when he is turning round. He is wearing a mask so the only thing we can see is his eyes. In his eyes you can see that he is feeling angry and provoked. The camera then does a tracking shot of him standing up. In this frame you can see Michael standing over one of the cousins, I think this means he is the more dominant and is looking at him as if he is the predator and the guard is the prey. The camera is focusing on Mike and not the cousin and this created suspense because we know that Mike is evil; he is staring at him and we are unable to see any emotion so we cannot predict what he is going to do to him.
While the camera is building suspense the music is getting louder and higher. It reminded me of an air raid siren and air raid sirens are let off when a dangerous force is about to attack so I now had an idea of the outcome after this. Mike then grabs the one who hit him across his head pins him up against the wall and repeatedly keeps smacking his head off the wall. While he has him pinned up by his neck, medium close shots show Michael in full control and one of the cousins struggling to breath. The main rapist then pulls out a truncheon and screams for Michael to put down his cousin. The camera then cuts to a low angle medium-long shot and Mike then throws his victim near the camera. In this shot we witness the strength that Michael has and his resentment to pain as he has the ability to throw a man and get it hit by a weapon at the same time. It made me feel like the main power in this sequence had shifted from the two men to Mike.
Meanwhile the camera is cutting very fast creating suspense in this sequence because its a fast paced action scene, meaning that I held my breath nervously waiting for what was going to happen. Michael turns from the man he had just thrown on the floor to the other man, who soon realises that Michael is going to kill him. We know this because the camera cuts to a close up of him looking into Michael's face and we can see that Michael has put the fear of God into him. He tries to escape the cell and leave his fellow companion but fails and falls over because his trousers are still round his ankles from when he was raping the inmate. Again, the camera cuts to a close up of the cousin trying to escape on the floor. It made me see that he was struggling and also I felt like I was on Michael Myer's side for once because the man on the floor deserved to be killed.
Throughout the whole film, Mike takes actions that make him a horrible person. He kills many innocent people and even people who try to help him. However, when I seen the closeup of the man struggling on the floor the suspense was making me thirsty for the death of the man as I felt like justice would have been served then. Michael wraps his hand around the neck of the man and slowly drags him up the wall. I think this was done so that it gives the camera an opportunity to do a close up shot of the man struggling to breath and to show he is powerless. When he is standing up against the wall looking into Michael's eyes the camera cuts to a long shot of the corridor and see Michael land the final slam to the man's head. The long shot created suspense for me as you are waiting for the kill, I felt that this camera shot was out of place because throughout this scene all the camera has been doing is short range shots, exploiting the claustrophobic environment in the prison cell. I think the long shot was to also show Michael is now free as well as create suspense. The camera cuts to a close up again and you can see the now-dead rapist slowly sliding down the wall with a trail of blood. At this point the music stops, emphasising that the suspense has been built up and passed. Blood is a normal horror convention and this film's sub genre being a slasher; you would expect to see blood in a death scene.
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