Textual Analysis for 3 horror films


Halloween (2007 remake)

The opening scene of Halloween begins with an establishing shot of the Myers home. We then fade through the window to an extreme close up of Michael Myers holding a rat close to his face. It then cuts to an extreme close up of just the rat, this is empathising the rat so the audience know the rat could be incidental in the scene. It then cuts into the kitchen where the man and woman are arguing and the camera is shot reverse shot. It also keeps cutting to a close up of the baby while they argue, this is to show the audience that the children had no hope in this family and this is how they were bought up as the parents continually argue and swear showing no attention to the child. Then the eldest daughter walks in and the camera shoots shot reverse shot between the daughter and the mom and the daughter and the moms boyfriend. The main focus is now on the daughter for the few minutes she is in the room. When it cuts upstairs to Michaels room it shows a low angle shot of Michael, this shows the audience that already Michael is in a position of power over us. The camera then cuts to an extreme close up of the knife Michael is washing, this is so the audience see the blood that he is washing off it. The audience are made to think where the blood has come from, which is when the audience remember the rat from the beginning and realise it is no longer there. Right from the beginning the audience are made aware that young Michael Myers is a killer. At the end of the clip we are in a point of view shot of the stepdad as he tells Michael to take the mask off, Michael just moves his head and ignores him. This shows the audience the hate Michael has for his stepdad. It is then changed to a close up of Michaels face as the stepdad rips the mask of his face, this is to show us the anger in Michaels face as it happens.

The sound at the beginning of the scene is all diagetic. We hear the radio coming from downstairs in the kitchen when the camera is showing Michael stroking his rat. We can also hear the rat squeeling as the camera has an extreme close up of it. When the camera cuts to downstairs with the mom and stepdad, the radio becomes louder. This is so it is realistic because obviously the radio would be louder in the kitchen than upstairs in the bedroom. The camera then cuts to a close up of the eggs being poured into the pan, we can hear the sizzling of eggs hitting the pan, this is an ambient sound. As the mom and stepdad begin to have a conversation and argue the sound of the radio goes off; this is so the audiences attention is solely on the dialogue between the mom and stepdad. At the end of the scene as the stepdad grabs the mask off Michaels face and they argue, their voices are drowned out by the crying of the baby. This empathises to the audience of how the children are treated in this family and that even though the baby is crying so loudly it is just ignored.

The editing is a normal pace because in the opening of this film there are no horrific moments; Rob Zombie allows the audience to get to know Michael Myers and his reasons for becoming a murderer. This then allows Rob Zombie to make the editing quicker later on in the film when Michael Myers is about to kill.

The opening scene to this film is not common for a horror film. It uses no special effects, no non-diagetic music to build up to a tense scene and no fast movement or editing. It does though allow the audience to create a relationship with murderer Michael Myers and understanding his reasoning for the way he is.




Saw 2

The opening clip of Saw 2 begins with a point of view shot looking up at a bright light bulb. The bulb is almost too bright to look at which straight away gives the audience a sense of uneasiness. The camera then starts to move around looking in all different directions because the person is starting to panic, we as the audience start to question his whereabouts and what has happened to him. After a couple of suspenseful seconds the camera reverse tracks to reveal that he is trapped in a dark room, with a trap locked around his head. It suddenly hits the man that he is in extreme danger and he screams, we see a high angle shot looking straight down into the victims face. This high angle shot shows the mans weakness and that he has no control over this situation what so ever. Just before the victim dies when the trap shuts on his face, there is a 360 degree pan at a quick pace. This is showing the audience how he is desperately trying to escape from all angles and preparing us for a climax so the camera can then slow down again.

Throughout the scene we see numerous montages. A lot of clips fade in and out very quickly of the x-ray showing him where the key is in his eye and his actual face which looks extremely frightened. There is also non-diagetic sound which adds to the quick pace of the montage and creates tension. As the montage stops we hear the diagetic sound of the clock starting to tick; we know he is in a race against time and are scared for him and on the edge of our seats.

The editing throughout the clip is fast, especially when they show a montage where it is extremely fast. This prepares the audience for a fast paced film filled with tension and excitement.

The room is very dark except for the lightbulb above the mans head. This creates a spotlight over him so we know as the audience that the man is the only thing we need to be paying attention to in the clip.

The opening clip of Saw 2 uses many of the usual conventions of a horror film. It uses dark lighting to create tension and fast editing to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. It's use of montage is also very effective in creating a strong opening to the film. In conclusion I think Saw 2 has a strong and effective opening to the film. It keeps the audience in suspense and prepares them for what to expect from the rest of the film.





The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

As the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films are based on true events, this film begins with facts about the "cannible family". The information is not only shown on the screen but it is read out to make it more creepy and to make sure the audience pay attention. The man who is performing the narration has a very manly and intimidating voice; this prepares the audience to be shocked and amazed by what is seen in the film. When this narration ends it goes into the credits, the background is black and the credits are in red writing. These colours symbolise evil and danger; there is also non-diagetic music being played, the sound of a piano then a violin create an eerie beginning to the film.

The music is then changed but stays non-diagetic, a rock song is now being played but it could be coming from the car radio. We are then confused by the odd start to the film, it is broad daylight and a man is firing bullets at signs whilst driving down the road. He is also wearing very strange glasses. This makes the audience ask themselves, is this normal in Texas? The camera then goes to a 2 shot of the driver and the man with the gun, they are drinking beer which solves the audiences question about their behaviour. As the man is firing bullets out of the window we are at a slight low angle shot, this could symbolise that the man has more power than us and could be a threat throughout the rest of the film.

The editing is just of a normal pace throughout the scene, and cuts from the men in the car to the radio woman numerous times. This is to make the audience think there is some sort of connection between the two; because of the slow pace of the editing we do not think something horrific is going to happen.

When the men see the car coming in the opposite direction we know they are going to do something. The audience aren't expecting anything horrific though as no usual horror conventions are used. If something were to happen, usually in a horror it would be dark and eerie non-diagetic music would be played and the editing would become very fast. But this isn't the case as we have a point of view shot of the men in the car and then a point of view shot of the van coming in the opposite direction. The audience are then proved right when the van steers off road but nothing dangerous or horrifying occurs.

In conclusion The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 has an unusual opening for a horror film. It is set in the daytime and is very bright and colourful. There are no shocking moments or suspenseful moments. As this is based on true events it could have been done on purpose to show the audience that what happened isn't normal. It could be trying to prepare us for strange things to happen and things we wouldn't expect.