1st Personal Film Review

Film Title: The Shinning

Year of production: 1980

Director: Stanley Kubrick 

A family heads into an isolated hotel for winter where an evil/spiritual presence influences the father into violence towards his family.

One of the scenes that impressed me the most was the tracking shot of the young boy on the tricycle. I liked this scene because of the sound from wheels added a natural fear to the scene (from loud to quite). The content change from the wheels being on carpet then wooden floor added suspense to the scene due to the change of volume and tempo. 

The second scene that impressed me was towards the ned of the film of Johnny trying to break down the door. I liked this scene due to the collision cutting, editing of the montage, phallic weapon (axe)all made the conventional scene scary and brought fear to the audience. Also the length of the close up shot of the mother hiding made you feel fear for her and sympathy for the character. A;so the use dialogue represented clearly his insanity ‘here’s Johnny’!

By using the genre checklist made me understand the conventions by how commonly they are used. A few of the conventions i sae in the film where: creepy isolated location (hotel) this also links with the theme of loneliness. Conventional cinematography used in the shinning where close ups ‘here’s Johnny’ scene. The characters in film are conventional physique killer and final girl. However the final girl isn't completely conventional, i make this point due to how scared she was in last scene. A conventional ideology i saw in the film was sadism, sadism is represented by the pyscho killer trying to inflict pain/kill his family. Their is a lot of low key lighting in the film for example when he is driving at the bar, this could could be a representation and symbolise his slow descent to insanity and how his mind set is changing to a darker place, mentally. 

Aspects that i feel are strong and would consider placing in my own trailer would be creepy location. Even though i found the film slow and rather arty i feel that the use of expressionist can be a good to tall to represent the characters and the adds an exiting edge. The use of contrapuntal music music throughout almost the whole film.  Aspects that i would avoid in my trailer is the final girl, in modern days horrors the final girl needs to be much tougher. When Shelly Puvall is some what annoying and doesn't portray the typical final girl you would see in a more recent horror. So if i was going to use a final girl in my trailer i would avoid a weak final girl, would make her a lot tougher. Aspects that made the horror film enjoyable was the body horror and final fight scene. I could recreate a fight scene my trailer by using camera angle that will hide the impact points making look as though the punch does make connection. I can also recreate the body horror by using fake blood, latex in my trailer.

Scream Magazine

Scream magazine is a Norwegian magazine established in 1990.

The title scream connotes horror being used a lot in horror films and hopefully making the audience scream. The font of the title is very conventional to its genre, using the effect of running blood the audience can instantly tell the genre of the magazine and what it is trying to connote. Also the colour red symbolises blood, fear and horror. I feel that the target audience is both for fans of physiological horror and gore horrors. I think this because of their title ‘scream’ connoting more to jump scares conventional mo0re to the physiological genre within horror. However due to the body horror and makeup effects of the images on the front cover I also think this magazine reaches a wider audience of gory horror fans as well. The dark tones behind the character in the image are there to add atmosphere of suspense. The young female on the front cover is a conventional character to the genre, final girl. Her appearance of short dark hair is very conventional to the final girl. Also her pose in the image also shows this as she isn’t there to be looked at (male gaze theory, Laura Mulvey) there is a feel of feminist enpowerment

Dawn Of The Dead (1979)

In this wide shot of the mall you can see the zombies walking around. This is a representation of the historical context. When this film was released the rise of the malls in America was starting to open in the 1970s. So the zombies are meant to be the consumers (us). As quoted by Peter: ‘It's memory, instinct’ meaning that all they know now is coming to the malls.  This sequence symbolises the fact that people are sucked in by the malls and advertisement and are controlled like zombies. Also the music playing is conventional music for a mall, however the contrapuntal music for a horror film and this scene. The music makes the zombies seem somewhat silly, which could be an ironic representation of real-life people that are in the ‘trap’ of consumerism.  This film is links with the context making it appeal to the audience (Janet Staiger, says how the best way to analyse a film is through the context)

Dawn Of The Dead (1979)

In this scene from Dawn of the Dead (1979) again you can see the director’s auteur influence with two unconventional characters not conforming to the stereotypes( Andrew Sarris auteur theory, saying how the film reflects the directors personality, reflecting on racism, something Romero has personally experienced throughout his life) .  Peter being a survivor was out and a modern context for the time of the film being released as a black survivor was unseen outside of Romero films.  Also Peter making the plans and is the most likeable male hero in many ways was very unconventional. Throughout the film Peter is a likable character as he is determined to save his brother and Andy in the gun shop.  Following the conventions of standard horror films, Fran should have died as she is blonde and has sex with Stephen in the mall, however she also survives. Also a blonde female with a gun and being able to use it well is unconventional. Finally them both surviving and fly away together hints that they have an interracial relationship which at the time of the film was a big taboo.  The narrative in the film is an open ending, as u don’t know how it finishes you only see them fly away in the helicopter. The cinematography of a medium shot showing both of the characters emotions make you feel for the characters .

Dawn Of The Dead (1979)

This scene breaks the stereotypes for generic conventions of characters in horror films. Stereotypically Stephen would be the male hero, he is tall and manly, and is also dating the seemingly stereotypical blonde female victim. Stephen should be good with a phallic symbol (the gun). However this scene consists of a montage of Stephen missing his shots at a zombie and then Roger doing it for him. He is also unconventional has he isn’t a survivor and later dies in the film. However roger is more of the hero due to that fact of him being brave and saving people throughout the film. However he isn’t the typical hero in a horror film due to his looks and body shape, he also dies which is unconventional for the hero.  This happens multiple times throughout the film. Also Steven having to be saved throughout the film also is unconventional for the stereotypical character that he should be. This is part of George A.  Romero auteur influence in his films, of changing stereotypes and them not conforming the conventions of that genre. George A. Romero also does this in his other films such as a disabled hero in Land Of The Dead.

Psycho

This image from Psycho conforms to its genre characters of a female victim, an attractive young blonde female, final girl and male gaze theory. Other conventions are sex and taboo, she has sex with a man who is divorced and they’re unmarried in the 1960s' historical context at the time it was a big taboo.

She is also seen in her underwear which at the start is white connoting her innocence. However, she has black underwear as she packs her clothes to leave with the money, connoting that her crime has corrupted her.

It is also conventional low key lighting and close up in this is to show fear of her getting caught by the police. The cinematography of a close up shows her emotions and the fear of what she has done, it also gives the audience an attachment to her as you fell her emotions. Also the weather is a pathetic fallacy, rain and dark matching her mood. The music in this scene adds suspense and panic due the quick pace of it. There is also extra-diegetic voiceover of Marion’s boss talking about where she might be. By using a close up alongside this you can tell her emotion and motive.

Psycho

This scene from Psycho is an iconic scene of Marion being killed in the shower by Norman.  The back lighting in the frame hides Norman's face, and the darkness shows that the evil side of Norman's schizophrenia has taken over and he is his mother at this point In time. 

By using a point of view shot it helps the audience feel fear as you are in the place of Marion. The phallic weapon used by Norman is a representation of his power and his sexual frustration.

Due to the institutional context at the time the Hays’ Code, lead to the scene having no body horror and restricted narration.  You never see the knife going into the victim only hear it. By using collision cutting from a slow montage for suspense to a quick montage adds fear to the scene. This links with Hitchcock’s auteur influence ‘ the master of suspense’.   Fear is also added by the sound, the iconic parallel music used in the shower scene is high pitched with shrill violins, making it uncomfortable for the audience. This is emphasised by the fact the scene is very quiet before, with just the sound of the shower.

Psycho

The cinematography technique used is a low expressionist angle with the birds framed left and high representing a number of elements. Firstly, it could show the hold that women have on Norman. (His mother) as ‘bird’ is a British slang word for females, and Hitchcock is a British director. However, it could also show the power Norman has over Marion. He is also shot from a low angle and he could connote the bird of prey looming above Marion. The lighting in the frame makes large shadows behind the bird, giving it an even bigger and unsettling appearance.

The stuffing of birds in his room may also be a representation of his sadism and enjoy killing things, a conventional aspect of a “psycho killer” archetype in a horror film. Also the bird is an owl, who survives by eating rodents and other smaller birds. Another link between the birds is Marion Crane, Crane being her last name, which also is a bird. This links with Ed Gein the character Norman is based on linking the context of the time the film was released. Ed Gein was a man who killed women and kept their dead bodies. He was also schizophrenic (linking to Norman), Ed gein dug up his dead mother and kept her in the house, he also dressed up as women. This links with Norman, by using context of what is happening in real life with horror films truly makes them scary for the audience.

Fangoria Magazine

Fangoria is an international, US horror film magazine. The magazine has been in publication since 1979. Fangoria has a circulation of 150’000 per issue, releasing 10 issues a year. Fangorias website has over 3 million hits a month.

The colours used on the magazine are all conventional to the genre of the films, horror. Red is used a lot including the title; red is used a lot in horror films as the colour represents fear, danger and blood. Also black is used a lot on the magazine cover again conventional to the genre that the magazine is advertising.

You know that the magazine is well known as the head of the monster is covering it. The white boarder around title of the magazine makes it stand out and contrast from the black background, attracting the reader’s eye. The strap lines will attract the obvious target audience of people who enjoy horror films. ‘Summers hottest horror previews’. This strap line will attract people who enjoy horror films and want to see new ones that are coming out. Having the other two films along the side will attract people who want to see them films. The font used on the words ‘the descent’ is conventional to its genre. Fonts used for horror films are normally thin wording, also the blood splatter on the wording is again a clear representation that it is going to be horror film. The target audience for this magazine I would say is manly a male demographic due the films that the magazine covers.

Saw IV poster

Saw IV was releised in October 2007 and is American horror thriller, a hybrid genre.  The director of the film was Darren Lynn Bousman.

The image is a female tied up in a chair with a pig head over her head and a red draped material over her.

The colour red is a motif throughout the poster and convention to the hybrid genre. This also connotes that the film will contain a lot of gore. Having the red all the way down the centre of the frame will draw the eye from top to bottom seeing the image, then the title and finally the date it is being released.  Red is very conventional in horror thriller films as it connotes many things such as blood and danger. Also the lighting used in the image starts of dark giving the image a scary tense atmosphere. Also the lighting hides the machine she is sitting but reveals a small amount that again draws your eye down the page.

The font used in the image is a uneven font that is different sizes and random capital letters, however the IV is very clean cut and sharp. The font used is very conventional to the genre of horror. The font used for the date released and strap line is very clear making it easy to read, so on advertising it will be easy to read. Also the main title of Saw is large again making it easier to read. Also having the font random and not looking the same as each other will make it very easy to remember. The tag or selling line ‘It’s a Trap’ tells you that the film will include tricking people in to do things and also trapping people also connoted from the image on the poster. Also having the strap line all in capitals makes it stand out and makes the audience reads it slower.

Overall I think that the film is mainly aimed at a majority male audience.  I think this because of the female on the front, from her shoes and leg it connotes a young female who is helpless, conventional to horror films and symbolising the Final girl theory.

 

Friday The 13th poster

Friday the 13^th is an American horror released in 2009. 

The front cover is of the killer, and conventionally you cannot see his face due the lighting and him wearing a mask, which as a motif of horror films. The angle used to represent the killer id from a low angle which connotes his power and danger as you look up to him.  The killers appearance is iconic as he is a large male with a weapon and a mask on.

The background is of a forest gain iconic to horror films as the victim has no one to safe them or run too. The type of horror I think a gore slash horror, due the weapon he has as the title being in red representing blood.

The main dominate colour is black or grey, this gives the poster the horror film atmosphere and tension. Also the title being in red connotes gore and a conventional horror film. It will appeal to the audience as the light above is head draws your eye to face and the down his body towards the weapon and finally the title. This will make the audience view the whole poster attracting them to the film.

The tag line ‘WELCOM TO CRYSTAL LAKE’ gives a slight hint to the narrative of people going to the lake and meeting the killer, on the iconic date of Friday the 13^th. Also them putting the directors other films on the poster will attract an audience of people who liked the films.

The target audience for this horror film I feel would be teenagers mainly male but also a high female audience as well. I think mainly male because horror films tend to aim towards the male audience more.

Crab Monster Poster

Is a sci-fi horror released In February 1957, it is an American film.

The image is of the victim and the killer. Conventionally the victim is a blonde attractive female in her underwear. This links to the last girl theory and male gaze theory (Laura Mulvey). There are many sexual connotations in the image for example that fact she isn’t wearing many clothes.  You know she is the victim because her face connotes fear and she is in danger from the killer. 

The killer in the image dominates the poster, because the killer isn’t human you can clearly the see the killer. The killer not being human and is a monster crab it becomes a part of the sci-fi horror, making it a hybrid-genre of sci-fi horror.  The killer is iconic top a sci-fi killer being a normal animal but much larger, which is iconic and highly conventional.  You can see that killer is powerful from its size and large teeth and claws. Also the people in the background aren’t helping showing that the monster is too strong and powerful.  Another conventional aspect is that the humans aren’t in a normal place and it looks cold and bleak empty place.

The dominate colour is red which is iconic for a horror film, also the title being in yellow is also a convention for the genre of sci-fi. The font for the title is a large and clear to read, making it easier for people to read when advertising and on the move. The title tells what the film is so it will itsntly appeal to the target audience. I feel that the target audience will be male due the femal on the front and also sci-fi has a mainly higher male viewing.

The strap line ‘From the depth of the sea… A TIDAL WAVE OF TERROR’. Is a good strap line as it tells the audience that it’s a sci-fi horror. It also has clever play on between the ‘sea’ and ‘tidal wave’.

 

Practice Poster and Feedback

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