Suspense Is Crucial in Horror and Thriller Films Essay

The term Mise-en-Scene is used to signify the director’s control over what happens in the film frame. In English the phrase literally translates to “putting in the scene” (Bordwell, 2010a). ‘Night of the Hunter’ (Charles Laughton, 1955) is a prime example of a film that uses aspects of Mise-en-Scene to sway the audience’s opinions of characters and their understanding of narrative themes and to create a certain atmosphere in the film. “Although the fundamental aspects of Mise-en-Scene in both theatre and cinema are those of lighting, blocking and production design (costume, props and sets),

The use of mise-en-scene elements contribute a great deal to the films overall theme. In the particular scene for this analysis, an element that stands out a number of times is lighting. There is an immense difference between the amount of light when Madeline and John are in the forrest as opposed to when they are out near the shore line. The scene also uses the lack

Mise-en-scene is a concept that was transposed from the theatre, where it meant that the director took into account everything that appeared on the stage; he took into account the effect of everything that appeared in the 'frame ' of onstage space. These elements had to further the purpose and function of the play. So too in film. Generally there is nothing in a film frame that is not meant to be there, that is not planned. So elements of the frame have a purpose in the act of constructing the meanings in a film.

This film’s mise-en-scène shapes my feelings by visually being straightforward and realistic. Visually the film makes me feel like I am a part of the character’s different paths in life, including the citizens of the small towns that are equally being affected financially. This is evident in the visual decay of each town. This film, despite the tense and criminal scenes, has the power to make me pause my scrambled thoughts as the camera pans to a West Texas inspired sunset that expands across the bleak earth. This ultimately makes me feel warm and experienced as if I was one of the citizens that face such harsh economic conditions during the day yet an alluring scenery at night. Another aspect of the mise-en-scène in Hell or High Water is the use raw lighting. Through the use of hard lighting, such as the bold shadows and sunlight beating down, the movie truly captures a sense of

“Art must take reality by surprise” ( Francoise sagan). Spike Lee’s masterpiece film Inside Man slams reality by a series of unfolding clues. Goldman’s novel Marathon Man also uses a number of masks to hide reality by twisting the point of view of the perspective of the main character. In the Marathon Man the main character Levy is an ordinary student at Columbia University. His life gets ripped apart when his secret agent brother enters the stage. In Spike Lee’s film the antagonist Russell Dalton plans the perfect bank robbery. He appears to be robbing the bank when really he is robbing “safety deposit box 392”. Both writers mask reality with false appearances which unfold as the point of view of the characters change. This creates suspense and drama and is at the core of what makes the work a masterpiece.

This sets an image in the reader’s mind that the Misfit is extremely odd and mysterious. Gresham further explains a scene where the family finds themselves stranded far from their destination, with a wrecked car and coming face to face with the Misfit.

A bleak, stark white scene opens Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty. The protagonist, Lucy, enters the frame and blends in perfectly. Her pale skin, light hair, and rustled white top are in perfect unison with the monochromatic scene catching her stuff a tube down her throat as a research subject. The audience is compelled to watch this unsettling scene for several minutes, setting the pace for the remainder of the movie. The film explores a character whose lacking personality allows the viewer to perceive her as they choose. In particular, Lucy’s friend’s, Birdman’s, funeral is a compelling scene that reflects on her past; it allows the viewer to realize that her sleeping emotions are caused by her missed opportunity to be

This along with what instruments are used and what pitches are played contribute to how successful a horror film is in evoking fear in its audience through

The element of Mise en Scene is used to achieve a number of effects. This is to highlight the

The first function of mise-en-scene is to establish the time and space of the story. In the beginning of the movie we see the low-key lighting of a high school before it cuts to different shots inside the high school, such as the hallways, the cafeteria, the lockers, etc.

Mise-en-scene is defined as organization of everything that appears on the screen. This includes lights, sets, actors, costumes, make-up, and everything else that is used to feature an image that is independently existing. Mise-en-scene is the element of a movie scene that are engaged in a specific way once the filming begins and that are put in a certain position before and during a picture is

The Overlook has scenes of extravagant grandeur and mundane scenes of domesticity. There is an uncertainty and unease instilled in the viewer simply from the mise en scene without even considering the narrative. Nevertheless the mise en scene has a substantial role to play in the way the audience perceives the narrative. A motif throughout the narrative is that the audience do not know how is a reliable character or even from whom the story is being told. Jack being an extremely central character, the view has many ways of perceiving him and what happens to him.

The film was made in 1992 by director Quentin Tarantino, the basic summary of this film is that these group of men were pulling a bank heist when all of a sudden they were ambushed. The situation escalates as the group start to accuse each other of being a cop. This film keeps us in suspense the whole way through as we the audience try to figure out what happened and who did what. I feel that this movie is one of the best “whodunit” films as it was full of action, suspense, crime, and mystery. The actors who played the group of men were Tim Roth as Mr. Orange, Harvey Keitel as Mr. White, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink, Michael Madsen as the trigger happy Mr. Blonde, Edward Bunker as Mr. Blue, And the director himself as Mr. Brown. The actors all

These unique elements of mise-en-scène help to convey a feeling of loneliness and isolation to the audience. In the film, Bob and Charlotte

In the multi-language comedic drama Mystery Train, the analysis of narrative vs narration, character motivation, goals, narrative complexity, as well as other techniques such as colour, sound and mise-en-scene are useful tools that help the audience understand the social commentary and meaning that underlies the film.