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Individual Analysis of Seven

The very start of the title sequence shows us an open book, the book doesn't look purely white, it has a shade of brown to it so it could be stained, the music also is extremely creepy as it sounds like someone is banging or creaking. It gives us a sense to start using our imagination straight away into thinking what could it be? Also the title of 'new line cinema' is out of focus, and tries to trick us into thinking maybe we are not seeing right. We know straight away what the film is going to be like because New Line Cinema only produce a certain type of film.

Here we see a picture of some hands, they don't look like normal hands, they look like abnormal hands, that are quite disgusting, the way that the veins pop out and the fingers are out of proportion. Also the way that they are in a kind of choking motion makes us feel quite uneasy. Here we see a sort of shadow going over the picture, and I heard a creaking noise, which would make it sound very mysterious, we don't know what that creaking noise is. At the side is the director David Fincher, he has directed some music videos, which are fast paced, and this is how the opening sequence is portraying to us right now. His name looks like it has been written by a child, which could also signify immaturity to us. Also the writing is quite anamalistic, which is not calm.

Here we see a close up of a razor blade, which is a sharp object, we don't know what they are going to use it for, it could be for cutting someones throat, or just shaving someones beard. We are not shown what happens with it.This shows us the person picking at their fingers, which look like male fingers. They are also bandaged, so we do not know what they have been doing.


It was really hard to get this shot, as we only get a second look at it. It looks like a possible victim who has been punished, and they are developing the photographs of this person. The photo isn't a pleasant one which makes me feel quite uneasy. It makes us wonder into thinking who could this person be and what did they do to deserve the punishment? Are they dead?




The title of the film is written, and then shown a few times, up close, small, out of focus, and then the words D35 look to be scratched onto the film. This is done to make us like we are not thinking straight, we are not seeing things in focus. The double exposure of the pen writing in the book, also makes us think as if we are not seeing things for what they really are.

After the colours black, white, and brown are shown the colour red then pops up. Red can signify a lot of things such as love, danger, and death. I would say in this case it is defiantly death, but if we look closely, it is trying to trick us into thinking that it is blood, but it more or less looks like they are developing a photo, it is up for our imagination to decide.




This picture looks as if the victim has been forced to have it, or they are dead. When this was playing, the persons fingers are running across the edge of the paper, but with sound, it sounds like they are scraping fingers down a blackboard, so this could signify it to be something more important than it actually is.




On this shot, the first word that we can see is pregnant. So this triggers off our mind into thinking why is this person reading about being pregnant? Are they pregnant? Do they have something against it because they are crossing out a number of words, crossing them out in permanent black, is signifying that they are trying to get rid of these words out of their mind.




This shot shows a little boys face being crossed out, first it was his eyes, and then the whole face. This shows the loss of identity, this person could be dead, it is up for us to decide. The music starts to get quicker, and the images seem to get more horrific. The person crossing out this little boy must have not really liked him, and have some sort of hatred towards him.

This horrific picture shows something in the back of a boys head. Could they have killed him, or did he fall onto something, this also makes us use our imaginations. As the music is getting faster, more grusome images are shown to play with our mind.






This shot shows him cleaning a needle, but we do not know what he is using it for. This could be the reason of his bandaged fingers, we do not know. This sets our mind into wondering what he is using it for.




This picture is quite horrific, as it shows a little boy in his underwear with his eyes crossed out, he looses his identity straight away. But then we see him using some tweezers with what looks like hair that he is putting into a plastic wallet. This makes us think is it the boys hair? Which also make us think have they killed this little boy?







This shot shows us him cutting out 'God' in a dollar. This shows that the film could be religion related. Whilst he is doing this the words 'you get me closer to God' are said.

The whole title sequence is very disturbing because there is creepy music which is very distressing, and also the way that the whole of it is very tense and sets of an atmosphere straight away. It builds up suspense, as the images we see get worse, which triggers our mind into thinking what has happened.

Research into BBFC

The BBFC is a company that has been classifying cinema films since 1912. There are 7 classifications that films can be given and this is all depends on the contents of the film.

The first film rating is 'U' and this symbol stands for Universal.
It does usual aim for children 4 years and over to be the target audience as sometimes they may contain bad language such as 'damn' or 'hell'. These words could be offensive but can be justified if a parent allows their children to watch programmes/films rated a U. The only sexual content that can be seen is mild kissing or cuddling and references to sex such as 'love making' may be heard. Violence and horror is not permitted but small fight scenes that contain a small danger threat. These scenes are not long and end in a resolution. Some 'bad' characters may carry weapons but these weapons are usually related to some historical story so the audience are learning too.

Next is 'PG'. This stands for parental guidance and is most suitable for children 8 years and older. Although parents need to consider weather the content would upset their children. Not all PG films are made with children in mind as some are given the PG certificate because they don't contain things that would be given to a 15 but still are not children films. PG films usually deal with themes such as bereavement, domestic violence and racism. The films may contain content such as smoking, drinking and drugs but these issues will not be glorified. There can be blood but the injury wont be seen in shot and these kind of 'horror' scenes will not be prolonged.


Next there is 12 and 12A. The difference between the two is that the 12A is usually for cinema viewings. The A stands for 'accompanied' and if they the child is under 12 they have to accompanied by an adult over the age of 18. The decision of taking the child is to the adults discretion- if they believe that content is acceptable then that is the decision. If a film has a very dark or unsettling tone then it is unlikely that it will be passed as a 12A. Some language is allowed at 12/12A such as 'twat' or 'bitch' but no racial language is allowed. Language used in an angry tone or used to insult someone directly isn't allowed. Sex is featured in these films and any scenes of nudity will be brief. Homosexual relationships are treated exactly the same. Any verbal sex references do not go beyond what is accepted for young adults/teenagers. Horror films can be passed in this category as long as the scenes are not long or substantial. Physical and psychological threat is permitted. For this certificate moderate violence is allowed such as fight scenes, weapons shouldn't be glamorised.

15 rated films are purely for people 15 years old and over. These films feature themes such as strong language e.g. f**k, strong violence, prolonged scenes of sex, strong reference to sex and drug taking. Discriminatory language can be quite frequent such as racist and homophobic insults although the whole film should not be focussed on one of theses themes. Sexual activity is usually shown although it should be very graphic at a 15. At 15 violence can be very strong but there should be no scenes focusing on the injury itself but sexual violence probably wont be acceptable. Any easily acceptable weapons should not be glamorised. Any horror films rated 15 usually contain strong threat and menace. Situations that teenagers may copy such as suicide, hanging
and self harming are not permitted.

 Finally the last certificate for films is 18. 18 films contain most themes
strong sexual content, strong blood and gore, strong violence, strong horror and real sex in some circumstances. Any circumstances using bad language are permitted. There can be racial and homophobic themes at an 18 and discriminatory behaviour is allowed towards characters. Violence can be strong and portrayed in strong detail. There can be dwelling on scenes of injury blood and gore. Sustained threat that is stronger than an 15 will be certified a 15. Drug taking is accepted but it should not be promoted. Dangerous and criminal behaviour may be cut.
Any sexual scenes that bare too explicit would probably be rated R18. These films usually are too explicit and will only be available in licensed sex shops.

Character Profiles, Charlotte

Name: Charlotte Croft aka Charlie

Age: 17

Occupation: Charlotte works at the Boots chemist in Barnsley Town Centre. She works there part time as well as studying full time at Barnsley College. She studies all three sciences, Chemistry, Biology and Physics, as well as English combined. She and Amy met Lucas in this class.

Appearance: Charlotte loves to get dressed up to go to parties and other social occasions but during the day she likes to keep it simple and regularly wears her hair tied up. She wears cool clothes that are suitable for the science environment but she has always had her own unique twist to the way she dresses. She is very naturally pretty and doesn't need a lot of make-up. She wears glasses full time.

Personality: Charlotte is the only member of the group that has a boyfriend but that doesn't stop her getting boy attention. She tends to brush them off because she is utterly devoted to her boyfriend. Charlotte and Amy tend to go out a lot more without Violet. They don't leave her out. She just doesn't want to go. Charlotte is concentrated on her studies a lot of time and she only takes time out when she knows she has done everything that needs to be done.

Role: Charlotte is good friends with Lucas since starting their English together and is probably closest to him out of the three girls. She is very wary about going on the camping trip due to an essay being close to it's due in date but she decides to go anyway to help Amy out. Amy and Charlotte both want Violet to get along with Lucas but they both find it increasing difficult. Charlotte tends to get worried quite quickly during the film and over reacts at the smallest situation.

Character Profiles, Amy

Name: Amy Hartley

Age: 17

Occupation: Amy works at a small café near her house and studies A-levels at college. Her favourite subject is English language and literature purely because she wants to be a writer after University.

Appearance: Amy is considered a real girl. She is blonde and always has perfect pretty make-up. Her hair has always been long and she always keeps it looking beautiful. She usually wear white and cream blouses or plain coloured t-shirts with little shoes. Her style is quite simple because she likes to look quite neat. She takes a lot of time getting ready and always always looks presentable.

Personality: Amy is the kind of girl that likes to be heard but wouldn't shout in a group conversation. She will always find a way to get her point across some way or another. She is usually described as a little elf. Amy is very well liked among her college friends but she chooses to stay close to her two oldest friends Charlotte and Violet. She loves to read and she has a vast collection of books in her small bedroom. Amy is intelligent and strives to be the best she can possibly be in every way possible.

Role: Amy is best friends with Charlotte and Violet and she has known Violet the longest. They have been best friends since being really young and Amy probably knows Violet most in their social group. In the film Amy is the one who tries to hold the group together on their camping trip and she fails to do so. She is the one who organises the trip to try and get everyone to get along.

Character Profiles, Violet

Name: Violet Whittaker

Age: 17

Occupation: Violet is currently working in her father's shop. It sells gothic clothing and accessories to the public and is centred just outside Barnsley Town Centre. She works there full time and chose not to go to college like all her friends.

Appearance: Violet likes to wear dark clothing and regularly wears a necklace that has a pentangle star on it. She chooses to never take it off. her hair is dark and she always wears it down to cover her face. Her preferred footwear is big black boots and she doesn't really like wearing clothes that would be seen as 'provocative'. She very rarely wears clothing that shows much flesh because she doesn't agree girls should be this way. She wears pale make-up and never fails to have a dark purple/black lipstick in her pocket.

Personality: Violet has been bullied in the past for being 'weird' but has always had her two best friends, Amy and Charlotte, to stand by her side and stick up for her. As she doesn't go to college she does a lot of activities that she didn't have time to do while she was at school. She has been learning archery and how to go hunting- her father has been teaching her. Violet is a very religious person although she rarely talks about it. She's scared she will get bullied for it again. She very much is a typical teenager and she loves learning how to do her nails and make-up. She enjoys dark heavy metal music.

Role: Violet is one of the three main girls and she doesn't like new member, Lucas, as he is an intrusion to their small social group. She doesn't agree that he can just join the group and be so easily accepted. Purely because it took her so long growing up. In the film she gets very angry towards Lucas on their camping trip and looses her temper so much it has serious consequences.

Horror film certificates U PG 12/12A

U
Hotel Transylvania- 'Contains mild scary scenes and rude humour'
Monsters, INC.- 'Contains mild comic violence'

Both of these films contain characters that, in an 18 rated film, would be terrifying of portrayed in a different way. Monsters and Vampires used to be seen as things that were a horror cliché and now they're in films that can be seen in a universal rated film.

PG
Frankenweenie- 'Contains mild threat, scary scenes and one use of mild language'
Tim Burton's Corpse bride- 'Contains mild scary scenes'
Paranorman- 'Contains mild comic horror and violence, frightening sequences and innuendo'
Hocus Pocus- 'Contains mild language and violence'
The Nightmare Before Christmas- ' Contains scary scenes'
The Little Shop Of Horrors- 'Contains mild horror and comic violence'

These films certificate descriptions contain a lot of mild references and this will probably be because most of them are not animated anymore therefor making them appear more realistic to the audience. The U rated films are animated so that way children wont be relatively scared where as these films feature actual filmed footage that creates a sense of realism.

12/12A
The Woman In Black- 'Contains thematic material and violence/disturbing images'
The Others- 'Contains moderate horror'
Van Helsing- 'Contains nonstop creature action violence and frightening images'
Dark Shadows- 'Contains moderate violence, horror, gore, sex references and soft drug use'
Twilight- 'Contains some violence and a scene of sensuality'
Eight Legged Freaks- 'Contains moderate fantasy horror and sex references'
Red Riding Hood- 'Contains moderate fantasy violence, horror and sex'

All these films are non-animated which gives them a higher certificate. The Woman In Black was quite a confusing certificate because it claims it is a 12 here and a 15 here although I did go to watch it in the cinema and it was a 12. All these films contain conventions of horror films and this gives the certificate descriptions words such as 'violence' and 'gore'.

Research into Similar Films - Part 1

Similar Films:

Audition (1999) 
This is a Japanese horror film, that in October 2003 was named 'Sickest Film' by a combination of film review magazines. The elements that gave it this role were it's twisted scenes of torture but because we begin the film on quite a positive note for a psychological horror in which creates the feeling of 'safety' which we do not tend to have in this genre of film. This makes it a lot more interesting and this is an element something which a 'conventional horror' would not have. This is an element that have been considering for our story line as it a different feature that could be extremely effective by creating an alternative atmosphere.





Synopsis:
A middle aged man who has been widowed for 7 years is told by his 17 year old son that he thinks that he should start to move on and maybe look for another wife. His friend who is a film maker then has the idea to hold a makeshift audition for a 'film' to see if he can help find him a potential wife from the women who come to audition. He becomes obsessed with a woman who auditioned, who at first seems the 'perfect bride' but slowly through the film we find out that she is nothing like he thought she was, in the slightest. All the links from the woman's resume turn out to be dead ends, literally all are either dead or missing. Whilst he is out the woman makes her way into the widowers home, finding pictures of his dead wife and becomes seized by a jealous rage, drugging his alcohol. When he finally arrives home and takes a drink he soon passes out from the drugs. In the last 15 minutes we finally get to realise who this woman really is.

Characters/Unique Selling Point:
There are only ever 2 main characters and one supporting role. The fact that there aren't a lot of main characters makes us focus into story more which is an element to at least look at or incorporate. Because the story line is the main element to a psychological horror this helps you as an audience member to get more involved in the story.
The 2 sub heading 'character' and 'unique selling point' are together because I believe that the unique selling point of the story is the characters. It is the way we get to know each character slowly and the factor of 'slow reveal' about the characters personalities and what they're really like keeps the audience on edge and gives it the 'edge of the seat' atmosphere to it. This also aids the way that psychological horrors like to give you as little as possible to work with and then slowly reveal small and sometimes ambiguous clues that leave it up to you to make the links. Until ultimately, like in the final 15 minutes of 'Audition' the real nature of the female protagonist is revealed.

Reviews:

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=6662

This is a relevant review as it is done by an official site that also has other media resources that make it famous for their reviews and articles on film as it is their speciality. 
I have chosen to use this review as it picks up on the fact that I previously mentioned about the 'safety' feeling that lures you in to the beginning of the film, and creates the safe illusion and then shifts into an unsettling nature due to the haunting sequences of torture. This is quite relevent to our story as we are going to try and add some sinister elements into an everyday story to create a sense of insecurity in safe environents, which is an affective way to add to the element of a psychological horror.


http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/audition_1999/

This is a review from a reviewing website called 'Rotten Tomatoes', which is notoriously known for giving strict reviews and crutinising each film. 
This review has a star rating out of 5 and also it has other quotes and ratings from other critics such as The Guardian and the New York Times. Near enough all of the reviews talk about the elements of the film that we are considering for ours. These are the twisted story and the way the film stays with you. This would be a great selling point for a film for it to stick with you for a long time after you've watched it as you wouldn't want to create something that is easily forgettable and is like many other films of the same genre/sub-genre, you want it to stand out.

Links:

This is a YouTube video which is the 'controversial' final scene from the film Audition. This is the most infamous scene in the entire film as, practically, the entire film leads up to this. I think this is a relevant scene to look into because, as the film has quite a slow build up, you consider in your mind all of the possibilities of where the film is going to go, which is a good element in a film to have as you get the audience completely involved in the film and emersed  into the story line, and then hit them with something that they weren't at all expecting. 

This is a YouTube video of a countdown from a television channel Bravo, in which other directors from other iconic horror films are interviewed about the countdown choices and given their opinion on the films. I think this is a great source to look into how effective the films and their elements were because you get to see the way that they had an impact on other directors of the same type of genre, as opposed to just usually the audience reaction. There are also critics views in there which is a good thing to have as you get to see it from a professional point of view also. 

Character Profiles, Lucas

Name: Lucas Black

Age: 17

Occupation: Student at Barnsley College studying: English Language, English Literature, Graphic Art & Design, Media Studies. Lucas also has a part time job as Head Waiter at the restaurant Cubley Hall.

Appearance: Lucas has a smart/casual dress sense. Lucas like to keep up to date with the latest trends in fashion and often weas clothes that are wore to 'fit in with the crowd'. He likes to fit in and not stand out so that he isn't the center of attention. He has dark, curly hair that he usualy does nothing with unless there is an occasion that he has to.

Personality: Lucas is a confident teenager who likes to hang around with his friends and socialise. Although he does like to spend time alone and read the occasional book. He enjoys a laugh and a joke with people and doesn't take much to heart. He is an easy going person and generally finds it easy to make friends. He does like to make new friends because he finds that old ones get boring after a long time. He moves from social group to social group due to his lack of attention.

Role: Lucas is a new member to the group of friends he is in and isn't liked by all the characters. Lucas being unliked isn't the norm to him so he does try his hardest to impress all member os the social group. He finds himself not getting bored of these three girls and he is feel quite settled within the group. They have been friends for a couple of weeks and Lucas would probably call himself the 'life' of the group because he tends to be quite funny and keep the girls laughing.

Treatments 2

Treatments 2, first 2 minutes


Title
The title of our film is 'Something About Her'.

Duration
The duration of our film is 2 minutes

Audience
The age range that we want for our film is between 15-40. The gender can be both female and male, but not for families as some scenes are upsetting. The film is not for children younger than 15 so the certificate we would give it would be a 15, because it includes violence, strong language and some mild horror.  This film is not aimed at any particular regional audience, but should be interesting to mainly British audience however it could also have interest to other English speaking countries.

Synopsis
The film starts with Violet sat on her bed, in her dark black bedroom. She picks up her phone and sees that she has a couple of voicemails from her friends Charlotte, Amy, and Lucas. As she listens to the first voicemail, we get to see her whole reaction to it. When the second voicemail is playing, we see flashbacks of her friends in the woods, all sorts of flashbacks happen, such as someone killing someone else, them running away from something, arguing, falling over dead people, different things happen to play with your mind when you are watching it. The flasbacks are from a camping trip that all of the friends went on, Charlotte suggested to go. In the middle of the flashbacks Violets face is shown of her crying and reacting to the voicemails. Different voicemails are shown with different flashbacks.When the very last voicemail is heard from Charlotte, we get to see her walking through the woods, so scared and shaking, she sees that her friend Amy is dead after tripping over her, she crawls towards the camera and then after a tense moment of hearing a twig snap, she gets dragged away screaming. We then see Violet in her bedroom, her father shouts up 'vi your dinner is ready', after wiping her tears she puts on a smile and gets up off her bed. The title then comes up saying 'Something About Her'.

Suggested Elements
The elements in our 2 minutes are unique because you won't guess the plot straight away. You know that something goes wrong because of the blood, fighting etc. But at the end the three girls faces are shown, so you don't know who is the killer, this keeps the audience guessing straight away. Also our film has hardly any talking in it, only for the beggining, so when you are watching it, you can guess what you would think the characters are saying.

Treatments 1

Treatments 1 Full Film

Title
The title of our film is be 'something about her'.

Duration
The duration of our film is 90 minutes.

Audience
The age range for our audience would be 15-40. It is for both males and females but not for families because some scenes could be very upsetting. It is not for people below the age of 15 so it would have a 15 certificate because there is scenes of violence, mild horror, and strong language.

Synopsis
The film starts with Violet sat on her bed, in her dark black bedroom. She picks up her phone and sees that she has a couple of voicemails from her friends Charlotte, Amy, and Lucas. As she listens to the first voicemail, we get to see her whole reaction to it.
When the second voicemail is playing, we see flashbacks of her friends in the woods, all sorts of flashbacks happen, such as someone killing someone else, them running away from something, arguing, falling over dead people, different things happen to play with  your mind  when you are watching it. The flasbacks are from a camping trip that all of the friends went on, Charlotte suggested to go. In the middle of the flashbacks Violets face is shown of her crying and reacting to the voicemails. Different voicemails are shown with different flashbacks.
When the very last voicemail is heard from Charlotte, we get to see her walking through the woods, so scared, she sees that her friend Amy is dead after tripping over her, she crawls towards the camera and then after a tense moment of hearing a twig snap, she gets dragged away. We then see Violet in her bedroom, her father shouts up 'vi your dinner is ready', after wiping her tears she puts on a smile and walks downstairs. The title then comes up saying 'Something About Her'.
The next scene is of the girls being together all happy, shopping, having sleepovers, gossiping, stuff that bestfriends do. It then introduces the newest friend Lucas and him joining the group, it also shows the reaction of Violet's face to when Lucas starts hanging around with them. She isn't very happy, not happy at all. Another scene is shown of Charlotte and Amy talking about Violet and her past, acting worried because Violet has been acting strange latley. A scene is shown of Violet in her bedroom praying and worshiping the cult, with candles around her, whispering weird things. The scenes jump from serious to not serious, we see the girls and Lucas at school at dinner talking about what they are going to do on Friday night, and Charlotte suggests the camping trip. The next scene is the camping trip of the friends around the camp fire, suddenly Violet walks off, leaving them alone, noises are heard and screaming is heard. This is when the flashbacks from the beggining start to happen. After Charlotte gets dragged by Violet, the last scene shows her funeral, along with Lucas and Amy's funeral too. As everyone is crying and extremley upset in the graveyard, the camera flickers to Violet who is stood in the background smiling to herself, she walks off and turns round to look at the camera. The screen then goes off.

Suggested Elements
The suggested elements in our film that would make it unique is that we have powerful scenes that would make the audience confused, but then have to peice all of them together in a way that they thought it would be like. Also all of the cast is of a young age, and not like your typical horror film that has older people in it, this is what makes it stand out. Also we have a great plot line that would leave the audience amazed and want to keep guessing what is going to happen next. The film starts with the ending, and then the story carries on, so it confuses people at first and then it all makes sense.

Individual Review - Identity

Individual Review of a Psychological Horror

Identity - 2005

We have a close up as the first shot of the entire film. The shot shows a close up of a cassette tape with a person's name on it. This already starts us guessing as to why he was recorded and why it is significant to the story, although we then see the words 'patient' and 'session'. The fact that these words give off connotations that this person is mentally ill furthers that questionning we have and what their significance is. The fact that they are undergoing sessions and are a 'patient' we are guessing at this point of a mental institution leaves us wondering whether 'Malcolm is maybe a danger and what he has done to be there.

 In this medium long shot we get to see a man, in professional clothing listening to the tape which could show that these tapes are a serious matter, this paired with the fact that outside looks dark like it is a night time so the case is important and of significant. Also the fact that the medium shot also shows the window clearly, showing the weather creates a negative atmosphere because the rain, thunder and lightening are show pathetic fallacy. The medium show also provides us which extra idea into the set, like him being sat at a desk with the many books around him and the brain/head analysing material in the background.

The low angle close up on the psychiatrists face shows that he is in more power, more than likely that the 'Malcolm' character that he is so intensely looking into and studying. The fact that it is low angle also suggest, supported by his professional background, the fact that he may be trying to help Malcolm and it is of importance that he does help him and that Malcolm is relying on it. Also the fact that it is close enough to see the reflection of the scattered papers and tapes in his glasses evidence further that he is looking in depth into the case.

This long shot establishes the cut away from the office type environment that was quite vague, then to another type of professional environment. This environment is a court room, it is a lot more open spaced. The comparison between the closed in nature of the other environment, maybe showing that he was confined and hiding away and on his own, against this environment which shows a more dominant structure with more power to it. The fact that we are shown this man in his entirety, so we can see his clothing shows that we are supposed to take notice of it, and the differences between him and the previous man we saw. His clothing shows professionalism, but the fact that he is walking very fast, he is on the phone for all of the shot and that he walks quite untamed and unsettled says to us that maybe his profession is being jeapordised. 

This wide shot is extremely atmospheric. It sets an eerie scene that is already quite confusing to us as not much is confirmed as we keep flitting from set to set. The elements that make it atmospheric is the lack of light and lack of natural light, so we are left guessing. The pathetic fallacy also creates an eerie atmosphere as the rain gives negative connotations. Also, the fact that the motel looks isolated, with no people or cars show also gives the impression of being alone, there is no hope.

The camera angle then shifts to a low angle shot. This shows the motel worker looking out at someone pulling up outside. We know from the props, like the television being on and the fact that he is drinking alcohol, which he more than likely wouldn't do if he had people regularly or already staying with him, that he doesn't get many people coming by. So from the chosen camera angle and the props it shows that he is feeling in control because he is finally getting work.

Conventions of a Psychological Horror

Conventions of a Psychological Horror

Music
The music in psychological horror films are tense and loud and create the 'edge-of-your-seat' atmosphere. Because the films are constantly leaving you on edge, confused but quite scared at the same time, the music that could create that feeling. Depending on the different moments in the story line, the music would be different. If there is a tense moment, for example if one of our characters would be in danger then the music might start of quiet and then build up loader to follow or even influence our emotions. Another example would be if a character, especially in a psychological horror, figures something drastic out towards the plot line the music might become very sharp, loud and dramatic to evidence the importance of the moment and to make it a lot more obvious. The music is one of the key factors of a film as it sets the scene when contributed to every other element, it can also influence your feelings vastly and can link your emotions with that characters situation in the scene/s.

For example the realisation or our protagonist at the end of the 2010 psychological-horror-thriller Shutter Island. This scene where our main character 'Teddy' is explained what has been called 'one of the most unexpected plot twists in cinema' is revealed the truth of his situation to himself and the audience. The music is tense, beginning soft but then escalates due to his increase in emotion, which creates that shared feeling with the audience.




Typical Characters
The conventional character that we would see in a psychological horror would be a character who is unstable and who's sanity we aren't quite sure of. A person who we think there is something wrong with but we aren't sure, this is effective because it makes us second guess ourselves making our thought quite unstable, much like the character, linking us to the story. A typical psychological horror character would be someone have a key image in your mind of the way they look, looking quite shifty and someone who if you'd see in the street might cross the road to avoid. So this character seems quite conspicuous, but not in a too obvious way. They would also need to be clever and use their intelligence to their advantage because that can help them avoid being caught in whatever it is that they have done, which adds more suspense to the story line, especially if you are seeing the story from the side of the killer. Juxtaposed to the obvious, most psychological horror films do not reveal the killer until the very end and they try to make it as less obvious as possible to shock you at the end and to keep you from guessing the story line. Another character, maybe a side line character would be a person that would scare you on the street. A person that would more than likely when added into a tense script make you feel uncomfortable. This can add to the overall uncomfortable feeling that the characters create.

An example that shows the idea of a character that would make you quite uncomfortable especially because of their appearance is one of the patients from Shutter Island. Her unusual appearance, especially her balding hair, her wide gaze, her skinny frame and the fact that she is handcuffed, makes us feel unsafe and gives almost the 'spine-shivering' feeling that effectively creates an eerie atmosphere. This aids to the genre as part of the psychological horror theme is to make the audience uncomfortable, which this achieves. 

Locations
A stereotypical psychological horror would be set in quite the eerie atmosphere for example maybe an asylum or a hospital, as these are locations that don't have positive connotations when they are initially considered so for a film to be set in these location would already set up the atmosphere for something quite scary and negative. On the other hand, a not so stereotypical location would be a place that is quite familiar. Whether that would be in a home where you would most likely feel safe or a school (especially if the target audience is of a younger/teenage age range) this would be effective as this would make the audience question their safety in the environments that they would usually consider safe or a place not to be reckoned with. Especially because a psychological horror would definitely leave you asking questions during the entirety of the film this is more than effective as it breaks a norm.



An example of the location that adds to the atmosphere is Nightmare on Elm Street of 1984. Some of the dream sequences in the beginning after the first death are set in the protagonist's school. This should be a place where you would feel safe and it's an everyday location for her so for Wes Craven to chose this location would definitely play with that fact, making the audience feel uneasy because of the usual 'safe' environments and flipping that idea.

Conventions

     Conventions of a stereotypical psychological horror would be elements such as the way the killer is usually perceived. They appear to just be an average, normal person and in no way to be feared or thought of negatively. There are not usually any usual physical signs that would identify the person as a killer, this is because they may lead an average normal lifestyle with no other possible reasons to point to the way that they are, which is the element of psychology as you wouldn't even suspect that person which creates the feeling of being quite unsafe. A psychological horror will usually play on people's vulnerabilities and fears too. This works effectively as a fear such as claustrophobia, inserted into a scene like making a character enclosed, would create that fear also with the audience. This would definitely make the scene a lot more tense, playing on the audiences emotions too and could possibly make them unstable too, which is the idea on which psychological horror is based around. Another aspect of a psychological horror is that they rely on the audience’s mind to create the horror effect, with less gore noticeable like in Slasher films where the film is heavily dependent on it to create effect.

Example

An example of a psychological horror that has a few of the spoken elements would be the 2003 film 'Identity'.


The film has 10 main characters which all in our own way seem a little odd. We are thrown in on a very strange time in the plot, showing that all these characters are together for a particular ironic reason but they are unbeknownst to why, and so are. So we are kept questioning. As the film goes along we are taught a lot more about each character, each seeming odder and more conspicuous at each reveal. All these characters are in a stranded location (a motel) all together with no way to be split up because of flooding caused by a storm which is blocking the roads. Soon enough, murders begin to happen. There are certain character's that are suspected more than others, so it leads you to believe one thing. Although, as time goes on and more characters die (including the ones we suspected) it plays on the mind set of the characters and of the audience. The fact that the plot line messes with comfort zones and ideas like this effective confuses and conceals the reader inside this story, as they are intrigued to find out or even work out who the killer actually is. The fact that pathetic fallacy is used throughout the entirety of the film definitely has an atmospheric effect on the audience. The fact that it is constantly raining and rain is more or less constantly heard, whether it be diagetic on non diagetic, effectively creates the feeling of entrapment like the characters are feeling. This is because the rain is the reason they are all stuck together and the fact that there is no stopping it shows there is no way out, this feelings rakes in on the audience too. 
The music through out the film is extremely tense, loud and effective. This adds extra emotions especially when the 'killer' is almost caught and aids the camera angles through out the film also. A lot of the camera angles are either medium close up, extreme close up or long shot. The medium close up is to get in depth with each character, but the extreme close up is to really tell how the character is reacting to the situations and this also helps us decide who we think as an audience is committing the killings, as well as the long shot. The long shot effectively shows us the entirety of the character, such as their appearance and the way the walk/stand. These could all be things that contribute to whether we think they are guilty or not. The fact that we use their appearance to see whether we suspect them is key in this film as we are just deducting from what we know of the characters and being quite presumptuous which is what the film is based on and also how the characters presume each other.
The plot line has a huge twist. The killer turns out to be a small boy, the child of another man who was previously killed. The obviously shocks the rest of the survivors, but there is a bigger twist.



 These people in the motel were the personalities of one man, Malcolm. None of the characters were real at all. It turns out that Malcolm was convicted of killing a family, but was also suffering with split personality disorder. He was up for the death penalty unless his psychologist could get him to himself kill off the personalities one way or another and show that he could function his own mind again, as he claimed that he was not functioning under his own personality when the murders were committed so essentially it wasn't him. The 'killings' were his way of killing off each personality in his head.
The fact that there was a huge twist at the end completely baffles the audience adding an exciting element to the film and leaving them wondering why they had never thought of that concept at all.