3rd Psycho Image Analysis

This scene from Psycho is when Arbogast has entered the house at the top of the hill from Bates Motel. He was looking for Norman Bate’s mother as he gets to the top of the staircase we see a bird’s eye view as Norman rushes out with a knife dressed up as his mother and stabs Arbogast. The large grin on Norman’s face as he holds the knife is a direct connotation of sadism, as Norman is clearly getting pleasure from killing Arbogast dressed up as his mother. This was a surprise to the audience as it is against the CDI of the film. A few years before Psycho’s release, Ed Gein was a big serial killer in America, which greatly influenced the character of Norman Bates. Ed Gein was famous for digging up his mother’s body which is what Norman also does in the film Psycho and we are shown Norman’s mother just before the big reveal at the end of the film. Ed Gein was also famous for cross dressing like his mother in order to “keep her alive” which again was what Norman did by dressing up in a dress and a wig. This film was something which the public could relate too as there had recently been news reports on Ed Gein’s crimes on early TV sets in 1960, this was due to Ed Gein being the first serial killer that was extensively broadcasted on television.  

2nd Psycho Image Analysis

This scene from Psycho is right near the end of the film when Marion’s sister (Lila) has got into the Bates Motel whilst tries to distract Norman. By the time Norman realised what they were up to, Marion had just discovered that Norman’s mother is actually just a skeleton dressed up. As you can see in the picture it is Norman dressed up with a wig and one of his mother’s dresses on. The grin on his face is to actually make the audience feel quite freaked out but to also make the audience laugh. This conveys sadism, and also links to the context of Ed Gein, who also used to be a transvestite. This would have very powerful to audiences at the time of the films release in 1960, just three years after Ed Gein was arrested. The lighting in the room is low key which makes shadows very clear. In this image the shadow makes Norman look a lot more powerful, Hitchcock was a famous auteur director who cleverly used camera angles and montage to create emotional effects. 

1st Psycho Image Analysis

This scene from Psycho is when Marion is in the back room at the check in of the motel and Norman has made her something to eat. The stuffed owl in the top left of the picture connotes that they are being watched. This relates to when Norman watches Marion get undressed through the hole in the wall. The lighting in the room & the night time diegesis creates a large shadow of the owl which is to create a powerful unsettling atmosphere in order to make the audience feel uneasy. The facial expression on Norman’s face makes the audience feel sorry for him as he looks lonely & happy to spend time with Marion. We would never expect him to be a serial killer. This relates to the real life serial killer Ed Gein, who also used to be a Taxidermist and stuffed his dead mother to help preserve her body. 

3rd DOTD (2004) Image Analysis

In this scene in Dawn of The Dead (2004) we see a news reporter reporting from what looks like somewhere such as Pakistan/Iraq as we see the places of worship all over the background behind the reporter. At this time 9/11 was fresh as it happened three years before so everyone was afraid of terrorism and I think this scene connotes that. The signal on this news report seems very poor quality and it seems like there may have been a terrorist attack on this place as all the background is dusty and the reporter seems very jumpy. Context theory was written about by Janet Staiger and this is very important to understand how a horror film would be more powerful to audiences at the time it was released.

2nd DOTD (2004) Image Analysis

In this scene in Dawn of The Dead (2004) it is nearly the end of the film and Ana is looking back towards land where they have just left Michael because he has just admitted he has been bitten and he has pushed them away on the boat. As Ana looks back at land you can see the emotion on her face and this shows that she had feelings for Michael. As the camera stays on Ana’s face we hear a gunshot suggesting Michael has just killed himself. Although this scene is rather upsetting and seems like an unhappy ending, it is actually in a way a happy ending as we know that Ana and the rest of the characters which survived are going to get a break from the zombies for a while anyway. The American flag next to Ana was important given the context of Terrorism around the time the film was released. Also Michael is the typical male hero who sacrifices himself to save the rest of the group. Also Ana is the final girl and Kenneth both survive this reflects how modern societies attitude has changed regarding racism and sexism.

1st DOTD (2004) Image Analysis

In this scene in Dawn of The Dead (2004) Ana is about to kill Stephen who has been bitten and is now a zombie. This scene is very clever as Stephen treats women badly and after he enters to the mall he’s very sarcastic and selfish. For example when he drinks all the juice which the others wanted to have some of. Earlier in the film we could tell there was some tension between Ana and Stephen, Stephen said to Ana “Hey, sweetheart. Let me tell you something. You, uh, you have my permission. I ever turn into one of those things? Do me a favour, blow my fucking head off”. Ana replied to Stephen with “Oh, yeah, you can count on that”. So this scene has relevance from earlier in the film as we can see in this image that Ana is about to blow Stephen’s head off as he has turned into a zombie. This is another example of Romero's influence that he had on the film although he didn’t direct the 2004 film as you can tell from the final girl which reflects the context going against the stereotypical horror characters roles as Ana is a bad ass female survivor but she’s blonde who goes against the stereotypical character as the blonde girl usually dies after having sex in most occasions. 

3rd DOTD (1979) Image Analysis

This scene in Dawn of The Dead (1979) is when Stephen is down in the cellar & is being chased around the dark, spooky room by a zombie. This scene builds up tension as Stephen is pretty much useless, he can’t shoot a gun properly and is often terrified. The film actually goes against the stereotypical horror movie where the good looking guy is supposed to be the hero and save the day, but instead Stephen is the weakest male character and he doesn’t survive. Romero’s auteur style means he often surprises us with characters. In Day of the Dead, one of the main heroes is a zombie called “Bub”! In terms of body horror, you can see how big the shadow is on the wall next to Stephen and the zombie, the zombie has blood all over its face which gives us the impression that Stephen is not the first person which it has attacked.

2nd DOTD (1979) Image Analysis

This scene in Dawn of The Dead (1979) is right at the end of the film when Fran & Peter escape in the helicopter. The picture shows Fran’s face relatively close up and really expresses the emotion in her face. Fran looks shocked that Peter made it out alive but also scared as I don’t think she knows what to expect now they are out of the mall. In the background of this picture we can see Peter sitting in the back of the helicopter looking relieved to still be alive after bravely changing his mind and battling against the zombies to escape the mall so Fran doesn’t have to be alone. This scene connotes feminism as back in 1979 woman were battling for rights to be treated equally with men. This image shows Fran as the more solid unemotional figure whereas Peter looks shaken up in the back of the helicopter with a look of fear in his face. This picture also shows how Peter is a male hero and reflects Romero’s anti-racist ideologies back in 1979 when America was still very racist, the concept of a male, black hero would have been shocking. But because Romero was half-Cuban, he wanted to include strong ethnic minority characters in his films.

1st DOTD (1979) Image Analysis

This scene in Dawn of The Dead (1979) is when we see the characters enjoying life in the mall and making the most of the mall. In this image we can see Peter & Stephen in the bank holding money up to the security camera. We can also see all the money on the desk which they look like they are going to take away in the bags which are on the desks as well. This picture connotes consumerism as even though there is a zombie apocalypse they are still concerned about having money and other valuables. Back in 1979 consumerism was a big thing and malls were very popular. Romero did not agree with this consumerism being a good idea and this shows his auteur influence, Also Stephen shows he is greedy whilst they are enjoying the mall as when the red necks invade the mall Peter tells Stephen to leave them but instead he shows his greed as he shoots at the bikers because he wants to protect his stuff in the mall which eventually leads to his death.

Class Research: Favourite Type of Horror

My personal favourite horror genre is Psychological as it gives me something to figure out as the story line is usually confusing and not straight forward, so its a bit of a mystery.

Health and Safety

Horror Poster Analysis 3

Scream (1996)

·         Crime/horror/mystery

·         A masked killer begins murdering teenagers in a small town, and as the body count rises, one girl and her friends contemplate the "rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.

·         Tag Line- Someone has taken their love of scary movies one step too far. Solving this mystery is going to be murder.

·         The poster for scream is very clever as the mask of the killer is shaped like a knife at the bottom as you can see the light gleaming off the sharp knife. This suggests to the audience before they’ve even watched the film that there is going to be murders.

·         The colours which are used are black, red and white. Having this black background makes the white and red text stand out to the audience and although the poster is very basic, it catches the eye of the audience.

·         The target audience for this film is teenagers as teenager girls are murdered in the film.

·         The title uses the number ‘4’ instead of the letter ‘A’. This suggests that this is the 4^th movie in the ‘scream’ series. The letter ‘M’ has also been adapted so it looks similar to a knife (this connotes killing and death) if you look at the middle of the ‘M’. This helps to identify the film as a horror movie.

·         The background is all black with a slight glow coming off the main image. The black background fits the horror genre very well because a very common fear amongst humans in the dark, so by giving the poster a black background it makes the consumer feel uneasy and perhaps a little scared. 

Horror Poster Analysis 2

Paranormal Activity (2007)

·        Horror/mystery

·        After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

·        The victims on the poster are the two characters which are in bed looking terrified towards an open door where you can see the shadow of a person on the door.

·        The victims is a young couple and they look threatened and possibly in danger.

·        The colours which have been used are black, blue and red. The colour blue gives the poster mystery whereas the black and red colours are the typical horror film colours.

·        They have used selling lines on the poster such as “One of the scariest at-home viewing experiences ever!” and ‘What happens when you sleep’?

·        The target audience is people between the ages of 18-30.

Horror Poster Analysis 1

Shaun of the dead (2004)

·        Comedy/horror

·        A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

·        Main Image is the main character Shaun standing in front of his ex-girlfriend and his best friend. As you can see they are holding weapons such as a baseball bat this suggests they are going to be fighting back with the zombies who are surrounding the poster on the left and right hand side of the page.

·        The colours of the poster are black and red. The red represents too things it could represent blood and that the characters are going to get killed by the surrounding zombies but it also shows the zombies reaching out at the characters in a black background and this suggests that as they move closer their closing out the light as in murdering them.

·        The text is located in the centre of the poster and is the colour red. This makes the text stand out but also it represents blood which backs the genre that it is a horror.

·        The target audience is teenagers as it is horror but it contains a lot of comedy and isn’t a serious film. 

Class Poster Idea

Class Trailer Review

Name of film: Toxic Avenger     

Year Released: 1985

Genre of trailer: Horror

Mark after reviewing: 2/10

What happened in the trailer?

In the trailer a small weedy guy called Melvin who works at a gym as a janitor is being bullied by all the people at the gym and when he receives a humiliating prank from one of the muscular gym guys he jumps out the window and unfortunately falls into a toxic waste truck which transforms Melvin into a pumped up muscular monster who turns into a hero and saves innocent people from getting hurt by the jackass gym dudes.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

·         Considering it was a low budget horror there were some decent scenes.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

·         The trailer was too long and dragged on

·         It was too humorous

·         Too many puns that it was annoying

·         They say “Toxic Avenger” too much.

·         Not enough horror

What was the trailer’s average score? Why did it receive that mark?

3.5- Not enough horror and the trailer was too annoying.

Class Trailer Review

Name of film: Pusher Trilogy

Year Released: 2005

Genre of trailer: Horror/Crime

Mark after reviewing: 8/10

What happened in the trailer?

We couldn't really get a great idea of what happens in the trailer as it’s very fast paced with lots of scenes. The plot is about a gangster who is addicted to drugs wants to come clean and the trailer shows an insight to the struggles he goes through as he’s surrounded by drugs, alcohol and women.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

·         It was interesting

·         Fast paced, lots of scenes, hints at a lot of sex, drugs and violence.

·         Doesn't give too much away.

·         Violence/Gore

·         Liked the footsteps in the background

·         Good Font

·         Rhythm to the music and speeds up and matches cuts in the action- quotes on screen.

·         Doesn't show the key plot bits

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

·         Too much text

·         Not enough in terms of plot for some members of the class

·         Used the same clip twice

What was the trailer’s average score? Why did it receive that mark?

8- This trailer really went for it and filled it full of quick sequences of clips to excite viewers and shows a genuine reflection of the films.

Class Trailer Review

Name of film: Evil Dead

Year Released: 2013

Genre of trailer: Horror

Mark after reviewing: 9/10

What happened in the trailer?

In the trailer a group of young adults who all seem to be in their twenties have come to a cabin in the woods for a break to get drunk and have a good time but one of them finds a book and starts to read it in the trailer we see the guy reading the book and we can see it says “Leave this book alone” written in blood. This is where it all starts as it has awakened demons from the surrounding woods. One of the young girls in the group (Mia) becomes possessed by the demons and she tries to kill the rest of the group. They try to survive and escape but the nearby roads are flooded. The trailer is full of gore and keeps the audience starring at the screen.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

·         A lot of gore

·         Music worked well

·         Establishes plot

·         Collision cutting slow to quick & quick flashes of action with sound of fx to accompany them.

·         Genuinely horrific bits – tongue cut/eyes on the girl.

·         Music fits the writing very dramatically.

·         Inter titles tell us the story while still being dramatic.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

·         Might have shown all the best bits

·         I would have ended the trailer with the scene which the girl is under the floorboard singing “We’re gonna get you”.

·         Ruins plot a little as It gives to much away and it is a very long trailer (2.20)

·         Overly unrealistic puke.

What was the trailer’s average score? Why did it receive that mark?

8.6 – The highest average rating of the films that we reviewed in class, this is because there was plenty of collision cutting, a great use of music and it was genuinely scary. Although there may have been a bit too much gore in the trailer.

Mood Board

1) Element and fear on the protagonists face. (Still taken from Disturbia) Use of phallic weapon- garden trimmers.

2) Prosthetic makeup / fake blood on the character. Connotes madness and the fact he's losing his mind slowly, almost insanity portrayed.

3) Evil/ Darkly shown Police officer. - Our main protagonist is a police officer and we can use the dark shades/ silhouettes (chiaroscuro) to effect on our character.

4) Red eye/ evil through the character's eye. Desperation portrayed on his face, we want our character to look and 'feel' the same, almost as if he's lost all hope.

5)   Suspended character - ghost/paranormal/abnormal goings on. We want our own character to have been 'possessed' by whatever is controlling him, so we could element some of these in our own trailer.

6) Flashback / what we think is going on and what's not. For example, the screenshot- she thinks she is biting into an apple, but we see a light-bulb, which then changes back to an apple. Playing with the audience's mind and creating a restricted narrative style.

7) Red devil / evil haunting type character, that keeps in both our minds and that of the mind of our protagonist. We could take clear motivational ideas from this 'type' of villain.

8) Paranormal / haunting ghost that follows and creeps on our protagonist.​

Shot Lists

Film Review

Media Film Review 2

Film Title: Shaun of the Dead

Year of Production: 2004

Director: Edgar Wright

Genre/Genres: Horror/Zombie Comedy

Brief Plot Outline: Shaun attempts to rescue his relationship with his ex and his mother while trying to fight off those who have turned into the un-dead and attempt to eat the living.

Which two scenes impressed you the most? Why?

The first scene which impressed me was when David was pulled to the pub window and was ripped apart by flesh eating zombies. This scene was a great use of body horror which stunned the audience. The second scene which impressed me was when Shaun and Ed were throwing vinyl discs at the two zombies in the garden and this scene also used good body horror but also made the scene comical at the same time.

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of filmmaking which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?

I noticed various generic conventions from the checklist that were present in Shaun of the Dead such as: Body horror, an example of the body horror used in Shaun of the Dead, is the scene when there’s a zombie in the back garden of Shaun’s house which falls onto the pipe which leaves a bloody hole through the zombie and produces a large blood spat when the zombie first falls onto the pipe. Restricted narration, an example of this was in Shaun’s garden when we see him swinging the spade but we don’t actually see the impact. Although this horror movie has comical elements it’s still important that it has aspects from our checklist like male hero (Shaun) and final girl (Liz).

Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why?

There are certain aspects of the film which I would like to include in my own trailer such as body horror, this would be good to include as it enables the trailer to have a shock effect on the audience which they would remember.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why?

I would like to avoid using the comedy aspect as I want my trailer to frighten people and stick in their minds so they watch the film, although comedy can be good in horror films if it’s not overused and pulled off correctly.

 What was the best aspect/more enjoyable moment in the film? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How?

The most enjoyable moment in the film was the comical sense of panic to save the world. This panic was shown by the characters facial expressions and this made the film enjoyable for me.

Film Review

Media Film Review

 Film Title: Zombieland

Year of Production: 2009

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Genre/Genres: Horror/Comedy

Brief Plot Outline: A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting tough guy trying to find the last Twinkie, and a pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park join forces to travel across a zombie filled America.

Which two scenes impressed you the most? Why?

The first scene which impressed me was near the beginning of the film when Columbus is doing a voice over about his survival rules and we see a man comically on the toilet in a gas station, then a zombie appears under the toilet cubicle door, we then saw an outside shot of the cubicle with blood all over the floor. This scene shows how body horror can be used to create a funny scenario but also at the same time it can horrify the audience. The second scene which impressed me was the supermarket scene where Tallahassee and Columbus went so Tallahassee could look for a Twinkie. This scene impressed me as Tallahassee epically killed zombies with various weapons in this scene full of matrix. This scene also shows how they used minimal body horror which worked very effectively.

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of filmmaking which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?

Although this film is partly comical it does still include some horror features such as: Body horror- was used with the zombie deaths and the zombie attacks on people. An example of this is when Tallahassee and Columbus are in the car and they see a zombie eating the flesh of a person in the middle of the road. The fear of violence/death when the zombies attack and how they panic when there are large amounts of zombies for example the fair scene. Feeling outside the CDI, Columbus mentions in the voice over near the beginning of the film about how he feels different to everyone else and doesn’t have a close bond with his family. Fast moving monsters, the zombies have been made into quick, sprinting zombies instead of the standard slow, walking zombies. An example of the fast moving zombies is at the start of the film when Columbus was being chased around the car park by two sprinting zombies.

Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why?

I would like to include the fast paced scenes in my horror trailer and also some of the body horror which was used to a minimum but was very effective.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why?

I would like to avoid the overuse of certain things to be comical. For example Tallahassee kept mentioning Twinkie’s, at first this was funny but the joke in my opinion was overused which is what I would like to avoid doing.

What was the best aspect/more enjoyable moment in the film? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How?

The most enjoyable moment in the film is near the end when Wichita and her sister little rock left to go to the theme park and get swarmed by loads of flesh hungry zombies whilst this happening the bad ass (Tallahassee) and the wimpy guy (Columbus) arrive to save the day in an epic fight to survive and save the girls. I hope to recreate the fast paced and thrilling scenes that this film showcased.