When thinking of horror films, some of the main elements that show its teeth right away are tension, physical and mental uncomfortableness, grotesque, haunting score, confined spaces, and focus on blood. These may be themes or particular elements found in multiple horror media productions, yet by their own they aren’t able to showcase their purposed bone chilling effect without techniques implemented when filming these visual and auditory experiences. For instance, using high contrast is fairly common in horror films, playing with the amount of light entering the frame of a scene, controlling the audience in what they should be seeing or focusing on. Also, with the many uses of the different types of shots, the audience can immerse themselves in the film, either by discovering with a pan shot the surroundings of a character, or sharing the same feeling of vertigo a character must be experiencing through a difficult moment in the plot with a dolly zoom, to name a few. In addition, composition holds an important role in the placement of everything that is seen by the audience, and the relevance of why it’s in the frame or in that particular place, such as a weapon that could be useful to a character, or a picture frame showing their family dynamics. For example, in the movie Hereditary, in one of the scenes, two characters are leaving a party because one of them got a severe allergic reaction, so they are trying to get home. Because of the allergies, this character can’t breathe, so they put their head out of the window, which ultimately results in their decapitation. During this scene, the driver is now burdened with guilt because of the accident involving their sibling, and their fragile mental state decreases, which is very important for the development of the plot and the ultimate goal for this character. On the other hand, there is another scene where the driver just woke up from taking painkillers. They are wandering around the house, and feeling followed and watched, until they reach the living room and realise someone is behind them near the ceiling, getting ready for attack. This scene is within the climax of the film, and is offering the audience answers and resolutions about what is actually happening to this family, and an explanation to all the strange and eerie encounters all the characters previously had and uncovers the reality of their family’s dark past and beliefs.
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