Analysis of Thriller/ Horror stills
Thrillers…
Movie still from ‘Se7en’..
The shot is a two shot of Mills’ and Doe, and also a mid-shot, there is a noticable gap between them, showing that these characters are very different and are yet put together in the same shot (so maybe they aren’t so different afterall?)..
Pylons in the background show that the characters are issolated,
John Doe’s (right) expression is calm, his eyes are closed and his head has been lowered, suggesting he is in control of what is going on. This is further backed up with the fact he is in the foreground, making it look as though Mills (left) is following him (or Doe is leading him somewhere, either way). Mills has a confused and nervous expression on his face, suggesting he is not in control of the situation he is in and is unsure about what is going on.
The costumes say a lot about the characters..the fact you can see Mills’ police badge shows he is an authority figure and perhaps hero of the film. His dark clothes also suggests falseness in the character or that he may be a so called ‘reluctant hero’…The fact Doe is dressed in red (although from watching the film I think it was in fact orange) has connotations of blood and danger. His chains and handcuffs also connotate danger as this shows he is obviously a criminal.
Movie still from The Silence of the Lambs…
The shot is a close up, showing emotion..
The mask the character is wearing has connotations of many things..murder..death…mystery (trying to hide his identity) etc etc but is also a mask that we’d usually associate with out of control animals..leading us to think he is inhuman and out of control..
By wearing a straight jacket we can obviously tell that this character is insane.
Movie still from The Da Vinci Code…
The shot is a long shot..showing a lot of the character’s in question..
The man and woman are in the centre of the shot, clearly showing they’re the main characters of the story, as we are focusing mainly on them, Their clothes also stand out from everyone else’s making us focus on them even more.
There are lots of people/crowds…shows that the film is trying to establish normality/reality..
Iconography- we know it is set in London…London underground sign in background, red telephone box..important to story.
Movie Still from the Interpreter…
A medium shot..
Stereotypically the woman is all alone- connotations of vulnerability, raises questions of whether she’ll be a victim..
She looks scared/tense…
The woman’s costume is a mix of light and dark colours.. it shows confusion in the character type..is she a hero or a villain?
Horrors…
Movie Still from Scream 2…
It is a medium shot, but also a reaction shot as the girl has clearly just reacted to something she has been told over the phone or by something she has seen..
Her costume is the picture of innocence and vulnerablity…she has white blonde hair, all white clothes, pale skin…this is also used because blood will show up better on white and will be more prominent.
Movie still from Psycho…
It is a medium shot,
The face and all it’s features are blacked out, suggesting mystery and sinister acts being carried out, The fact this is on white background also makes it stand out a lot more, showing it’s importance..The hair on the head also looks strange, like it is a wig..also adding to the mystery aspect as someone is clearly trying to hide their identity..
And lasty, the knife also tyically represents murders and has connotations of bloodshed and gore..
Movie still from Halloween.. (ignore the logo sprawled across it)
It is a low angle shot, suggesting the character has power over the other characters, a situation, or indeed, to a certain point, us, the audience. It is also a long shot, adding to the mystery of who this person is, as we cannot make out what they look like.
The white mask he is wearing, which is used in many horror/thriller films, connotates murders and mysterys, the knife he is holding, like I said before also makes us expect a murder to be carried out…
There is also almost no lighting, suggesting mystery and sinister aspects to the film itself.
Movie Still from Jaws…
It is a medium shot, it let’s us see the location, her emotions and what action is taking place all in one shot.
The young girl looks very vulnerable..like I mentioned in Scream 2, the blonde hair suggests innocence in the character, and the fact she is naked shows even more aspects of her vulnerability. It also shows us that no one can save her, as she is totally alone in the shot (apart from the shark of course!).
We can see the girl’s emotions clearly- she is crying/screaming for help, making the audience feel sympathy for her as she is clearly in imense pain
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Movie Still from 28 Day’s Later..
It is medium shot again..showing character’s actions and emotions too,
The way the man in the foreground is dressed suggests he is some kind of doctor or nurse, because of this it is ironic he is running away from a man who is on fire, as they are supposed to help people. It gives the sense that this man in the background cannot possibly be helped. The man on fire seems strang and leads audiences to wonder why this is happening, it also has connotations of anger and danger.
Movie Still from The Crazies..
It is a medium shot, but also a high angle shot, suggesting this character is in trouble or about to be killed and become a victim. This could also be assumed to be a reaction shot as we can be lead to think he is reacting to something we can’t see but he can, making us ask questions and add to the mystery of the film.
The man looks as if he is tied up to something, and is pretty much issolated, making him seem like he is in a helpless spot. The blood dripping from his mouth also has connotations of death and pain.
I couldn’t get all of the stills we analysed but I managed to find 10/12 so I think that’ll do considering I had to find them all myself because I had no other alternative.
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