SinisterAspects which build suspense

By Shannon House, Elidona Niklekaj, Xhuliana Deda and Hannah Philpott

Supernatural Aspects

Mise en scene consists of décor, props, costumes, space, acting and lighting.Décor: Sets and props in a setting. This is shown through blood on the walls which creates the illusion that a vigorous murder has taken place.Props: any object used in the film.Costumes: This is what the person is wearing and their makeup. Firstly, the antagonist has got facial makeup which makes him look more mysterious and scary; because you cannot see his eyes (red contacts). The monster is also wearing a wig, covering the face, which adds more the the mystery of the character. The antagonist is wearing a lot of black and this character is associated with death. The little girl is wearing white showing innocence and purity. However, the girl has blood on her hands and costume showing that she is dangerous and evil. Whilst the antagonist is looking directly at the camera, where as the little girl looks vulnerable and ashamed, because her head is slanted downwards.Space: Distance from the camera/ position of the actors.There is no distance between the characters showing that they have a close connection. This relates the the antagonist possessing the youngest child. Acting: Facial expressions, gesticulations (hand gestures).Lighting: High key vs. low key. The antagonist has a shadow on his face furthering the fact that the character is unknown.

Point of view shot

A point of view shot is present action or setting from the approximate view point of the particular character. They were created and made famous by a man named Alfred Hitchcock and they are very commonly used In thrillers.

The picture below shows an example of a point of view shot from the thriller movie, sinister. The picture shows the symbolic icon used to represent the antagonist who will soon appear. A point of view shot is effective because it allows the audience to view what the character is feeling. This further makes the audience believe that they are part of the thriller and are experiencing the same feelings as the actor. A point of view shot is normally used in thrillers because it builds suspense for the audience and makes them conscious of what is about to happen.

Point of view shots can be used to watch other people (sexual pleasure) whilst they are not aware (voyeurism) and looking into others personal lives (scopophilia).

Filters/ blurred images/low key lighting Filters: These are layers of colour that are put over the top of a movie to create different effects. Filters are used in horrors because they add suspense to a persons characteristics. A sepia/ black and white look is used in this clip to show that the protagonist is watching clips. It creates a mysterious tense look on his face.

Blurred images: Blurred images are used to create suspicion for the viewers. Everything in current movies is very high definition and because the image is blurred it’s an unfamiliar look to the audience. This creates tension because it is unexpected and creates the effect of something about to happen. Blurred images are shown in this picture because the old tapes create show very old fashioned times and old imagery. This also makes the picture more tense because the protagonist is looking for something that makes the picture creepy and wrong.

Low key lighting: This is when the object has significant amounts of shadows on their face and the image is not clearly lit. This is done through 1 of the 3 light source being taken away from the object. Low key lighting is shown in this image because the protagonist has shadows on his face because of the light shining on him from the tape. This creates a horrifying scenery for the audience.

Special effectsSpecial effects is when the illusion of an object is edited because it is not possible as a natural effect. Special effects are commonly used in thrillers because it allows the audience to see the antagonist in a super natural form.

An example of special effects is slow and fast motion. Fast motion is used to speed up time that is less important. Slow motion slows down time to capture the more significant moments in the movie. Another example of special effects is creating large explosions. Explosions that are seen in the movie are a lot more emphasized than real life explosions. The producers add special effects to make the explosion seem larger than life and more significant to the story line.

As seen in the photo in the bottom right hand corner Sinister uses special effects throughout the thriller movie to add to the illusion. The special effects are used on the antagonist to make him look more ghost like and supernatural. The projection of him makes it look like he is floating above the ground. The projection also presents light elements of the figure to make him seem more suspicious.