Shock! A New Horror: A5 pt2 Studio Review

Studio Reflection –

One of the works I really enjoyed at the screening was He Sucks. I thought that this project was probably the most abstract and ‘elevated’ in terms of style and the way it presented its narrative. Firstly, the short being shot in black and white was a useful code in the visual style of the film as it also paid homage to older abstract horror such as Nosferatu and Psycho – therefore the black and white colour a) assisted in making horror elements (such as blood) more realistic, and b) made the mental imagery of ants, clouds, and even the footage of Nosferatu even more chilling and unsettling. The project also aimed at challenging horror codes and conventions through altering audiences pre conceived ideas of  ‘teen vampire’ narratives – factors such as the vampire always being male, and even the typical happy ending is absent in He Sucks, again showing the film was successful in making something ‘elevated’ and well considered.

Another project I really enjoyed was The News Room. The project was great at presenting deeper themes and once again, challenging typical murder and psychological horror tropes. The narrative being centred around the killer and their psyche (even the killer being a female) is vastly different to most similar genre films such as Seven or even Scream. The films dialogue was my favourite out of any of the films screened – progressing characters development and the narrative in a casual and realistic manner. I particularly recall the conversation between the male news anchor and another guy on set, the conversation and tone of the characters came across as really ignorant and exclusive, yet in passing, mentioned the murder of the politician – further distancing the protagonist from everyone else in her environment. The un-conventional way that the murder section of the story was told, being mainly through flashbacks and stress induced hallucinations was also really effective in heightening the horror elements of the film. The use of surreal lighting in the news room hallucinations as well as the tele-prompt effect assisted in giving the film a really eery feeling, with the tele-prompt even reminding me of films we watched and were inspired from in class – such as the shinning.

OTHER STUDIO REFLECTION –

For this section of the reflection, I watched An Unforgettable Celebration by Louis Petropoulos and Kazuki Maki, made for ‘Uncomfortable Film Making’. On of the key topics I imagine was discussed in this subject is what makes an audience uncomfortable. Watching this short, the moments I think where focused on in order to make the film uncomfortable to the viewer was the rapid cutting in the opening sequence, which encourages the audience to question what the narrative is focusing on. Additionally, the shots in this sequence that involve blood or action are so quick it is hard to make out exactly what is happening and the full detail of the shot, again enhancing audience levels of discomfort through not allowing a clear perception of what’s going on. The description of the film also states they aimed to do this through dialogue and the use of satire. I think this is also really effective when considering what makes an audience uncomfortable – the contrast between the gory and claustrophobic imagery with the comedic dialogue and even sometimes action (reaching for the party poppers in the pocket) blur the line between horror and comedy, I found myself uncomfortably laughing in moments of the film where the narrative was at its most tense.

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