'Gothic' Moving Image

For this report I have chosen three short films which relate to the theme 'Gothic' based on the fact that the term 'Gothic' has come to represent "a gloomy setting, grotesque, mysterious, or violent events, and an atmosphere of degeneration and decay." In this report I will be discussing how the films use mood and atmosphere, location, mis-en-scene, editing and audio in order to portray their Gothic themed film.

The first film I decided to study is called 'Dark Wood'. It is a film from one of 'The Cut' winners 2008. It is of Gothic theme and uses techniques like, pathetic fallacy, music and lighting to create tension, suspense and evoke feelings of distress. To begin with the film starts off pitch black with just the voices of the two characters, a young man and young lady. Their only source of light is coming from the flash torches that they are carrying. They are evidently lost and quite obviously in a wood because you can hear the crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs beneath their feet. The dialogue is telling the audience that they are unaware of there surroundings but are relatively calm. During this scene set up there is deep horrific music to relay the message of tension and on edge feelings to the audience. This is when the anonymous creature first makes himself known. We hear a crunching and rustle of leaves and the characters become aware of the noise. They become frantic and panicky, this is shown by the characters voices turning to a whisper and also the camera zooms into their faces to show there panicked and scared expressions. The only thing that makes us aware that there is an unknown ‘creature’ or person is the noises that the characters and we can hear. The noises are low, growl and sound very much like a werewolf type animal. The unknown aspect to the creature adds to the tension and the horror of the short film.

Shock tactics are used throughout the short film, such as, screaming and shouting and frantic camera movements to show how much the characters are being attacked. They use techniques such as heavy breathing and close ups so that we can relate to the characters and how they must be feeling at the time. Noises such as, crunching and breaking bones are used to add the element of grotesque and disgusting death to the already unknown act that is taking place. The only thing that you can really rely on to understand the film is the noises and the dialogue. The use of the blood being spluttered over the flashlight is really well done. It makes the light shining out of the torch become blood red adds to the atmosphere and mood of the production. The ending of the film is shocking as we see the young man being dragged away silently by the werewolf creature. The camera angle starts off by being zoomed right into his face t show his expression and then being dragged away at a fast pace in order to shock the audience. This is followed by blood red credits and heavy, dark music with low notes to add to the atmosphere of sadness.

The second film I studied was called ‘The Pigeon’. This is very different to the film I studied before, as it is more of a lighthearted horror story than a horror film. The film begins with a character called the Duke stood at the head of a long dining room table, seemingly about to host a feast, about to commit suicide. During the short film there is thunder and lightening in the background to add to the atmosphere, this is called pathetic fallacy. Also in the background is the narrators voice telling the story about the Duke. His voice is very husky and low and is speaking in rhyme. The setting of the film is in a castle like building. The walls are made of stone, which makes the place look cold and empty. As well as the narrator and thunder and lightening being in the background there is also the use of powerful scary music. The opening and closing credits are in black and white with the thunder and lightening in the background to tell the audience what type of film to expect. This films setting rather than its content is gothic. The use of cobwebs on the dead Dukes corpse adds a gothic and grotesque feeling to the film. The reason why the film is called ‘The Pigeon’ is because the Duke leaves the room where he just killed himself in order to follow the pigeon and try to kill it, only to find his corpse rotting, cobwebby and wasting away on the floor of the dining room. Techniques are used throughout the film to make it seem gothic and dark. These are the sound of the chiming clock, the soothing deep voice of the narrator, the camera angles, the use of the set and the opening and closing credits. Pathetic fallacy, music and rotting corpses all add to the atmosphere. One thing that really stood out to me was the fact that that the film was still gothic and grotesque even though it contained no blood in it. I also picked this film because I thought t was very unique and very cleverly done.

The third film I chose to study was called ‘Snuff’. This was also one of the winners of the 2008 film competition ‘The Cut’. This film was really interesting as it uses a different scare tactic. The film doesn’t contain any music in the background, which makes it more realistic. It also uses ‘real’ footage of the victim in her everyday life. These techniques enables the audience relate the situation to themselves and creates a very strong emotional response. The film starts off with a man wanting to make a homemade horror film. The lengths that he goes to too make this horror film are what are so scary about the film. The immediate scene of him with a knife sends out the message that this man has some serious issues. It cuts straight into the victim being chased and her screaming to be helped. The camera movements are very frantic and shaky to get the feeling that he is chasing her. During the film there is a lot of blood, gore and violence. The brief use of a saw cutting off the victims hand is very disturbing to watch. The man in the film uses a sickly voice that adds to the sick character that he is. This film uses a lot of different camera techniques such as flicking from her as a victim, tied up in a chair, to her in her everyday life. The film uses lots of close ups and zooming in to show the distressed face of the victim. To the end with the film is silent with a close up of the masked cameraman who has just killed the other man. The credits are also silent apart from the beeping, which is used to change every scene. They are also in a spiky font, in a grey colour and spluttering blood.