Scream
Analysis
From the very first moment that Sidney answers the phone we
could infer that the film is a physiological horror. The aim of ‘Scream’ is an
older audience 18 and above because not only does it contain strong language
and violence but it contains scenes of a horrific nature that can cause
distress to some audiences.
The first horror foundations emerge in the opening seconds
of ‘Scream’, Sidney receives a phone call that makes her uneasy, the phone then
rings again and she is drawn into a conversation with the mysterious caller. ‘Scream’
has a slight thriller aspect, this is when the man on the phone says something
that scares her psychologically and puts the audience on the edge of their
seat.
In ‘Scream’ the
director uses a establishing shot, this sets the scene and shows the audience
where the character is. The camera shot I am specifically talking about is the
one that shows the audience the garden and then Sidney’s house, this tells you
it is a horror movie as the house is miles away from the town, it is isolated
and therefore so is Sidney.
‘Scream’ uses sound to scare the audience and character, for
example Sidney realises she’s being watched so she locks all the doors and
looks out the front window she then walks into the other room and then straight
after that the door bell rings this scares her and the audience as its very
unexpected.
Mise En Scene in ‘Scream’ creates the setting, this affects
the target year, for example Scream was made in 1996 so the clothes worn by the
characters reflect this time period. The Mise En Scene also shows a horror element
in the film an example of this is when sidney plays with a knife whilst on the
phone creating a horror element, she mentions another horror movie where the
killer used a kitchen knife as the murder weapon, and this shows us dramatic
irony.
