Crimson Peak Film Sequence Analysis

Crimson Peak Film Analysis

The sequence of Crimson Peak that we are analysing began with a close up of a girl wearing an all white nightgown being startled awake by a pain, the colour she is wearing is important as it usually has connotations of innocence and purity. This character is startled by her dog barking, close up shot is used to show her fear and distress at the situation, this shot helps us as the audience understand what the character feels and in this particular instance gives us an idea that she doesn't know what is happening and that maybe she is in fact naive to the situation that is happening around her. and the camera begins to pan out to a mid shot of her body with her face still in shot. The bark from the dog is a digetic sound and begins to create tension as it is the only noise apart from her breathing in the scene, this creates an enigma code as we become curious about what the dog is barking at and makes us as the audience want to watch more to find out. The dogs bark echoes through the empty house which is a convention of horror, particularly gothic horror as it begins to create an eerie atmosphere and makes the house seem big and empty.

The clip is set in an old-style gothic home is what we presume is a much earlier period than what we live in now. The decoration is very dated. This a convention of horror as it is a place that many may consider as creepy and unsettling. Pathetic fallacy is used to show just how creepy the place is, the scene is set in the middle of the night and it is rainy and windy outside, these are two conventions of gothic horror that are used to create the scene.

Due to the time of night the building is pitch black and she is using a candle holder to see as she walks through the corridors, the darkness is called low-key lighting and it is used to highlight the figure as well as to make the areas dark and creepy. The candle holder highlights the girl throughout the whole of the scene, this helps us as the audience see her reaction and decode how she is feeling and how we should feel. The girl is kept in mostly the centre which is the rule of thirds, this is used to catch our eye and keep our attention on her, and it makes the whole scene more aesthetically pleasing and makes us want to watch it more as it is pleasing to our eyes.

As the girl begins to look around in the corridors, tracking shots and mid-shots are used to follow her and to also show where she is going in the corridors. The whole house creeks as she walks around to create a feeling like someone else is there or even to make it seem like the house itself is alive. By doing this it creates atmosphere and makes the house seem creepy and mysterious, thus increasing the atmosphere around them.

When the dog started barking in the background it slowly pans out and shows the girl in the background while the dog is in the foreground, originally the girl thought the dog was in the cupboard however it is proved that it is not, once again creating an enigma code as we are increasing more curious about what is in the cupboard if it is not the dog. Straight after the camera jumps to the cupboard and the door is slammed, before it slams we see a face, this is dramatic irony as we know more than the character in the scene knows, this makes our heart beat faster and is meant to make us jump at the sudden slam. This is where the action begins to pick up, as shown by the increase in speed of the editing, there are more jumps and it faster paced.

A non-diegetic noise is edited in as she opens the cupboard, this is meant to increase tension and is meant to make everything seem creepier and scary however quickly cuts off when there is nothing in the cupboard. This creates tension and increases our curiosity about what is going on in the scene and where the creature we saw just a moment ago has gone. A long shot is used to show that the corridor is empty but it also shows that the dog is at attention with its ears up, this connotes that something bad is about to happen. When she closes the door a creepy voice starts up in the background and then a sudden jump as the girl spots what is causing the creepy noise, a hand slams onto the ground, after the almost silent scene the loud noise startles us and creates atmosphere as well as tension.

Close up camera shots of the non-human creature is used to show that the monster in the hallway is not human and to further develop the enigma code that began to be develop from the very beginning. It intrigues us as the audience as we want to know exactly what the creature is however it makes us anxious as things that are not human but have a human like body typically make us as humans feel uncomfortable and unsettles us. Tracking mid-shots are used, with the creature still in the background, to show the girl is running in fear as you can see her reaction and what is scaring her, this gives us more information and helps us understand the situation and how we should feel at this particular moment.

Non-diegetic music plays in the background and increases in noise to create tension and to increase the pace of the scene which is meant to be fast and terrifying. Towards the end there are a few close up shots of a case, this shows it is of importance and makes us more curious, this enigma code makes us even more curious about what is going to happen and intrigues us to keep watching, it keeps our attention and makes us excited to see the next part.