The Shining is a psychological horror film (classed as ultimate horror) released in 1980 directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson.
The Shining uses several horror conventions. For example, the extreme camera angles (high angle, low angle) the imagery (compelling shots used to scare the viewer) and the eerie music. The director was able to use low angle shots to create fear and tension. For example, when Jack (Jack Nicholson) is locked in the cupboard, the director used a low angle shot so in the frame you can only see Jack's head, his hands against the door and the door handle. A shot as abstract as this is able to take the viewer out of their comfort zone because of how unreal it looks.
 |
| A screen grab from the film. This is a good example of Kubrick's cinematography |
The director used 'male gaze' in the film to show that Jack is as vulnerable as the coinciding female character. When Jack walks into the bathroom he sees a beautiful woman in the bath. She steps out and makes out with him. As they make out, she turns into a mouldy, decomposed body. This scene shows that Jack is mentally unstable because he is led to believe the woman was alive and beautiful because of his hallucinations. Often in horror films the woman is the vulnerable character in a 'male gaze' situation. In this circumstance, the meaning is subverted and Jack is the vulnerable character.
The shining has key ingredients of a horror. It starts out as an equilibrium-everything is seen as almost too normal. Starting a horror film as an equilibrium is key to making a good film because it heightens the limit to how far out you can take the films gore, blood, gut and murder stories.
The film includes eerie music through most of the film which could build tension. For example, when Wendy (Shelly Duvall) was running through the snowy yard, eerie music was playing whilst diegetic sound of the drafty wind could be heard. This builds tension because it leads the viewer to believe something is about to happen; the character is in danger but nothing other than the eerie music shows that.
 |
| One of the infamous symmetrical visuals from the film. |
Also, The director used a lot of non-diegetic eerie and ambient music to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. For example, when the mother cannot find Jack she wonders around the empty hotel corridors calling out his name whilst eerie, sinister music plays over the scene. This music can make the viewer feel uneasy because of its unwelcoming atmosphere. Also, the director can be indicating that the mother is fearful of her surroundings by using the non-diegetic eerie music.
Other than music, the director used the diegetic sound to create an awkward fear of the characters surroundings. For example, when Danny hides in the cupboard from Jack, diegetic drafty wind sound accompanies the visual. This drafty sound can create an awkward fear of the characters surroundings because the empty sound crates a feeling of nothingness. And that feeling makes the characters seem alone; loneliness.
The director used clever techniques and tricks to create effects with the mise-en-scene which can be completely missed without proper analysis. The main smart technique was that the majority of the frames in the film were symmetrical. For example, Jack will be positioned somewhere in the middle of the room with nearly the exact same props and structure on both sides of the frame. The hotel lobby and the hotel managers office, amongst others, were all symmetrical. The director used symmetrical scenes accompanied with, the majority of the time, long shots or mid shots, because it causes the viewer to somehow feel tranced in the scene. It feels like the symmetrical shots force the viewer to subconsciously concentrate on the scenes which leads to being emotionally tied to the characters and the story.
 |
The infamous scene where Jack haunts his frightened wife and child |
No comments:
Post a Comment