http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EqVQBlSntw
The Exorcism of Emily Rose was filmed in 2005 and was directed by Scott Derickson. I will be analysing all aspects of Mise-En-Scene; sound, costume, lighting, camera angles and performances.
The opening of the scene is just black, which immediately makes you wonder why there is nothing to visually look at, playing on the audience’s fear emotion. The extra diegetic music is a low and continuous hum which is normally associated with horror when something is about to happen as it is it building up tension. Then a higher pitched noise starts in conjunction with the sound of someone almost shouting. Then the first piece of text you can see is when it informs you that it is based on a true story. This stays with the audience who make links to this all the way through the film. We then hear the sound of someone running and more shouting, including “Emily!” of which we know whom the film is about. As the audience can only rely on the sense of sound, it makes it all the more terrifying to hear what is going on as we can’t see it for ourselves. The screaming then fades into a middle pitched shrill which at the same time the screen fades to white. The first thing we can see on the screen is barbed wire, connoting entrapment, danger and the inability to escape. The title of the film fades into this shot slowly and in a gothic red text with the colour red connoting blood, death and even The Devil which is prominent in the film.
The music is still continuous throughout this and then when the screen goes black yet again, playing on the audiences fear. We then get a shot of weeds or long grass being swayed in the wind. Weeds denotes ill growth and shows that the area this is in has not been kept well showing that maybe something else has taken over the time, the way weeds are able to manipulate space. The sky is naturally dark and dim, so this plays on the pathetic fallacy of this is that something bad is going on or will be going to happen. There are no bright lights being shone anywhere. The music then adds high pitched piano keys to add more tension. We then see a wide shot of a field of pumpkins, which are associated with Halloween which is all about Witches and Devils and evil, yet again hinting as what is yet to come in the remainder of the film. The shot is then a high wide angle of a house. It is a high angle so you can see straight away in the middle of nowhere and there is nothing else around then, making you think the house will be deserted and also to make the house look small against the wide space. It is still also dark and dim naturally, again reflecting on the building mood of fear being created.
We then watch a figure walk into the shot, this immediately makes you wonder why there is someone walking slowly to a deserted house, a common factor of horror films. We then get a close up of the character walking through the snow. All the while the credit are still rolling up through each shot, but red is still remaining the only colour mainly so far. The red is making a clear contrast against the white, showing how the Devil has taken over something pure. The camera tracks the person’s footfalls which makes the audience feel part of the scene, like we are following the person into this house. Also as they are unexpected is makes the audience jump as it is a sudden noise after the continuous low one we have been hearing. As we see them walk up to the house, we see more of the design and state the house is in, it looks old and greying so hints to the audience yet again there is nothing been done around the outside of the house, showing the activity is either inside or non-existent.
For the first time since they came into the shot, we get a look at the actor. He is wearing all black so illustrating he is important as it is denoted all important people wear black. His facial expression is confused as he looks about himself, as it appears he is alone. He also indicates he is cold by bringing his hand to his mouth. The scene carries on as he comes away from the house to look around. The extra diegetic music is still going on but it just a plain low drumming sound, but even though the music is still going on, it feels silent. We then get a mid-shot or the man and his facial expression is still quite confused as the camera shows him looking at the barn, to a wide shot of the barn itself, back to the actor again. It gives the impression he looked, and then looked again, like he was taken aback by it. The shot then goes wide again as we watch him turn, with the same expression still. It is still dark and the music is still playing as before. The man then walks towards the low angled camera to show him looking up, of which we see someone looking out of the window down at him. The shot is then an over-the-should looking up towards to window. You can’t see the face of the person looking out and the man’s expression turns to quizzical.
As the woman comes out of the door, it is the first voice we have actually heard being spoken. The entire two and a half minutes is setting the scene and preparing you for what is to be revealed, it is a shock to hear a voice. She is wearing a worn out cardigan and her hair is pulled back off her face scruffily. The lighting is still dim so we can’t see her facial expression but by the tone of her voice we can tell she is nervous and panicked. She wraps her arms around her indicating she is cold but also maybe a little nervous and is trying to protect herself. The light is still dark and natural and the extra diegetic music is back to the high piano keys for a short time.
As we go into the house, the camera is on a close up of someone with their hands around a mug. The mug is green, which is a plain colour so again there is no real and significant colour so far apart from the red we have seen throughout.
The camera then pans up from a low angle to reveal a sullen looking man looking into his cup with his hands grasped round it, he looks tired and totally lost in thought and doesn’t even look up when the man walks in through the door. The camera then shows us a wide shot of a family sitting in a small worn down room around a table. The lighting in the scene looks to be all natural, as there are no bright lights whatsoever, making it dark and dim reflecting the obvious mood of sadness. There are still no obvious colours, and all the women are dressed in cream, connoting innocence.
The girl in the middle is crying and the others are attempting to comfort her by stroking her hair and putting their arms around her, making the audience wonder why she is crying. The extra diegetic sound has softened considerably but it is still noticeable, but the silence between the people is more obvious to the audience. The shot we then see is just off the main lady and man walking into what appears to be a hallway near the stairs, we watch the close up of him as he turns around to glance back at the family we have just seen and the look on his face is of worry. It then pans out to show us another man. We see a wide shot of this man who again is wearing just a plain checked shirt with no outstanding colours. He is holding a doll in his hand and appears to be lost in his own thoughts and he has a look of extreme sadness and we again wonder what has happened to this family to make them behave like this. Behind him we can see a cross on the wall, this is showing the audience that religion plays a big part in the family, so therefore in a common theme in this film.
