Crimson Peak by
Matthew Neale
In the clip from Crimson Peak, we can see that there is
low-key lighting. The low-key lighting in the clip creates the idea that the
film is in the genre Horror. The director would have used this to show the
audience that this particular scene is set at night time, the audience could
also get this idea because of the fact that the woman in the clip has just
woken up suddenly, as if she was in a bad dream. This could also add to the idea
that the film is of the Horror genre.
Furthermore, in the mise-en-scene, the woman is wearing a
long, princess styled nightgown that is full white. This could be to show the
audience that the woman is a light in the darkness. I get this idea because of
the two contrasting colours black and white, commonly known as light and dark.
Because the director has used low-key lighting, it is creating a dark
atmosphere in the mise-en-scene, however since the woman is wearing a bright,
white dress. It gives the idea that she could be represented as hope or an
angel who is going to solve the mystery for why there are so many creatures
roaming her house.
In addition, when the woman first wakes up, we hear both
diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Firstly, for a non-diegetic sound we hear
spooky music playing. This creates tension and mystery and also re-enforces the
idea that this film is in the horror genre. The use of the spooky music also
sets an atmosphere for the audience, as it is creating tension and suspense, it
makes the audience become more vulnerable to jump scares that could take place
throughout the film. For diegetic sounds, we hear the sudden gasp the woman
makes when she wakes up, which shows the audience she has just woken up from a
bad dream, also we hear the sound of hear dog barking. Normally dogs tend to
bark at things they see, so this creates the idea to the audience that the dog
may be barking at a home invader, or mysterious creature that it is seeing.
This adds on to the idea of mystery and suspense being created.
To continue, we also hear the scratchings of what the woman
thinks is her dog Thomas against the door, the sound of the scratching creates
a bigger atmosphere of tension in the room as it makes the audience feel more
scared. And because in the mise-en-scene we then see the dog is outside of the
room, the audience then become even more scared as they realise that there is
another creature hidden behind the door. The camera then goes ack to facing the
woman opening the door, to which point we see another creature in the
mise-en-scene, and because of the build-up of suspense, tension and mystery
before this. It causes the audience to jump up and hopefully scream. Which is
what directors of this genre are aiming to do.
To add on, when the woman first see’s the ghost crawling out
the ground, the director uses a two shot to show both the characters in the
scene, but he also uses a low angle shot looking at the ghost, this could be to
show that the ghost crawling out the ground could be from beneath her, so from
the dead, as long camera angles tend to show an inequality in power. But in
this context, it could be the difference between whether you are a part of the
world, or from the undead. This idea adds to the fact that the film is of the
horror genre. This is because the unknown and un dead tend to be big roles in
horror and giving people a big scare.
The diegetic sounds in the scene also create tension and
suspense through the scene, for example when the door creeks open by itself.
This creates suspense and tension, but it also creates mystery, and once again
the idea of the unknown which is scary in itself. Because the director does
this, the audience will start to become more curious but also become more on
the edge of their seat and scared, and they will feel more intense on the
inside of their body. This creating a better chance for the director to scare
them, as they will already have so many emotions rolling through their body.
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