Task 2.1: Horror Film Analysis: The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black Analysis



The opening scene is set in a house and what looks like a children's nursery. The room looks old fashioned suggesting that the film is set many years ago. Also the children in the scene are wearing long floral dresses and boots which also makes you think it is set a long time ago. From the objects in the room and the way the children in the scene are dressed it looks like it is set in the victorian times. The nursery and the fact its set in the victorian times are both very classic horror film settings and is therefore a horror convention.

China dolls and tea set are used in this scene as the china dolls look realistic, also they have small faces and eyes which makes them intimidating and scares the audience. The china tea set is quite old fashioned which shows the film is set many years ago.

Throughout the scene there is non-digetic, incidental music. The song is slow and high pitched creating tension and a creepy mood. It also sounds like a children's nursery rhyme which are used in horror films a lot. There is ambient sounds of smashing when the girls dropped the cups and tred on them and their dolls. Also there is an ambient sound of a scream at the end of the scene.

The story being displayed in the scene is 3 little girls playing with their dolls like normal little girls do. But then they all suddenly stop and look to the camera. They do this simultaneously which is very creepy. This gives the impression that they are looking at someone and it is like that person is holding the camera and as if the audience are looking at the girls through the persons eyes. They all then look to the window and stand up and walk towards the window, dropping their dolls and cups on their way. This is followed by the girls opening the window and climbing onto it then all jumping out. This gives the impression that the person behind the camera has possessed them or told them to jump out the window.

At the end of the scene there is a wide shot where you can see an outline of a woman's head who looks like she is wearing a black hat and veil. This tells you that the person behind the camera was her and that the story is going to be about her possessing children/making children kill themselves.

The whole scene is in slow motion which creates tension and makes the audience feel anxious and makes the audience pay close attention to the action taking place. The only type of editing in this scene is cuts. This may be because cuts are abrupt which reflects on this scene because what happens next is unexpected. There is lots of close up shots at the start, which are focusing on the dolls, cups and the girls to show that they are all important parts of the scene. Forward tracking is used on the window because it highlights the importance of it in this scene, as the girls are about to jump out of it.   There also seems to be a slight sepia effect on the clips. This is because it looks a yellow/brown colour which may be associated to oldness.