Post 11 - The Strangers

The editing here is slow paced, the shots also fade. This type of editing really pulls in the audiences focus as when it fades they have time to think ‘whats next?’ also the slow editing like ‘The exorcism of Emily Rose’ creates the calm and mysterious mood. The editing is used to transfer one shot to the next which in this case is just of houses in America.

 

The titles in this film ‘The strangers’ instantly tells us its going to be horror. The fact the coulor of the backfround is black indicates death, also the orange text reminds us of Halloween as black and orange are associated with the scary season. The titles says ‘what you are about to see is inspired by true events’ This causes a tense atmosphere for the audience as the they are worried about what they are going to see as it has been inspired by something which actually happened.

The non diegetic sound at this point of the title sequence is of a 911 call. The call seems very realistic which relates to the titles where it says its been inspired by true events as this call could be the real one. The audience would question whether it is real or not. The caller seems to not be speaker and just heavy breathing.

The cinematography here is very clever, the extreme long shot is shot through a smashed car window. The shot allows us to see the boys but also the car that looks old and now ruined. The way the window has been smashed make the audience question how did it get is heart shape? did whoever done it plan to have it shaped like that? why?



The mise en scene in this shot tells us a lot about the film. Straight away we have strong idea that it is a horror. The knife is a weapon which is usually used in horror films so from our past experiences we guess that this is the genre. The thick blood on the knife implies that this weapon wasn't used that long ago. This makes the audience question who use the knife? why? who has it injured or killed? Furthermore there is a red rose petal beside the knife which is a very strong contrast to confuse the audience. The rose petal could tell us that there was a romance but between who? This is a very good shot for the audience to be thinking about.