"Jennifer's Body" Shot by Shot Analysis

          The film "Jennifer's Body" is a teen horror comedy that failed horribly in office when it first premiered in 2009. However, in recent years the film has become a cult classic among female viewers due to its female empowerment and revenge against toxic masculinity. Through a series of POV shots, special effects and costuming, "Jennifer's Body" remains a 2000's teen slasher that is hard to forget.

Jennifer Check (post meal)

          After Jennifer has a late night snack, the audience is shown this POV shot. Jennifer's creepy smile at the camera alone is enough to make any viewer feel uncomfortable, however the mise-en-scene of this scene is what really makes this shot horrifying. The costuming here plays an important role in symbolizing that Jennifer is evil, her blood stained clothes give off a murderous look and her facial expressions (smiling) tells the audience that she has no remorse for what she has done. The character's direct eye contact with the camera make this shot much more invasive for the audience.

The demon inside

          No, this is NOT what Megan Fox looks like in real life. This terrifying appearance was made possible through special effects and makeup according to Erik Nordby. The man responsible for Jennifer's demonic look said that his team created 5 stages for Jennifer's facial appearance to go through, enabling Jennifer to transform from a regulation hottie (Mean Girls reference) into an audience's worst nightmare.

Needy and Jennifer

          The two main characters in the film, Needy and Jennifer, have completely opposing styles. Needy on the left side of this shot is wearing a frumpy knit sweater, with her hair neatly pulled back and glasses resting on her face. On the right, Jennifer is wearing a cropped white shirt along with an even shorter pink cardigan, accessorized with a small purse and necklace. The difference in the pair's costuming is how conservative the clothes are and how confident the characters appear to be. Based off of high school stereotypes, the audience interprets Needy as a quiet nerd while Jennifer looks like the queen bee.

          In this film, Megan Fox stars as Jennifer Check (antagonist), whose childhood best friend, "Needy" (protagonist) is played by Amanda Seyfried. In the movie, Needy tells the audience the story of how her childhood best friend, Jennifer, was possessed by a demon after getting sacrificed to Satan. Consequently, Jennifer becomes a literal "man eater", and the horrors caused by the flag captain are captured in great detail throughout the film. 

"Happy Death Day" Opening Analysis

          The opening scene of "Happy Death Day" (2017) starts off with a tilt shot of a tall brick building, in the background there are other buildings similar to the first which makes the setting appears to be a school. This becomes the establishing shot for the scene and shows the audience that the movie is set at a college. The church bells echoing loudly in the background also adds a mysterious tone to the location. A jump cut then introduces us to the film's protagonist, Tree Gelbman, through a close up of her sleeping. As Tree wakes up and the camera slowly backs away, a number of items become visible: a bed, an unorganized dresser, heels, and a messy kitchen/living room combo.

          The handheld shot technique is applied at this time in the scene to give the audience a "disoriented" POV from Tree as she wakes up (from what the audience assumes is a hangover). After touring the audience around the room a new character is shown, the man in the shot is later revealed to be Carter Davis. Reverse shots between the Tree and Carter provide the audience with information on why Tree is in Carter's dorm room. After Tree gets dressed and gathers her things, an over the shoulder shot is shows the audience Carter’s reaction to Tree telling him to not tell anyone about last night. Humorously, just as Tree opens the door, a fellow student is there to greet her as she storms out.

Part of the reason why I like the opening scene for “Happy Death Day” is because it stands out among other horror comedies. This sequence differs from others in its category by not killing off a character in the first 5 minutes, a typical tactic used in many horror films such as “Scream” (1996). Instead, the audience gets to watch a seemingly normal, nonetheless awkward situation play out for a young college student. This makes the audience wonder what can be so horrific about the movie, making the plot twists and action ahead all that harder to solve. As mentioned earlier, the scene is an incident younger audiences (PG-13) would find humorous. The comedic features used in this opening gives me ideas to use for my project, since my partner and I plan on our film’s protagonist being a college sorority girl.

Sources:
YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K3iB7LcfQw&feature=youtu.be.

“Scream” Opening Analysis

          In order to understand what an opening sequence should resemble for this project, I chose to do a shot-by-shot film analysis on “Scream” (1996). 

First Shot

In the first shot, a blonde young woman is speaking on the phone with a strange man. The creepy voice of the man on the other line signals to the audience that the woman is speaking to the potential killer, and because the character recognizes this too late the "dumb blonde" archetype is achieved.

Second Shot

The second shot of the the character's (Casey) house acts as an establishing shot, the swing moving by itself is a great prop for this scene as it sets a mysterious tone.

Third Shot

One of the most iconic exchange of dialogue in horror film history is the shot where the killer asks Casey her name, so he knows who he is looking at. This shot makes the opening scene takes a turn for the worse and prepares the audience for what's to come.

Fourth Shot

After a sinister trivia game between the killer (Ghostface) and Casey, Casey attempts to run away. This deadly chase sadly results in the last shot of Casey being hung from a tree covered in blood.
       
          In just 13 minutes, the opening sequence to “Scream” took audiences from a weird, but harmless prank call to a horrific murder scene that is considered to be one of the best in the horror/horror comedy genre. This opening sequence is a great example of how the element of surprise and mystery can really influence the way a film makes an audience feel. Throughout the entire phone conversation, the increasingly horrific dialogue makes the audience feel the same emotions Casey is feeling. I think that the emphasis on using the phone as a prop for this scene made it very relatable and highlighted how technology can harm us too. The ring of the phone along with the popping of the popcorn were both very normal sounds that somehow insinuated that something was going to happen. Another important sound would be the subtle metal noise of the knife being removed by Casey; this sound later becomes important for the film as it accompanied the killer, Ghostface, before he attacks.

Sources:
Urquhart-White, Alaina. “Why 'Scream' Has The Most Terrifying Opening Scene.” Bustle, Bustle, 20 Dec. 2016, www.bustle.com/articles/200688-a-beat-by-beat-analysis-that-will-explain-why-scream-has-the-most-terrifying-opening-sequence-ever.

Horror Comedy Explained

         

          The first successful horror comedy to be recognized was "Frankenstein" directed by James Whale in 1931. Since then, a variety of horror comedies have hit the big screen, such as "Scream" (1996), "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), and "The Cabin in the Woods" (2012). Horror comedy has been described as a sub-genre that sets blood and screams right next to gags and laughs. The interesting thing about horror comedy is that it blends together a variety of contrasting elements (ex. death, jokes), and somehow remains an entertaining medium for audiences to watch. If you think about it, a scare and a laugh our both setup to have a reaction at the end. Due to the similarities in how humor and horror are constructed, the film industry has witnessed more horror comedies being put out. I think this is partly because audiences enjoy these types of films more than before, as they provide a film that is not too scary but still enough to make one feel scared.

          Opening sequences for horror comedies tend to include handheld tracking shots.The use of the handheld shot is present in many horror film openings and sets the tone for the movie better than a steadicam would. By following characters around using this camera angle, audiences not only get a view of where the film is set, but also a more personal viewpoint of the scene and what is happening. Another film technique used would be the "Red Herring", which distracts the audience with misleading clues that bring viewers to the wrong conclusion. A red herring can be done through many different camera shots, although the most prevalent is a close up of an object such as a window or a part of a character’s costume. Scores, which can be defined as original music made specifically for a film, play a huge role in building up suspense or heightening one's emotions during a scene. A well known score in horror films would be the sound we here in “Jaws” when the killer shark is approaching. In my next post, I will be completing a shot-by-shot analysis of the hit film "Scream", to see why it's opening sequence is so highly praised in the film industry.


Sources:
Renée. “Watch: How Does Horror Comedy Work?” No Film School, 19 July 2017, nofilmschool.com/2017/07/how-does-horror-comedy-work.


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The Horror Genre

              

       
          The purpose of horror films has not changed much over the years. The horror genre is centered around its ability to frighten an audience by implementing some of our worst fears into a film, such as death or fear of the unknown. The audience is meant to feel uneasy while watching a horror film, leaving viewers anxiously waiting to see what will happen next. You might ask yourself, why would anyone want to watch a horror movie? Well the answer is simple: people enjoy being scared. Ever since the world’s first horror movie (“Le Manoir du Diable”, 1896), moviegoers have enjoyed watching horror films because of the thrill and excitement being scared gives us. Fear allows audiences to be distracted from other things that might be on their mind such as a big exam, work troubles, etc. Horror can be categorized into a variety of smaller genres such as science fiction, fantasy/supernatural, or thriller films. Early horror films tended to focus on monsters such as vampires, ghosts, mad scientists, and zombies.

          Horror films today can be very complex in how the antagonist of the story is presented. Many horror movies star a seemingly “normal” person who turns out to be a highly disturbed individual, making the film more comparable to the real world. While my partner and I are unsure what kind of antagonist we want for the film, we are most likely going to use a male character, since a man is traditionally the bad guy in this genre. Representation in horror films has also remained consistent throughout the years, stereotypical characters like the dumb blonde, the sexually active couple, and the skeptic (usually a POC) are still present in films today. For this project my partner and I plan on using a common narrative in horror films, which would be a young girl being chased through the woods by an unknown man. We thought that shooting our project in the woods would be a great idea, as a spooky forest adds a sense of isolation and drama to the film opening.

Sources:
Horror Films, www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms.html.

Introduction

          Hi guys! My name is Maliah and I am a AS Media Studies student. Over the next couple of weeks I will be working on my AS Media Studies final, which consists of making a film opening, and documenting the entire process through a series of blog posts. In this blog, you will all get to follow my journey in completing this project from start to finish. I am planning on doing this project with my fellow classmate (and close friend) Josie. Josie and I have been friends for many years and have similar working styles, which is great for a school project such as this. When Josie and I were first deciding what type of movie we wanted to create, our minds went to the “easiest” genre to mimic: Horror. The conventions of the horror genre appeared to be quite simple: flickering lights, unexplained noises, and a monster chasing you through the night.

          While horror is a fantastic choice for a low budget film, there was something missing from our idea. We knew that we didn't want to make another typical scary movie, and so, we came up with the idea of doing a horror comedy. As of now we are still brainstorming ideas on what our film topic is going to be. We have drawn inspiration from horror comedies such as “Cooties” (2014), “Scary Movie” (2000), and television shows such as “Scream Queens” (2015-2016) and “American Horror Story” (2011-present). Each has provided us with great scenarios we could use for our film and gives us a chance to watch horror conventions at work. I am beginning to conduct more research into the horror genre by searching for archetypes in classic horror films such as "Halloween" (1978) and by watching a variety of horror/horror comedy film openings. My partner and I want to have fun with our final, and so we plan on targeting a teenage audience that can relate to our film opening. By aiming towards this specific age group, it will be much easier for my partner and I since we are teenagers ourselves. Hopefully by the next post, I can update you guys on our film topic!