Crimson Peak Scene Analysis

The lowkey lighting is the first noticeable feature of the first few seconds of the scene for me, as well as the close up on the characters, Ediths, face as soon as the wakes up, not only does the lack of lighting create an eerie tone for the scene right off the bat but it also draws all attention to the confused emotion of the character.

This scene contains a main aspect that most horror films do, this being the fact that the main character has to expose themselves to a dangerous situation or place themselves in a situation of vulnerability, in this case the woman decides to walk the corridors of this castle, obviously late in the night, because she hears a noise, this moves the plot forward and adds to the suspense that must’ve been building up throughout the film.

In the first few seconds it’s easy to tell what type of film this is, not only from the lowkey lighting but also the genre conventions in this such as hand held candles that only seem to be illuminating the womans face and not much else, alongside the fact that she’s wearing a white gown (suggesting purity) I can only assume that in this incredibly dark setting she is the only thing that doesn’t belong there or the only part of the scene that isn’t corrupt/evil. However adding to this, once we get a full body shot of the character we see how the light shows her dress as a grey colour, this could suggest that just by being there at this point there is already some darkness attempting to take over her.

A key feature of this scene is the lack of non-diegetic sound, this emphasizes every small creak or footstep, I think what they were trying gain from this was a similar experience to when someone (a member of the audience in this case) is alone in a situation, and is hyper aware of every noise made, so much that they may start to create sounds in their head that aren’t actually there. The use of this creates a bond so strong with the character in this scene that you almost feel as though you are that character or present in the scene with the character although this is also bought on by the camera movements in this clip, how it is one continuous motion, halting only when Edith does, and that being when there is a noise.

To extend; not only does the camera techniques impact the bond between the character and viewer, but could also be seen as a completely different point, this being that someone is following her, this would explain the multiple times the character turns around when she hears a noise and shines the candle  in the direction of the camera.

 

Oliver Ginifer – 18/09/2018