Mis-en-scene of the the beginning of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"

The Exorcism of Emily Rose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EqVQBlSntw

The opening scene I used was from the Exorcism Of Emily Rose, made in 2005 and directed by Scott Derrickson. I analysed the first 4minutes and 36seconds.

As soon as the clip starts, stereotypical horror movie music starts, which sets the viewer up instantly for what is to come later on. It builds up, not in volume but in depth, as the opening credits come up and there are extra diegetic screams added in over the music. These are faded, in that you can’t actually make out the words being said, which adds to the distress because it gives off a feel of helplessness and inability to make oneself heard. At one point, when the music is quiet you can hear a woman clearly yell “Emily?” Being the name in the title, this makes the viewer even more aware that Emily will be integral to the story. Because the woman calls out the name in panicky tones, almost questioning, it makes the viewer wonder what’s wrong and anticipate what is to come. The music continues throughout the clip, even through the little dialogue used, which creates a sense of dread. Diegetic sound is well made use of when the medical examiner knocks on the door and the squeak of the door hinges because they are both quite sharp noises and edgy. The footsteps along the hallway are loud enough the viewer can hear them, and are quite ominous, letting the viewer know that something bad has happened. The silence following the bedroom door being shut connotes the death of the young girl inside.

The scene is set in and around an old wooden house, on its own amongst fields. There is nothing surrounding the property, perhaps symbolising the bleakness of the situation. The location seems very fitting for the story, and the few bits of information the viewer gleans in the first scene fits in well around this. The fact that it is snowing and it is winter could be seen as a metaphor for the end of someone’s life, winter being the last season in a year.

Outside the house, the light is very grey, with no bright colours; the most predominant colour is the black of the medical examiners coat. It is natural lighting, so is either set early in the morning or around dusk in the evening. The effect of this lighting is that it adds to the dread the viewer is feeling about what is to come, and connotes the mood of the people in the house. Outside the house, the main light comes from above, because it is natural lighting lit by the sun. Inside the house it is darker with no lights turned on; the only source of light is the daylight coming through the windows. This creates long shadows, which plays of the stereotypes of horror movies, in that a shadow is used to symbolise something bad or spooky. When the medical examiner stops to talk to Mr. Rose, he is lit from behind and above, at a window on the stairs. This illuminates his face and shows who the director wants us to focus our attention on. Upstairs the narrow corridor is lit by one solitary light on the ceiling, casting unnatural light, perhaps connoting the unnatural situation. The light only lights up one end of the corridor and the closer the man gets to the bedroom door, the darker it gets. In the kitchen, you can see that time is meant to have passed because it is brighter light coming through the windows and the shadows aren't as pronounced.

The first few camera angles are close ups of various points around the house; the first is of a post with barbed wire coming from it, the second of grass swaying in the wind and the third is of apples on the floor in the mud. It then cuts to a high angle establishing shot to show the house and surrounding area, with the medical examiner walking across fields to the house. There is a mid shot of him knocking at the door, and turning around so that we can see the expression on his face. A low angle shows him looking across at a barn, which he does several times, indicating that this will come up again later on in the film as an important place. There is a close up of a weather vane moving slowly in the wind, which is quite a sinister motion, simply because of how innocent it should be in any other circumstance. There is an over the shoulder shot to show someone standing in the upstairs window, adding to the sinister feel because no one answered the front door when he knocked. Once inside, there is a wide angle to show the grieving family, which instantly tells us that there has been a death within the family.

The main colour used within the scene is black, which denotes the death of someone integral in the film. The medical examiner, who is the first character we see, is dressed entirely in black, adding to the ominous feel. The four female family members are all dressed in white, a colour often linked with innocence and purity, which makes the viewer think that they are innocent and had nothing to do with the girl’s death. The male character sat at the table is all in black, which makes the viewer suspicious because of the contrast to the other people at the table. The girl’s father is in a grey check shirt which again connotes the bleakness of the situation. The clothes worn don’t really hint at any particular era, but the house itself seems dated and old fashioned. The priest is wearing the black robes with the white collar, which is instantly associated with the church. However, this could be showing that he is largely guilty for the girl’s death, but the white collar shows there is a small part of innocence, where perhaps he thought he was doing what was best.