Fifteen Minute Analysis - The Others

The film starts with a voice before even coming up with a picture. As the voice is quiet and eerie it causes the audience to jump as they aren't expecting it which immediately starts the film off with the idea of the horror genre. The voice is low and strained causing the audience to feel suspense and anticipation to what's going to happen next.

As the first thing to happen in the film is a religious story with strange drawings such as the children hidden behind the chairs it gives the impression of horror through the iconography as often horror films involve crucifix's and religious meaning which makes the audience feel as though something bad is going to happen. The lighting is also dark and dismal which gives a sense of mystery to the film.

Several images during the opening sequence are creepy such as the puppet who is all tangled with his head coming off which is a macabre as it uses death imagery which may be foreshadowing the rest of the film. It's also emotionless which is makes the audience feel the tension build especially because of the music as it builds up to a crescendo allowing the audiences tension to build.

As a big house appears this uses the classic iconography of a large almost abandoned looking house and it especially has the connotations of horror because of the fog surrounding it. The fog allows the house to be hidden giving a sense of mystery to the film and as the music comes to a sudden stop it makes the audience stop and wait.

As the scream breaks the silence it makes the audience jump by using a jump scare to break them out of the false sense of security that the music finishing had given the audience. It also uses the typical stereotype of the woman being the scared one as it shows her crying and continuously screaming. This could be foreshadowing the rest of the film as it starts of with her screaming which shows that something horrifying has already happened but it doesn't tell you what.

As the strange laughter comes in during the darkness it makes the audience foreshadow something is wrong with the character that appears. As the figures are in the fog it gives a feeling of suspense and mystery surrounding these nameless figures it adds a sense of foreboding. Because there is three figures it reminds the audience of religious representations which is iconography of a horror film. Because they are all dressed in black it's also representative of darkness and may be foreshadowing death later on in the film.

By shutting all the doors in the house the woman gives the impression of isolation as she is trapping them all inside. Because of the bangs the audience immediately begin to jump because of the loud noises in the silence. It also gives the impression that she is hiding something as it allows the audience to being to suspect something.

Grace is often jumpy which leads to the audience being jumpy especially when she shouts during this moment of the film as it is out of character because throughout the film so far her voice has been soft and relaxing. It also portrays a gender stereotype because whilst the one man is expected to do the manual work whilst the women are expected to do the typical jobs women were expected to do such as cook and clean. Grace is very intimidating because of her listing in a harsh voice but also because of her stature.

As the curtains close it submerges the whole room into darkness which leaves only Grace submerged in light which was foreshadowing the rest of the film especially as the servants were plunged into darkness which usually represents horror and tells that something is going to happen to the servants or even Grace. Because the candle only lights up half of Grace's face it allows the audience to associate it with light and dark which is often seen as good and bad in people. This also means that the audience can see that their is two sides to Grace and that everything isn't as it seems. Because of the dark it allows the scene to become more mysterious as no one including the servants know what's happening which leaves the audience in suspense.

As they travel up the stairs and the music begins to play it adds to the suspense as the music builds up as they get closer however it begins to get a little more eerie. Because of the association with big houses and horror films it adds to the iconography of the film due to the fact big houses are associated with the supernatural horror genre.

When the twins are first heard speaking it immediately uses religious connotations which an audience would think of a horror film. Also the use of small children's voices is often used in horror to cause suspense in the audience and to also create fear as children are often associated with innocence and youth however in horror they are often the opposite such as in the film the Shinning. Because the music is still building up the audience is still tense however are brought to a false sense of security when nothing happens and the music dies out.

During the kitchen scene the group of children are seen raising their voices which results in the audience beginning to get tense. The clothing and lighting are both dull and dark which gives the connotations of horror because of the darkness that is included during the horror genre. As the young girls face consorts into an angry and scary face it brings a sense of foreboding towards the children and what's going to happen to them.

Because of the line 'it did happen' coming straight before it fades to black the audience begin to anticipate what she is talking about. Because they don't finish the conversation it leaves the audience wanting more from the rest of the film and to get the answers that they need which leads them to continue watching. Because the music crescendos with it the tension builds to its peak before fading to darkness.