Short Film Analysis

For my short film analysis, I chose to analyse 'Chainsaw' by David Dinetz and Dylan Trussel.

 

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2015/12/18/chainsaw/

 

 

The start of the film is extremely slow paced which helps create suspense for the upcoming scenes. There is a long shot of the main character (the man with the chainsaw) slowly driving and pulling up to the carnival. This creates a lot of suspense, suggesting that a big climax is going to occur later on in the film. The slow moving and slow paced scene also gives an indication of the character, it conveys the characters calmness, emphasising that he is relaxed. This suggests that he is comfortable in the environment he’s in and the actions that he makes. There is also a lot of dark lighting, portraying that it is at night which is a common horror convention. The dark lighting creates more suspense and fear for the audience as they are unable to see everything clearly and so there could be something hiding that they don’t notice, creating fear through surprise. The dark lighting also conveys the character as being quite mysterious and also indicates that he might have a dark side to himself. In the background, we can clearly see that the man has arrived at a carnival and the diegetic music is clearly carnival music, emphasising that he is at a carnival. The incidental diegetic music combined with the mise en scene and slow paced editing creates quite an eerie atmosphere for the audience, enhancing its horror genre. There is also the diegetic sound in the background of people talking, this conveys that the man has just arrived in a busy area. Overall this whole seen gives off a chilling, eerie atmosphere, suggesting that the nameless man is going to create chaos around a lot of innocent people.

 

The shot before this faded out black and then faded back into this shot for elliptical editing, this clearly shows that some time has passed. There is a medium shot on the mysterious man and as he is walking around the camera very rarely shows his head, emphasising that they are deliberately making the man faceless to create more fear for the audience. This also means that we can clearly see the chainsaw which conveys danger, which is also a horror convention. The chainsaw being in most shots, even before it’s being used, encourages the audience to focus on it which can create fear. Also, because the shot doesn’t show his head at all, it restricts the audiences view, meaning we can’t see what the man is seeing. This also creates more suspense as we don’t know where he’s walking towards and what he’s planning on doing. This is a bit of a restrictive narrative as it suggests we’re going to find out what happens when it happens and don’t really get any hints prior, apart from its most likely to do with the chainsaw. In this shot we can clearly see that the man is walking through a busy place with lots of people and children, this creates an even more eerie atmosphere as we know that children should be nowhere near a chainsaw. Children are often seen as innocent and so this juxtaposes with the portrayal as the man, who appears to be quite mysterious and dark. As the man is walking through the crowd, parents pull their children away from him, emphasising that he’s seen as an outcast by society and that he’s a danger. The diegetic incidental carnival music is a lot louder in this scene, creating a much more intense atmosphere and making it appear as though it’s building up to a dramatic climax. This scene is also incredibly slow paced which is still connoting the lack of action occurring while also creating more tension and suspense for the audience as they’re questioning what the mysterious man is about to do. This scene also has dark lighting and the dark lighting has been consistent throughout the film so far. This is still creating tension and suspense, and is also making the man appear more mysterious. So far, this film is portraying a linear narrative and has been in chronological order, this is also another horror convention as horrors tend to surprise you and make you jump, so if this film were non-linear and showed us what had happened at the end, the start would lose purpose because it would no longer be creating suspense and tension for the audience.

 

 

While the man is walking through the carnival, the shot cuts to the opening titles and cuts back to the man relatively quickly. This gives us an indication of what the film is going to be like soon, as it suggests it’s going to become extremely fast paced. Each time it cuts to the titles, loud, eerie non diegetic comes on briefly and goes back off as it cuts back to the man walking. This also gives an indication of what the film is going to be like by suggesting that there is going to be a lot of loudness and chaos on the film. The background on the first image (“ELI ROTH PRESENTS”) shows a shadow and the rest of it is dark. This conveys the mysteriousness of the main character while also emphasising he is faceless, nameless and the audience have no idea who he is.The text in this are blood red which indicates that there is going to be violence which is going to result in a lot of blood. The text also starts off being extremely big and then shoots backwards getting smaller, this indicates that it is going to become fast paced and there will be a lot of action later on in the film. These opening titles clearly represent horror conventions through blood, violence, action and dark colours, which helps create an eerie atmosphere just through the titles.

 

We can see a lot more of the carnival as there is a deep focus, indicating that the director wants us to see everything in this shot. In the background we can see a game that has a lot of bright lights, this juxtaposes with the man as he is extremely dark and the game is extremely bright. The game also conveys enjoyment and fun, suggesting that the people there are having a good time which is about to be spoiled. Also, the people playing the game are wearing brighter clothing that’s a lot more colourful than the mysterious mans. This is a clear juxtaposition between the man and them, emphasising a divide between him and society. There is also a lot of deep space between the man and everyone else, this also emphasises the divide, portraying him as an outcast. The lights from the game starts fading where the man is stood. Although he appears to be an outcast, he is still stood in the dimmer light, suggesting he wants to be included but instead he just observes everyone else. As the mysterious man is walking through the carnival, we can hear his diegetic footsteps. This makes the scene feel more intense, and this combined with the scene being slow paced still, helps to create more suspense for the audience.

 

This is the last opening title of the film which it cuts to and it shows the title of the film. This, just like the previous ones is blood red, conveying blood and violence which is one of the main horror conventions. There is very loud non diegetic sound of a chainsaw which also illustrates that there is a lot of violence, emphasising danger and fear for the audience. Just from looking at the titles, we can clearly identify this film as a horror film because of the colours and font. Black is a very mysterious colour and is used in horrors because it restricts what the audience can see, and the blood red connotes violence. The font, especially the “SAW”, looks sharp and metallic, like a chainsaw blade. This also connotes danger. Metallic objects are often cold which conveys the main character who appears to be quite cold. Also, behind the font there is a chainsaw which is on and making very loud non diegetic sound of a chainsaw. This again illustrates to the audience that the chainsaw the main object in the film.

 

There is a medium shot with deep focus, and there’s also diegetic dialogue of the other man wondering where he’s bean, this suggests to the audience that they were expecting someone for entertainment. The mysterious man is a lot closer to the camera, making him appear a lot bigger compared to the other two people. This conveys his power, illustrating that he has more power than them two. There is also a juxtaposition between the two men. The mysterious man is dressed in all black, conveying his dark side, whereas the other man is dressed in blue (a much brighter colour) and is wearing a shirt. This portrays him as a respectable man and also emphasises that he is a much more approachable and nicer person. There is also a light shining on the other male, this connotes his warmth, suggesting that he is quite a friendly person. However the diegetic dialogue of him saying “where the f**k have you been” contradicts this and could suggest that he can get quite stressed and agitated at times. The girl in the right hand corner is dressed in all black and is out of the light. This indicates that she may also be an outcast like the mysterious man, however she is framed a lot lower down than the mysterious man which conveys that she is not a threat. There is also quiet, slow paced, eerie non diegetic music in the background, meanwhile there is also diegetic music from a stereo in the room which is louder. This connotes that the two other characters are oblivious of the mysterious man’s intentions. While the other male character is talking, the shot cuts to a shallow focus of a close up of the mysterious man holding the chainsaw and slowly zooms in on it. This creates more tension and fear for the audience as they don’t know when the man intends to use it. The light is shining onto the chainsaw, this also emphasises that the film is revolved around the chainsaw, which creates more fear as we know that they can be very dangerous.

The mystery aspect of the film is a typical horror convention as the audience are going to be taken completely by surprise when he uses the chainsaw, the non-diegetic music combined with the slow paced scenes and dark lighting are also often used in horrors. This is creating a lot of suspense, fear and tension for the audience which is a horrors main aim.

We then see a medium shot of the other man saying diegetic dialogue “cool chainsaw” in a sarcastic tone, indicating that he just thinks it’s fake. This connotes that the man is oblivious to the main characters plan and therefore has no input in it. This also conveys the main characters intelligence because he picked Halloween to go on a killing spree, when no one would suspect anything or get in his way. The mysterious man then gets told to go with the girl to “make him look scary”. The diegetic dialogue at the end then echoes into non diegetic sound to emphasise the word “scary”. This connotes that it’s going to be a much scarier night than was intended. The non-diegetic eerie music gets louder as he’s walking out of the room and then it fades into black while the music is still getting louder. This creates more tension as it suggests a climax, building up to something big is about to happen. The shot then fades into the next scene and the non-diegetic music comes to a sudden stop, indicating that is was just a false alarm to create a bigger shock later on in the film when they’re more unsuspecting.

The scene then cuts from the man and becomes incredibly fast paced, cutting between different shots of the carnival. In each shot, we see an extremely lively and loud carnival with diegetic sounds of people talking and the rides moving.  This emphasises that it is very busy with a lot of people there, having fun, which creates more fear for the audience as they wonder what the mysterious man is going to do to them.

 

 

We then see a shot reverse shot of close ups between the couple and man selling tickets, which there is then this medium shot in between the shot reverse shot, this illustrates a clear juxtaposition between the two. The couple are wearing white and blue which conveys calmness and friendliness whereas the ticket man is wearing all black and has black circles around his eyes, this conveys a sense of hostility. There is also diegetic sounds of the carnival in the background which, again, emphasises that it is very busy, loud and energetic.

In the close ups we can see another clear juxtaposition between them. The man is shot with a low angle medium close up to convey that he has the power to give them tickets, however there is also desaturated colours around him which portrays his cold personality. The couple have the complete opposite, there is a close up on them with saturated colours which conveys their warmth and friendliness. There is also a shallow focus on them with no deep space, emphasising that they have each other, whereas there is a deep focus on the man showing a lot of deep space, which emphasises he is alone. There is then diegetic dialogue of the boyfriend, in a sarcastic tone, “yeah, $40 for a haunted house, we better die” which creates a sense of irony in the film as the audience know that there is a very high possibility that the man with the chainsaw is going to kill them.

 

 

The scene then cuts to a close up on a shallow focus of a dull, flickering lightbulb. This creates a lot of suspense as the audience or the characters can’t really see what’s happening, the focus on the light bulb emphasises this. This is also an example of a restricted narrative as we find out things as the characters do, however we already know that the man with the chainsaw is there which the couple doesn’t know, which is an example of a non-restrictive narrative. This horror film, like a lot of others, uses a mixture of restrictive and non-restrictive narrative, this is because a restr4ictive narrative creates shock and fear for the audience, and a non-restrictive creates tension as the audience are wondering what’s going to happen and in this case, they are wondering if the couple are going to get hurt. There is also really loud, eerie, tense non diegetic music that goes off as the lights flicker, which adds to the tension and suspense created as the audience know that this isn’t going to be like any other haunted house.

 

The shot then cuts to a medium close up of the couple surrounded by darkness with a little bit of light shining on them, making them the audiences focus. The darkness surrounding them can create fear through the element of surprise as the audience or characters (restrictive narrative) can’t see what is there or have any indication of what might happen. In this shot we can see both characters faces, the man is smiling which suggests he thinks it’s going to be fun and thrilling, however the girl looks extremely scared and there is diegetic dialogue of her saying “I am scared, let’s just go”. This indicates that she is scared quite easily, even when she knows that the haunted house is just for the carnival and nothing bad should happen to her. The scene has also become very slow paced and there is tense, eerie non diegetic music which suggests that something is about to happen. The man also knocks on the door, laughing, acting as the whole thing is a joke just as they are about to enter which creates fear in the audience for him as he might walk straight into danger. Also, the light is red and red often indicates danger. This suggests that the couple are in actually in danger and the man laughing at the haunted house is not good. The couple appear very average and normal which can also create more fear for the audience as this can happen to anyone, including them.

 

 

 

The scene then cuts to a medium close up of the mysterious man on the other side of the door which conveys danger as now the audience knows (non-restrictive narrative) that he is in the haunted house with them. It is extremely silent when the shot is on him and you can hear the diegetic sound of him sliding the door hole back. This creates a lot of suspense and tension for the audience as they wonder what he is going to do to the couple. The mysterious man is also surrounded by darkness and is wearing all dark which connotes that he will be well hidden and most likely watching the couple as they walk through the haunted house.

 

 

As the couple are walking through the haunted house, the shot quickly cuts to a close up of a skeleton while loud, screeching non diegetic music is on, which makes the audience and characters jump. However the boyfriend seems quite calm and not scared at all which juxtaposes with his girlfriend who is extremely terrified right now as she was screaming. This would most likely make a lot of the audience jump, however they know that this is actually a part of the haunted house so there is a lot of suspense revolved around the unknown, what the mysterious man is going to do. This builds up more tension as it still hasn’t happened yet and no one knows when it will. The boyfriend is still finding the haunted house funny and begins to play with the skeleton, this suggests that because he believes that none of this is real, he is less likely to run and will be in more danger. Also it conveys him as quite an immature and fun character. The tense, non-diegetic music is still playing and gets louder as they walk away from the skeleton, indication that they are walking into danger.

As the couple continue walking through the haunted house there is a few more surprises that is by the haunted house. The boyfriend appears to get a little shocked as his diegetic dialogue suggests this but then he changes it into an immature “wow”. This generally supports gender stereotypes as he is acting tough and fearless in front of his girlfriend, meanwhile his girlfriend is extremely scared and needs protecting. The tense, non-diegetic music continues as they walk even more, continuing to get louder which suggests they are still walking towards danger. The couple still haven’t come across the man with the chainsaw yet which is still creating suspense for the audience as they know that he will surprise them and make them jump very soon. As they’re walking through, the dark lighting is maintained to keep the mysterious man hidden and to keep the tension and suspense there.

 

In this medium shot, there is red lighting, just like when they was near the mysterious man before (near the door). This indicates that they are near him again and the red signifies that they are in extreme danger. The non-diegetic music is a lot quieter now, however it is still there, and this also suggests that they are near the man as before the music got louder as they were getting closer. Or the this could of purposely been done to make the audience think that there is nothing about to happen so they get relaxed, and therefore more shocked and surprised when a man jumps out. The scene is no longer extremely slow paced, however it has increased a little bit in pace so it’s more in between, this could have also helped to throw the audience off guard as it gives more of a sense of normality and relaxation

 

 

A loud diegetic chainsaw noise then suddenly starts and the shot cuts to a medium close up of a man with a chainsaw. As soon as it cuts the scene immediately becomes more fast paced cutting between him and the couple until the boyfriend, this conveys panic and adrenaline as a lot of the audience may believe it is the main character and also the girl is screaming a lot, indicating that she is scared. In this shot, the man is surrounded by complete blackness, restricting the view of both the audience and characters (restrictive narrative). This emphasises that no one can see what’s going to happen next, creating more suspense and fear. However the boyfriend does not believe the chainsaw is really and is just another part of the haunted house, which it is. The boyfriend says “this is fake”, again emphasising that if he didn’t believe that was real then when the mysterious man with the real chainsaw comes he most likely will believe he’s fake too.

After there has been a shot reverse shot between the couple and this man, suddenly loud, tense, non-diegetic music comes back on as the camera zooms in on the man and we can see the mysterious main creeping up behind him. This creates a lot of tension as there was a complete twist, shocking the audience again. The scene is slow paced as he’s walking up to him, this creates suspense because no one is really sure what he’s going to do except that it’s not going to be good.  Also, there is a lot of deep space around the man in the white shirt, which emphasises that they are all alone and don’t have any one to help or protect them except each other.

 

 

The mysterious man then decapitates the other man which is shown using a medium close up with a shallow focus on the body. This forces the audience to focus on it, emphasising what has just happened. In the background, you can slightly see the main characters face enough to see his expression which is rage, this conveys he is extremely angry and does what he does to release rage. However we don’t get a clear view of his face which keeps the man’s identity unknown. The scene is also incredibly fast paced now with it cutting between extreme close ups of the chainsaw cutting through his body (emphasising the power he has and his cruelness), the couple and of the body itself. This conveys the action going on on-screen. Also there is a lot of blood in this scene which is a typical horror convention as it represents violence and evil which most horror films have an antagonist. There is also extremely loud diegetic sounds of the chainsaw and screams the girl which emphasises that the man is out to harm people with his weapon, suggesting that they’re next.

The boyfriend is insisting that this is all fake and that he isn’t scared by anything as there was diegetic dialogue of him saying “you got fake blood on my clothes”. This connotes his lack of fear as he is more bothered about his clothes than the man who just got murdered in front of him, emphasising that he thinks the whole thing is a part of the haunted house. There is also multiple canted angles used when cutting between close ups of the couple, this conveys the lack of normality and that this wouldn’t normally happen in a haunted house. There was also a canted angle on a close up of the boyfriend which connotes his disorientated view, that he still thinks it’s not real. The girl juxtaposes with his view however and says “we should get out of here”, indicating that she wants to get away because she believes they’re in danger. Meanwhile, the boyfriend is shouting at the unknown man because he is mad the he got “fake blood” on his clothes. This is most likely going to frustrate the audience as he’s just putting himself in more danger rather than just getting away from him, like most people would do.

We then see a close up of the main character with his hair covering his face. This again emphasises the fact that he is nameless and faceless and the audience don’t know who he is, creating a fear of the unknown. Due to us not being able to see his face, we are unable to see any emotion, however he is just stood there, staring at the couple (as the boyfriend yells at him), which conveys his lack of remorse. There is loud, intense non diegetic music playing which conveys the energy in the scene as the girl is frightened and the boyfriend is angry. The non-diegetic music also has a lack of emotion in it which conveys the main character as he appears to not care at all. Also in this shot, the background is almost completely black, also connoting his darkness and lack of emotion. The scene is also still quite fast paced, with it only staying on this shot for a few seconds before cutting back to the couple, this also indicates energy and panic/anger in the scene.

The scene then becomes extremely fast paced, cutting between the man walking towards the couple and him getting closer. This emphasises fear as the man is position higher up in the frame when he’s walking towards them, which conveys power and control. There is also several more canted angles on the boy, again connoting that this isn’t something that would usually happen in a haunted house. There is then several extreme close ups it cuts to that is of the chainsaw and the chainsaw cutting the boyfriend. These shots emphasises how brutal the main character is, clearly portraying him as the antagonist. This also shows a lot of blood a violence which is a common horror convention to be used. There is also extremely loud diegetic sounds from the chainsaw, making the violence even more intense for the audience as it creates more realism, the scene being fast paced also adds to intensity of the scene, creating more fear.

 

There is then a medium shot with a deep focus of the girl running away from the chainsaw man. The background is black and blood red, this emphasises danger, blood and violence as well as emphasising that she cannot see much behind her, conveying that the chainsaw man may be closer than we think. Also, her hands and arms blur a lot as she’s running, this connotes her fear as she is running as fast as she can. This also illustrates the final girl theory as at the start of the film, she was scared and hiding behind her boyfriend, and now her boyfriend’s dead she is becoming more independent and fighting for herself. There is also diegetic sounds of her panting, emphasising desperation and fear, however she is no longer screaming and instead just running. This also supports the final girl theory as she is using her initiative more and trying not to give him any hints as to where she is. There is also fast paced editing to convey the girls panic and desperation to get away.

 

 

The girl is then cornered and there is a low angle shot of the man coming closer to her, which juxtaposes with the high angle shot on her. This clearly juxtaposes with each other and conveys the man as being in more power and intimidating whereas the girl is more vulnerable. This supports gender stereotypes as males are generally seen as being more powerful than women. Also this is the first shot where we can actually see his face, which shows him looking remorseless with a slight smile, connoting his lack of empathy for others and his enjoyment out of harming others. As the man is stood there, the non diegetic music stops and there is diegetic dialogue from the man. At first he does slow laughter before shouting "boo" at the girl. This also emphasises his lack of empathy for others and also conveys him as not caring about human life.

 

 

This next shot is a medium close. The window in between her and the others shows a clear divide between her and everyone else, emphasising that she is completely alone and has no one to help her. Due to it being a haunted house, the others seem totally unfazed by what is happening, suggesting that they think it’s all part of the haunted house. This helps connote the girl’s desperation as no one believes it’s real, this is also portrayed through her constant diegetic screams, shouting “help”.

 

The scene then goes into slow motion as the man begins to brutally murder the girl with his chainsaw. The non diegetic, opera like music playing  illustrates that the man is enjoying it. This also creates quite an odd atmosphere for the audience as you would expect it to be fast paced. This illustrates that the main is indulging in every moment and enjoy every second of it. 

The scene cuts between numerous shots (close ups of the chainsaw, close ups of the girl and close ups of blood dripping) which emphasises how brutal the man is as it forces the audience to focus on the pain he is inflicting. This is also helped by all the shots being a shallow focus on the skin, chainsaw and blood.

 

 

There is then a deep focus medium shot of the girl lying, murdered, on the floor. This conveys the extent of damage the man did. All the diegetic music then stops as there is diegetic footsteps of the man walking towards her, he then bends down and eats some of her corps. This also conveys his lack of remorse as he happily eats his victims. There is then a canted angle of him walking out, dragging his chainsaw, which conveys he is extremely abnormal and also emphasising that the people watching are wrong with thinking it's all just an act.

 

 

The camera then pans on the man as he closes the door on another one of his victims, indicating that he has no guilt and can just walk away without caring at all. There is also diegetic sounds of a radio, conveying that this situation appears extremely casual for the man.

 

 

This is the last shot of the man, walking out exactly as he walked out. This indicates that he does this often and remains completely unfazed. It also emphasises how busy the area is, as there are a lot of people he's walking past, which creates irony because no one suspected a thing.