Genre Research: Insidious: The Last Key

 Most people love to watch shows that tell them a story across multiple seasons keeping them engaged. While others like to watch movies that compress the story into an hour or two with continuous screenplay. In the horror genre though most of the audience prefers a movie providing the origin of a character and carrying out through several movies. Sometimes presenting an image that a viewer can’t get out of their head for a few days because it haunts them in their sleep.  So, I thought to myself why not analyze a horror film and see how the different components that are incorporated into the film to make it really pop out and terrify the audience. 

 

A film that I decided to analyze the different components individually of was Insidious: The Last Key. A movie that is set in 1953 and depicts a paranormal entity that was set free in prior years has returned to haunt the main character. In the opening scene of the movie the director uses an establishing shot to inform viewers that the house which is being shown is where all the horror will take place in the film. Later, in the film an extreme close-up shot is used to capture the horror that is left on the characters face without displaying what has caused such fear. This is done a lot across the film creating a feeling of discomforting as the audience is left in the unknown about what is to come next on screen. High and low angles were used as characters approached staircases hoping not to be confronted by what was lurking in the home. Making it seem as if the living characters played very little part in comparison as to that of the entity that haunted the house.

 

Once I was finished analyzing the commonly used camera angles of the film, I moved on to the commonly used camera movements. The one that I found was most used was zooming in on objects that were further down the hallway from which the camera was originally set. This made if feel as if something was pushing the camera forward to simulate pushing the audience into the dark abyss. The costume that was used to portray the demon in the film was dark and eerie and would send chills down the spine of anyone who saw it. 

 

While analyzing the film I noted down some of the key components that I feel really made the film pop out at me. The different camera angles that were used as characters walked into a room really left me on my toes which I liked a would like to incorporate into my own work. The camera movements when displaying rooms in the house to make it feel as if something is always lurking in the shadows or right behind the camera. The only thing I didn’t really like but still want to try to implicate is the special effects that were used in certain scenes to make the demon appear creepier and more ominous. Other than that I learned a lot about what goes into making a good horror film and keeping the audience engaged in it.