Analysis Of First 15 Minutes Of A Similar Film - The Last House On The Left

When analysing the first fifteen minutes of a film, I decided to choose the film The Last House On The Left, as the plot is very similar to our own film's plot. This particular horror film uses a range of camera angles/ cinematography, editing, mise-en scene and sound to overall portray the horrific nature of the film. The film follows the parents (Goldwyn and Potter) of Mari Collingwood (Paxton), who attempt to get revenge on a group of strangers, led by a man named Krug (Dillahunt), that have taken shelter at their home during a thunderstorm. The Collingwoods discover that Krug and his group have shot their daughter and left her for dead.
 Throughout the first fifteen minutes of this film, the film begins in a very dark setting, and the audience immediately get a sudden sense of foreboding - something bad is going to happen within the first five minutes of the film. Most of the characters are wearing dark clothing and the diagetic/non-diagetic sound which can be heard is very haunting, mysterious and creates a sense of suspense which carries on to the next shot. However, after the first five minutes, the scene instantly changes and immediately cuts to the next shot, which is brighter, the non-diagetic sounds/music are overall, more livelier and there aren't as many close ups/extreme close ups used, which gives off the feeling that the next ten minutes or so will be slightly more positive than the first five minutes. By using this quick type of edit and changing the scene instantly like this and changing the overall setting and environment, this shows a small passage of time so the audience know that some time has passed since the first scene.
Also, by using dark lighting, having the first scene shot at night and using the haunting diagetic/non-diagetic sounds, the audience are immediately aware of the genre of the film because of these certain aspects used, and also the opening titles have a very scary/horrific, doomed feel to them.


The film begins with numerous close ups of the trees in the woods. The setting is dark and eerie, with a sense of mystery and the camera slowly moves in and out of the trees but still focusing mainly on them. The non-diagetic music which can be heard in the background is very haunting and mysterious and creates a real sense of drama, and the audience instantly get a feel that there is a sense of foreboding. This also sets the scene to what will happen next in the film.

Another effective shot used is another close up of the man sat in the back of the car. The setting is still dark, and we cannot see the man's face, but we are able to hear him speaking. By not being able to see the unknown man's face, this creates a sense of suspicion and anticipation as to who he is and what his role is in the film and we also get an instant feeling that he is some sort of villain, as he is in darkness and his identity is unknown at the beginning.

Another effective shot used after the close up of the unknown man is an extreme close up of a red warning light. In the film, the light is signalling that there is a train coming, and the audience know this, but by using an extreme close up on the light, we get an instant feeling of panic and a sense of warning and this builds up to what is going to happen next, which is a car crash, and creates suspense to the car crash aswell as playing just a prop in the film.We are also able to hear the warning signal as the light is flashing, and again, this makes the audience get a feel that something bad will happen in the next shot.

This is a shot used shortly after the extreme close up on the red warning light. This shot is a close up of the villain holding money in his hand which also has blood on. By using a close up on this shot we are able to see that the money is of high importance to the character holding it, and we are able to see that the character who has it in his hands is wearing black gloves, which we can instantly associate with being some kind of villain. Again, the setting around the shot is still dark which creates a whole sense of foreboding in the first five minutes of the film. Whilst this shot is being used, we are able to hear haunting, scary non-diagetic music in the background and this music gradually builds up to certain points in the scene when something very dramatic happens, such as when the man in the front of the car is being tortured, and is eventually shot, the music starts off fairly quiet and builds up to a piercing sound, which is more of a sound effect than music.

The next shot is used instantly after the close up of the man holding the money. The setting has changed and the music suddenly gets more upbeat and slightly more positive. The shot is a long shot used of the girl jumping into the swimming pool and the shot has been slowed down and is in slow motion. The non-diagetic music also matches what is happening in the scene and almost sounds tinkly, like water (diagetic sound). However, as this shot ends and the girl is about to get out of the pool, the music goes down slightly and becomes slightly negative, giving the audience an unknown feeling and making them wonder about this particular character and her background, is she hiding something?

This next shot is an establishing shot, as we are able to see all of the trees, the long winding road and the car, and the hills far into the distance. By using this shot, it creates a new setting and we instantly know that the next scenes will take place in this new setting. (Also, shortly after this shot is shown, we are able to see the house which the family are going to and the camera uses a point of view shot whilst slowly going inside the house. As this is happening, upbeat, happier music can be heard which signifies a change of environment and creates a happy moment at the thought of the family moving into the new house.)

This next shot is an extreme close up of the female character holding a pendant. By using an extreme close up on this, we are able to see the pendant in detail and are able to read what it says. Also, the background of the shot is quite blurred, which instantly draws the audience to look at the pendant as it is some kind of importance throughout the film, and are able to focus mainly on the pendant with the background being blurred out.

This next shot is a medium close up of the female character. By using a medium close up, we are able to see her from the waist up and also, her reactions and expressions. However, her reactions and expressions are not particularly important in this shot, as if the camera wanted to focus on her face and for the audience to see her expressions, a close up would be used. Also, as this scene is brighter and overall gives off a sense of more positiveness than the one in the first five minutes, the clothing in which the female character is wearing is also fairly bright, as she is wearing a white t-shirt, and in the first scene at the beginning, the characters wore dark clothing, mainly black and grey clothes, which reflected the style of the setting.