The Cinematography of Horror/Thrillers
Types of Shot:
Close-ups or Extreme Close-ups:
Horror/Thrillers often use close-ups in films to convey a characters emotion in a clear and intimate way or in some cases the show the gore of a particular object or person. From these shot reverse POV shots from Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs we can infer that each of the characters, Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling are on equal grounds but are fighting for power and authority over one another because each have separate motives they are trying to achieve. Clarice seems apprehensive of whereas Hannibal's face is calm and collected, evoking fear and power; showing who currently has the upper hand in the scene.
Long shots:
Horror/Thrillers also often use long shots in the film. This is so that the audience can get a prolonged look at the mise-en-scene of where a character is beset and focus on the characters body language and its relation to the surroundings and the story itself. This shot from Robert Eggers' 2016 historical period horror The Witch perfectly describes this. The protagonist, Thomasin, stands in the centre of the frame alongside Black Phillip, a satanic goat, as she stares up at a coven of witches as they rise up into the air. This shot is important because it conveys to the audience the reason as to why Thomasin follows Black Phillip into the woods naked; she is to become a witch herself. This shot, along with its low-key lighting and haunting non-diegetic music that support the horror/thriller genre conventions, is also important to the narrative because we see how Thomasin evolves and reaches her final persona.
Medium Shots:
A trend I have noticed in horror/thrillers are that medium shots are commonly used to convey gore and violence that are common occurences in these types of films. They are used to show a characters emotion and what relation it has the the characters movements and actions. This shot from David Cronenberg's Scanners shows this use of gore and violence by portraying a news anchor's head exploding with very realistic effects. The blood and look of uneasiness on the characters face are made clear and create a very disturbing and 'gross-out' that subverted audiences expectations as for what was going to happen. Its also worth noting that this shot was only 8 minutes into the film which mean that Cronenberg wanted to shock the audience from the outset of the film and has continued this trend with his other work such as The Fly and Videodrome.
Angles:
Low Angle
This shot from Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 thriller Drive has been used to make the protagonist seem stereotypically masculine and superior to the audience and person he is interrogating who are percieved as inferior and weak. Notice the emphasis on the hammer he is grasping his fingers around being used as a warning to both the audienc and character on the ground alike.
High Angle:
This shot from Paul Thomas Anderson's 2012 film The Master conveys perfectly what kind of character Freddie is and what the message of the film is about also. Freddie is shot in a fashion that not only hints at his lazy attitude to life what with his drunkenly sleeping but it also makes him look large, almost like a giant. Freddie believes himself to be a strong and important man in this world and he fights anybody who challenges him on his masculinity or importance in the world, hence his giant appearance on the screen. His ignorance is further developed when you see the smaller people around him looking like ants, much weaker than Freddie. The film itself is about man and how we fight over power and dominance over each other and its this shot, in my opinion, that best conveys this message.
Movement
Steadicam/Handheld Shots:
In horror/thrillers, Steadicam Shots very often follow a characters movements when they are walking and all have an element of suspense to them because the audience do not know what they are going to see next and there is an almost inevitability to them; no way of escaping the character, immersion and movement. This Steadicam shot from Dennis Villeneuve's 2013 thriller Enemy follows Adam as he walks down the hallway of his home and looks face to face with a gigantic tarantula in his living room. This shot is a vital part of the entire film narratively-speaking as it reveals what the spiders (which have been appearing continuously through the film) represent; this being his fear of commitment in a relationship. A spider appears in the film whenever Adam has the urge to cheat on his wife and this shot here where the tarantula scurries in the corner shows his wife becoming the spider symbol and conveying her fear that she is being cheated on. This method is used very often in the genre but more often they are used for a 'jump-scare', as seen in the corridor shots of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
Tilt Shots:
Tilts are used to introduce a character in horror/thrillers, whether they are 'good' characters or 'bad' characters. This shot from John Carpenter's 1982 classic The Thing reveals the antagonist of the film, a parasitic extra-terrestrial life-form that assimilates other organisms and in turn imitates them, half way through its assimilation process. The camera moves upwards slowly so that the audience have time to look at all of the monster and take in the fear and dread which Kurt Russel's character feels when the beast is revealed.
Stationary:
Horror/Thrillers very often actually keep the camera barely moving or perfectly still so that the audience have time to take in the image and the fear an suspense the director is trying to create. This shot from Dario Argento's 1977 classic Suspiria stays completely stationary and focuses on the woman attempting to get help from a supernatural being attacking her as well as the bright pink architecture (reminiscent of Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel) that envelops her. This shot holds on her desperation and creates a large amount of space between her and the camera, making her seem weak and destined to die, which she inevitably does.
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