Silent Hill Deconstruction

In this scene the mise en scene is particulary important because it is so different and effective at making a fantasy horror world.  The location is in an old, dirty street which is run down and covered in ash.  The ash symbolises how the town is still burning which links to the ideas of hell.  In the background there is a pire of sticks which resembles when witches were burnt at the stake.  The gives a very dangerous and cruel feel to the place and convinces the reader that this is a bad place to be. 

The juxtaposition between the woman the young girl shows how different this world is from the real one.  The girl is dressed in normal, practical jeans, body warmer and hoodie.  The hoodie is pink which portrays her as quite girly and therefor vunerable in this dangerous place.  In contrast the woman fits in with the location as she is also covered in ash.  She is also wearing a dark and dirty shawl which covers her body so she blends in with the background. 

The use of a church in the scene is very commonally used in supernatural horror as religion is a very effective juxtaposition to the world of hell.  It is almost anti-christ to have such an holy building in a world which resembles hell. 

I thought that sound was used very effectivly in this scene.  Underneath the dialogue there is quiet, soft, non-diegetic piano music.  This creates an eerie, fantasy atmosphere which is in parralell to the scene.  As the conversation goes on the girl gets more agitated, the music builds up with more bass tones being brought in to raise the mood and tension.  The diegetic sound of a siren is then brought in which is a very ominous sound as the audience will already associate this sound with danger and trouble.  Diegetic sounds of blackbirds cawing is symbolic of death so the combination of this and the siren creates a sound which is parralell to the dangerous location.



In this scene the mise en scene creates a frightening atomosphere as it plays on a wide spread fear of hospitals.  The creatures in the scene are dressed in nurse's outifts splattered with blood and dirt and are carrying weapons so the audience already know that they are bad creatures set out to kill. The boy is strapped down to an operating table so the tension is increased as he tries to get himself free, this is playing on another usual fear of captivation. 

Again the girl in the scene is used to create a juxtaposition between the real and fantasy worlds.  She is wearing pink and is clean, whereas the boy is wearing all dark colours to fit in with his world. 

The use of sound in this scene is very important as it is a vital part of the audience knowing when the boy is in danger.  Whenever you heard him move, the chains clink.  This then triggers the creatures to move with a disgusting squelching of flesh. This, along with their harsh and inhumane body movements confirms the fact that they are not human and are horrfic creatures from another world.  As the scene goes on the non-diegetic background sound increases in volume; strating off as a soft, eerie wind like noise, steadily adding layers such as high pitched sirens and eventually loud, deep drums.  This helps to build the tension and feeling of danger in the room.