Deconstruction On Possession In Young Girls

By looking at several supernatural horrors, I have found out that a common convention is possession in young girls. One film being a key example for this is 'The Possession', 2012, directed by Ole Bornedal. The following is a clip I have deconstructed for possession.

Mise En Scene

• The sequence first denotes a young girl, behaving rather strangely. Already an enigma is raised - the audience wonder why the girl is behaving this way. Could she be showing signs of possession?
• The young girl is suddenly slapped. The audience see nobody responsible for this action, connoting demonic movement/possession is acting.

Sound

• Non-diegetic sound has been used. The sound is quite eerie, suggesting something unusual is going on.
• The audience hear off-screen diegetic dialect of "Where's my box?". The girl produces these words in a peculiar way. Her tone in her voice connotes anger and disappointment. The fact that the sound is off-screen, this adds to the suspense.
• We also hear the girl breathing deeply, again suggesting frustration. This may be a way of symbolising possession.
• Silence is used in order to effectively make the slap unexpected - fulfilling audience pleasures and expectations. This is because sudden sounds are a common convention in supernatural horror films.
• The on-screen diegetic slap is loud. Non-diegetic sound, similar to a chiming sound is used. The audience cannot see who is responsible for the slap, making this part of the sequence mysterious. Therefore, the non-diegetic sound is parallel to this part, as it carries a suspenseful tone.
• The girl's scream is incredibly loud. This particular sound is a common sound audience expect to hear in supernatural horror films, especially ones with possession.

Lighting



• Low-key lighting is portrayed. Note however how top lighting has been used on the other half of the girl's face. This may symbolise the girl has two sides to her. One being a sweet, innocent girl and the other of her having a demonic side (the low key lighting half).

•  High-key lighting is used in order to denote key detail, such as the shadow of the hand hitting the girl's face. The use of lighting also depicts her fear.

Camera Shots/Angles

The following are effective camera angles and shots throughout the film, which conform common conventions of possession in supernatural horror films.

Shot from the front cover. An usual hand is appearing out of the father's mouth, grabbing onto his face. The shot denotes part of a supernatural figure.

Medium close ups allow audience to see various possessive details on one's face in the film. Here we can see a demonic type eye, something very unusual popping out of the girl's cheek.

Close up shots tend to be used to denote supernatural details such as this (the figures in the girl's throat)


An establishing shot is used at times to establish a scene. In this shot, the audience can identify a box and the girl showing possessive movement. Could this suggest that the box is the source of the demonic movement?

A low angle shot has been made use of to exemplify possessive movement. Here we can note the girl's elevation in height, which is expressed through the low angle shot.

From the above, it is evident that a variety in camera angles and shots are used in supernatural horror films. This may be because the director wants to ensure that possession is revealed through numerous perspectives rather than just one, in order to keep the audience visually stimulated.