The Last Exorcism Possession Deconstruction

 

 

Mise En Scene

 

• The audience first denote a man. He looks rather curious, as he is shown to be looking around. This may connote that he is looking for someone. Already a disequilibrium is shown.

 

• The audience then denote a door. The door seems to be shuttering by itself. The action here clearly conveys a common convention in supernatural horror films.

• A young girl is denoted above a wardrobe. She seems to be crouched. Her body language signifies a young girl, possessed.

• A medium close up has been used to denote the girl's facial expressions. The audience can see that she is disturbed, frustrated - common facial expressions of possessed characters.
• The shot also enhances the direct address being made with the audience. The girl is looking directly at the audience, inviting them into her possessive character. This effectively fulfils audience pleasures.







• The girl then suddenly attacks the man. The audience denote a cut on his hand.

• The girl then appears to be on the floor, in a crawling stance. Her body language and facial expressions both represent a possessed girl.

 

Lighting

• Low key lighting has been used throughout. The lighting effectively meets audience expectations, as low key lighting is a common convention in a possession film.
• The type of lighting also has negative connotations, suiting the action in the sequence.



Editing

• Straight cuts have been used. The cuts enable the audience to receive a view of the action from several perspectives. This therefore, fulfils audience pleasures.
• A CCTV effect has been applied in some cases. This visual effect is a convention audience would expect to see in a possession film.

 

Sound

• The audience first hear off-screen diegetic sound of breathing. The heavy breathing makes the beginning of the sequence quite intense.
• A off-screen diegetic scream is then heard. This creates an enigma within the audience. Furthermore, the audience are curious to know who was screaming.
• Diegetic dialogue has been used throughout the sequence to add realism.
• When the characters go upstairs to find out if the young girl is okay, non-diegetic sound is used of a violin. The fast tempo creates intensity.
• The audience then hear an on-screen diegetic sound of a door thumping. This is also a common convention of the sub-genre.
• When the door has been opened, silence is used, effectively making this part of the sequence more suspenseful.
• An on-screen diegetic sound of a roar is then heard. The sound signifies a possessed character.

What to use in our opening:

The CCTV effect is rather effective. My group and I could use this for parts of our opening, perhaps when their is fast movement. However, this may decrease the realism of the opening. Towards the end of our opening, our possessed character disappears. Having silence followed by a loud on-screen diegetic roar could be effective in closing our opening, and also making our audience jump with fright.