I was afraid my kids wouldn't like the movie because it doesn't actually show any alien lifeforms...just human-looking pod people duplicates. In part, this was done for budgetary restrictions. It is, after all, much cheaper to film a guy dressed as a policeman and say he's an alien invader rather than putting him in a mask and suit sitting at a futuristic control panel and show that he's an alien invader.
But this lack of special effects actually adds to the film’s effectiveness. Kind of like how the mechanical shark used in Jaws never worked properly, so Spielberg fashioned his story around a monster the audience rarely saw. Spielberg himself has said numerous times that he thinks this adds to the terror of the shark, and if the shark had worked the way it was supposed to, the movie would have turned out far inferior.
But back to Invasion. Here we have a doctor and his girlfriend running around, trying to get out of town, all the while being chased and hunted by creatures that resemble their friends and neighbors. And here’s what struck me this time while watching the film: director Don Siegel uses the camera’s frame itself to hunt and capture the characters along with the aliens. Just look at this shot:
See how the buildings and cars on either side of them create visual walls through which the characters cannot escape? Even the reflection of light in the center of the frame is like a path leading them in only one direction. And that direction is totally illuminated. They can run, but they can’t hide. Here’s another:
It’s almost the identical shot, only this time it’s a tight hallway, with only one way to go. And when they finally get to the door at the end…
It’s locked. And they have to head back towards the camera. Heck, the camera doesn’t even follow them down the hall. Why? Because it knows the door is locked and that they’ll be coming back. The camera becomes, to some degree, the eyes of the hunters. More evidence to support this claim? The camera is placed behind the subjects so they run away from us, not towards us. Here's one more:
Great shot, huh? Pretty claustrophobic, right? These shots combined create a great sense of paranoia. In this way, the subject of the film becomes not alien invaders scaring us, but the fear itself. The film is about being afraid. There’s more ofthese shots, but I don’t want to ruin the movie for you.
So here’s a question: Can you think of a film where the framing is used to create a similar sense of claustrophobia and paranoia? Or, can you think of examples of just the opposite, films in which the framing creates a sense of freedom and openness?
I would have to say that Evil Dead series does a really good job at combining the two senses together by taking one sense of each. The one, or few, shots that I'm referring to are the ones where you see a subjective viewpoint of 'it'. We really don't know what 'it' is, but we can guess that it is some type of demonic thing. Anyways, when you see these shots you always see it through the eyes of 'it'. When it is outside of the house looking in it is providing a sense of freedom and openness. Now, when 'it' is chasing someone through the forest you have the same type of shot, but it's following someone running away from them. Again, you never really see what 'it' is, but the sense or feel of it is a little bit different. When it is chasing someone you still feel free and open, because you in the forest (there is a lot of space there), but you feel somewhat paranoid or suspenseful. This is only because you feel afraid that whatever 'it' is, is going to get the character that you like, or hate. You just feel the same fear of the character provided the view point of the shot. Think about this, if you actually saw what was chasing, or taking over peoples bodies would the movie still be as scary, or effective as it is now? I personally think no, because it is the sense of not knowing that really gets us going. If you feel differently please express your point why.
ReplyDeleteCaleb - I agree that Evil Dead 1, 2, and Army of Darkness all utilize the subjective viewpoint to create a monster, but that's not exactly what I'm speaking of in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In the examples I'm sharing with you, we're not seeing the action through a subjective viewpoint. We're not literally seeing the action through the eyes of the invaders. Instead, I'm discussing how the director uses the framing of the shot to create a sense of enclosure.
ReplyDeleteEvil Dead 2 does have a few examples of this, if memory serves me right. Maybe when he's in between the walls at one point? Am I remembering this correctly? Isn't he in a tight, cramped space where he can barely move, and the walls are pressing down on either side? It's been awhile since I've seen E.D.2...
In my opinion the movie Australia has a strong sense of freedom. The camera is overhead many times showing a vast desert, ranches, the ocean, and islands. Even when the scene takes place inside, the are seems open (no matter how much furniture or whatever is there). The camera seems to be place so that the shot makes sense and gets at its point but also shows a lot of space. Personally this gave me the impression of what Australia actually is like- very open (well for the time it was place in). And there are shots of cattle running and people herding them on horses which, when you see the thousands of cows they show, adds to the idea of all this space. It is completely the opposite of claustrophobic.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the movie The Descent does not give you the feeling of freedom. The women manage to convey the suffocating feeling of being confined in small spaces. It is dark and wet and horrific. So unlike Australia, The Descent feels really claustrophobic
I was going to mention the descent also! Good point Stephanie. Off the top of my head i can not think of very many movies that have various shots that make the audience and the characters in the movie feel very claustrophobic. But there is one movie that comes right to mind about the feeling of openness the cinematography creates. This movie would be The Worlds Fastest Indian. The Worlds Fastest Indian is about Anthony Hopkins who tries to make this old 1920 motorcycle as fast as possible. The thing about this movie that makes it feel so open, is the shots of the landscape where he tests and races his car. He tests his car in the salt flats. The shots the director makes in these scenes make the audience feel wide open and free. So, overall, I think that the descent does a great job of creating a claustrophobic effect, and The Worlds Fastest Indian does a great job of creating a wide open and free effect.
ReplyDeleteThe Descent - good call.
ReplyDeleteFirst point - Speaking as an amateur spelunker and avid movie fan, I can say that of all the cave movies I've seen, The Descent best captures that trapped, clausterphobic feeling that you can only appreciate if you've actually been on your belly in a cave passageway 30 inches high.
Second point - My wife and I were watching one of thses "100 scariest moments in movies" shows, and after seeing a clip from The Descent, she wanted me to rent it for Halloween this weekend.
Check back Monday for some frame shots from the movie.
Well when i read the question and other people's comments a lot of different movies came to mind. The first that I thought of was The Lord of the Rings trilogy because in almost every shot they show the fellowship running, riding or walking through the country side of middle earth. One thing that always amuses me from these shots is that there will almost always be a shot of Mordor far at the ends of the country side and no matter how far they have traveled it always seems to be in the same spot and that the fellowship is making no progress, ha its kinda funny. Secondly I thought of the movie The Fall which was shot in so many locations and most shots are long shots of the group traveling through open deserts or forest or fields, they are really beautiful shots. For the second part of the question i Could just name any scary movie and it would have a shot of people crammed up into a small area but the one that I thought really answered this question was the movie the Panic Room with Jodie Foster. The movie is all about a small space, hence the panic room, so basically Jodie Foster's new house is getting robbed and she and her daughter have to hide in a small metal secure room to avoid being harmed by the robbers. its all about small shots to make the viewer feel like there is no way to escape and it has a little bit of Jodie Foster kicking ass which is awesome. Its kinda interesting though that a place which is suppose to be a room of safety actually turns out to be more of a jail cell and is more terrifying than anything.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing I realized after thinking about the irony in The Panic Room is how in some movies the openness can actually turn out to be terrifying just like smaller spaced frames. This is especially represented in the movie Open Water, which actually kinda bombed, but it at least portrays the idea i am trying to communicate in how the space is so open and makes the viewer feel like anything bad could sneak up on the main characters and it is almost too open, i hate that feeling.
ReplyDeleteAlong with Open Water, you can add Touching the Void to the list of Nature as overwhelming antagonist. And if you haven't seen Touching the Void, you owe it to yourself. A great documentary about what it means to never give up, even in the face of insurmountable odds.
ReplyDeleteYa sometimes things that are just too open seem scary and unsettling but i will defiantly have to check that film out. Also maybe you could add to the question about filmmakers trying to feel claustrophobic, you can add how they make people feel agoraphobic (which is the fear of open spaces) something we were actually talking about in english. And one other movie that brings goose bumps to me because of its close framing is in the movie The Blair Witch project which is suppose to look almost like a home movie, but a lot of the shots involve up-close looks at people's faces in fear and very close shots of the forest around them. All of this thrown in with compete darkness make one hell of a scary movie and you really don't know whats going on around the characters.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think a good example of this is "The Shining". The word claustrophobic, made me think of this movie's framing. The hotel in the movie is very tiny and the hallways are very constricted. I think this is what adds to most of the fear.. the sense of being closed in as your watching it. Maybe as if there's nowhere to run. Another thing is how the doors in the movie are framed. They are basically towering over the audience on how their shot. It's as if we're looking up at them even though they're not that tall. The hotel is the perfect claustrophobic house to film a horror film. Maybe this isn't what you we're looking for but it seemed pretty claustrophobic in the frame of the viewer
ReplyDeleteYou're right about The Shining. The lines of the shots are all very verticle, almost like prison bars. And how about the scene when the mom and kid are in the bathroom and dad comes axing through? Or the final sequence in the shrub maze out back. Good example, Ben.
ReplyDelete