Textual analysis

Textual Analysis

Evil dead 2013

Evil dead 2013 is a horror which is the genre I am going to make a two minute opening for. I have watched the first two minutes of the film in order to analyse it. It starts in a dark woods with a small amount of light shining through which tells us it is night time and you can see a figure walking through the mist. The shot then changes to show a woman slowly walking through the woods looking very scared and breathing heavily. The camera then focusses on the blood dripping from her hand showing us she is injured. Whilst the camera is behind the woman watching her walk slowly away, a dark figure runs behind her without her seeing. She then turns around quickly but doesn't see anyone. When she looks forward again there is a dark silhouette standing in the clearing of the woods. She then starts to walk and stumble quicker till she gets behind a tree and leans on it, breathing heavily and starting to panic. We then hear sticks and bracken breaking which sounds like footsteps. The camera moves around the same side of the tree as she looks around showing 

nothing there but the dark woods and mist, the camera then turns to look at the woman again who is still looking around the tree and stood behind her is an aggressive looking man who grabs her by putting a thick bag on her head and pulling her to the floor. He wrestles her on the floor, her making breathless and choking noises. Then another person walks over and watches whilst the man restraining her says "I got the bitch!" and the second man then hits her on the head with a gun/rifle. After this the 

screen goes completely black. The next shot is from the woman's perspective looking through the bag with small amount of light shining through. The camera then starts to focus more and we can see a person walking towards her. The camera then switches back to filming the woman with the bag on her head and we see that she is tied up on a pole, handcuffed as well which she tries pulling against. She desperately says "Please don't hurt me!" An old looking woman in the room is holding some kind of dead cat and says something which sounds like a different language. We then see a desk with pliers and knives on it. The woman who is tied up pleads and says "Who are you?" The other woman is still busy with dead animals. We then see the dead animals hung on the ceiling. The old woman opens a book and starts speaking in another language. The book has contains blood and sinister

 looking pages. The old woman still reciting a different language. This is 

what happens during the first two minutes of the film. 

• We know that it is late into the night because it is very dark in the woods and has very little light, apart from what looks like moonlight lighting up the clearings in the woods.
• At the very start of the opening of the film there is a close up of her feet when she is walking slowly through the woods. This creates a scary effect because you can hear every step she takes as the sticks and leaves crack under her feet.
• The camera also does a close up of her hand which is by her side because it shows the blood dripping from her. This creates an eerie atmosphere because the blood drips slowly and the audience can hear the sound of the blood falling from her hand.
• We also see her walking and the camera slowly focussing on her facial expressions which shows how frightened she is. 
• When the dark figure runs behind her without her seeing, the music changes very suddenly and becomes loud and fast which builds up tension and makes the audience jump. 
• After that her breathing speeds up and becomes heavier which builds up the suspense and has the audience on edge. 
• The music changes again when we see the dark figure in the clearing as it becomes more eerie and intense. 
• When she speeds her walking up and tries getting away, the music slowly gets faster and higher pitched which again makes the audience feel more on edge with a built up suspense. 
• When the man puts the bag over her head quickly all the sounds become louder and clearer which is a lot intense. 
• When she is tied up on the pole, the camera is filming from a low angle looking up at her which makes the situation look increasingly intimidating and dangerous. 
• The dead cat is very gory looking as it is sticky and bloody, you can even hear the sound of it pulling on the stickiness. 
• Also in the room, the only light source is candle light which gives a dim light and makes the setting gloomier and gives the impression something spiritual is occurring.
• All around the desk of implements, there is puddles of blood around them which tells you they have been used, this could build up the audiences terror. 

In the first 2 minutes of the film Evil Dead 4 different characters are introduced:

• The woman who appears to be a main character as she is in most of the shots. She is dressed in an old, dirty looking pale dress, possibly a nightdress which reiterates the  dea it is night time. Her hair is very messy and also wearing pale dirty shoes. Her clothing gives the impression she is innocent and her facial expressions show her clearly which appears to be scared. 
• The man who puts a bag over the woman's head. He is dressed very dark and in wild  ooking clothing such as brown leather looking clothes. He is also very dirty and he appears to have cuts over his body. His facial expressions are very angry and aggressive which matches his stern appearance. 
• Another man who hits her over the head. This character does not appear very much in the  irst two minutes but we see he has scruffy long hair and dirty clothes. He also has an aggressive facial expression.
• An old woman who is in the room once the main woman is tied up. She has old looking features and wears dark clothing. She has dark bracelets on both wrists. Her curly hair is very wild and big which reflects the wild look in her eyes. She has a very crazed facial expression.

The audio in the first two minutes of Evil Dead is very effective because it helps set the scene and build up different effects such as suspense. 

At the very start whilst the woman is walking through the dark woods, the only sound we can hear is her heavy breathing which builds up the tension because it tells the audience that something is making the character feel uneasy which makes the audience curious to why she is unsettled. When the camera moves to a close up of the woman's feet walking over sticks and leaves, we can only hear the sticks breaking under her feet, this shows just how silent the woods is as we can hear sticks breaking. When a dark figure runs behind the woman without her seeing him, the eerie music changes from faint/quiet to a load fast change in music and it becomes suddenly more rapid, this is quite a jumpy moment. After this the music gradually gets louder without the audience realising as its very slightly changing, this builds up the suspense without the audience noticing, this creates another eerie effect.

A lot of props are used in the two opening minutes of Evil Dead, the choice of props are very important because they can make the audience believe it is more realistic. 

At the start of the opening, the man puts a bag over the woman's head, the bag is one of the first props used. It is a very simple prop but proves effective as he comes from no where and manages to get it over her head, this creates a good effect as it makes the audience jump. 

Also a prop is the gun another man hits the woman with, this is what knocks her out in order for the next shot when she wakes up in a new setting with a new character therefore the prop is very significant. 

The old woman has a dead cat in her hands which is covered in blood/sticky, she then hangs it off of the ceiling which seems spiritual or similar to a ritual, this is the first signs that the film has a supernatural theme. 

After this, the supernatural theme is continued and a spiritual book is shown, this is the book the old woman opens whilst speaking a foreign sounding language like reciting. The book has pictures and words inside saying phrases such as "Cut the motherfucker" and "Cut him into pieces". It also has pictures of a unique looking star. 

From this textual analysis I have learnt what makes a horror film successful. Watching the opening two minutes to Evil Dead meant I could examine the smaller details which influence the film largely. When I looked at the audio, characters, props etc in the first 2 minutes of the film it helped me understand what impact they had on the film. I can use this when I create my opening to a horror film so I know what to include and what the audience want.