Devil textual analysis
Date of release: 17th
September 2010
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Genre: Horror, thriller, mystery Sub-genre: possession,
supernatural
Narrative structure
Todorov’s equilibrium model has five stages:
·
Equilibrium- the initial sense of peace experienced in
most films.
·
Disruption- a disruption of the initial peace.
·
Recognition- when the disruption has been identified.
·
Repair- an attempt to fix the disruption.
·
New equilibrium- the restoration of the equilibrium.
In ‘Devil’ this model is followed. The equilibrium is when we
have the shots of the setting. We then see a cleaner; the disruption is when we
see the body fall onto the truck behind him. The recognition is when Detective
Bowden goes to the crime scene and finds the body. The repair is when Anthony
Janekowski (listed on the credits as "Mechanic") realises the sin he
has committed that brought him to that point, by admitting to what he did.
Finally the new equilibrium is when Bowden says he ‘forgives’ Anthony.
The film has a non-linear narrative apart from a single
flashback. Linear narratives are common in horror film as to keep in the
present day and hold the suspense, however flashbacks are also common because
they shows the characters past and might reveal how the character ended up in
that position and also what the antagonists motives are. Devil uses a
restricted narrative. Both mysteries and horrors typically use this as it
provides a sense of tension and leaves the audience in awe. The film ends with
a closed narrative. The resolution is that Anthony admits the sin he has
committed and in turn is forgiven by Bowden for his sincerity.
The main binary opposite explored in ‘Devil’ is about the
innocent and the damned. Throughout the film we explore the theme of people
being accounted for, for their actions. This idea is reflected upon through
cinematography, location and even slightly in the pacing and number of cuts.
When we look at the victims the camera is often canted, showing their twisted
state of mind, furthermore the damned are stuck in the elevator while the
innocent are outside, spectating, yet still some of the innocent end up in the
cross fire, drag down by the condemned and end up dying. Finally, when we are
inside the elevator the cuts are fast for the sake of tension, on the other
hand, outside the elevator the shots and long and there is often no more than
five shots each time we go outside the elevator.
Genre codes and conventions
The story line for ‘Devil’ is typical to the horror genre because
it is a group of characters put through hell for their past sins. In horror
movies we have usually have a killer and there victims. Among the victims we
have a protagonist who is typically female. The victims are usually selected
because of something they have done in the past. In ‘Devil’ the protagonist is
Detective Bowden. Our killer is the devil and his victims are the people in the
elevator.
All the victims can be seen as antagonist, but the main
antagonist is the devil himself. They were all brought there by the devil due
to a past sin they have committed. Where we consistently have a protagonist
among the victims, it doesn’t seem that way here, however, in Anthony’s case he
is initially seen as an antagonist considering the fact that he is group in
with the rest of them but it seems his position changes as he convinces the
devil that he feels true remorse and is in the end forgiven and can almost be
seen as a protagonist. This is usually classed as the ‘unlikely hero’. He is
initially seen as an antagonist due to his connection to the event yet in the
end he aids the protagonist. Anthony aids Bowden by helping him let go of the
past. Antony is singled out by his appearance. Compared to everyone else he
doesn’t look dressed appropriately for the building. This immediately makes him
a unique character.
A classic character of the horror genre is the ‘funny guy’.
They usually crack jokes making situations awkward and also make fun of other
character. This behaviour normally leads to being one of the first deaths in
the film. This is a clear case in Devil as Vince McCormick (listed on the
credits as "Salesman"), starts making jokes and makes fun of the old
lady. This is then followed by him being the first death.
The old lady is has the darkest costume. We later find out
that she is the devil so this can be taken as a connotation for darkness,
furthermore seeing as she is wear the darkest we could see this to mean the
prince of darkness.
Sarah Caraway
(listed on the credits as "Young Woman") is the ‘pretty girl’ in the
film. The film makers have used make up (eye shadow and blush) to make her look
more attractive to show her as this typical horror character. A few points in
the film enforce this. Near the start of the film she flirts with Ben Larson
(listed on the credits as "Guard"). Anthony talks about how people
can turn others against each other like Sarah and labels her as a ‘twist’, this
is typical to the genre because the ‘pretty girls’ often try to seduce the
males in the films to try and manipulate them and to use as protection.
There is a heavy use of lighting in this film. All the
murders are done in the dark. This builds tension because every time the lights
go out you are left waiting to see if anyone has died in that short period. The
strong use of lightning is typical to the horror genre as it is usually used to
exaggerate scary things, for example the ‘low key lighting’ technique is usually
used on people’s faces to highlight their features and in turn give a scarier look.
It is typical to have knives in horror movie but as it
doesn’t make sense to have them in this setting it seems that glass is then
used to represent knives. This is especially made apparent when Anthony picks
it up and wields it how a marine would wield a knife in the army.
Jump scares are a convention in horror films, they often
break continuity. This is done in this film by using a jump cut to cut to a
shot of dead bodies on the ground.
Horror films regularly use settings that are either isolated,
abandoned or have a hidden past. For Devil we have a very isolated setting. This
use of setting adds to the atmosphere because it forces us to be close to the
characters making the audience more empathetic towards the characters.
There is a lot of use of canted shots. In Devil it seems to
express the characters negative state of mind. For example, during my extract
we see the two characters in a confrontation with intent to kill, for most of
this scene the camera is canted; furthermore, we have a canted shot of Ben after
we find out that he is there to kill Sarah. POV shots and extreme close-ups are
used to show fear as they are techniques that make you really close to a character
and make you feel more empathetic towards them. During the fight between Ben
and Anthony we have a POV shot which is good because it captures the intensity
and reality of the scene. We are seeing the fight from Sarah’s point of view,
she is scared and nervous so she is very shaky this is clearly show by the use
of a very shaky handheld shot. An extreme close-up was used as Sarah dies it is
used to bring us closer to her as she dies and tries to make up feel sorry for her.
The audience is left torn between the fact that she was in there for a reason
and the fact that she was put through a serious ordeal, however I don’t think
they did a good job developing her character enough for use to feel sorry for
her.
Extract
The extract I will be looking at
will be between when Antony and Sarah pick up glasses and face off and then
until Sarah dies.
During the confrontation a cant shot is used to show disturbance
which is then levelled when the glass are thrown down(as seen in shot 10 of the
storyboard) and then is brought back by hidden blade (in shot 12). This is done
to show the instability of the characters. The balancing of the camera is to
bring a sense of normality and peace which is then, again, broken. This is a
typical convention because it shows, through cinematography, the twisted side
of the characters, which the characters of the horror genre usually are. They
also use the handheld technique making the shots very unsteady. This is used to
emphasise the panic within the elevator. In contrast to this when we are with
Bowden the camera is still and balanced, for example if we compare shot 5 and
15 of the storyboard, then we can see where shot 5 is canted and shot 15 is
not, I have also stated that shot 5 is handheld whereas shot 15 is static, this
clearly portrays the deference in circumstance. This displays Bowden’s
innocence in the film which is backed up by his plain white shirt. A focus pull
is used to reveal the hidden glass in Sarah’s pocket (shot 12).
Up until they pick up the glass there is non-diegetic music.
Typically in the horror genre, parallel music is used to create an intense
atmosphere; it is the same in Devil. The music is tense but slow, then when
they pick up pieces of glass the music builds up, then it calms back down when
they are facing each other. They exaggerate the on-screen diegetic sound of the
rattling glass to show how panicked the characters are, furthermore the
diegetic sound of the characters breathing heavily also shows their panic. When
the lights blackout we have the off-screen diegetic sound of Sarah’s neck being
sliced. There are also the sounds of the lights flickering.
In the diegesis of this scene, we have one light source and
that is the lifts light above the two characters, this leaves a lot of shadows
and makes the setting very dark. However because of this they don’t use low-key
lighting, which is typically used in horror films, this is because, where it
would a great horror vibe it would also make the scene less realistic. Another
focus of lighting is when the lights start to go out and Antony uses the phone
light. This is effective because it connotes their last bit of hope as the lights
start to go out, which is then thrown away when he drops the phone; it also
creates shadows they cause an unnerving atmosphere that builds tension.
When both characters go to pick up the glass the pacing of
the straight cuts at that moment are fast to portray the ferocity of the
characters. Cross cutting is use to cut between the scenes inside and outside
the elevator, this is effective, with the addition of lighting and
cinematography, in showing the contrast of panic and intensity between these
two scenes. During the confrontation they use shot-reverse-shot between the two
characters this keeps the scene intense and the audience left waiting and
wondering. The pacing of this is slow allowing the audience to see characters while
they talk and also keeps an unnerving, unpredictable atmosphere by leaving the
scene at a speed that the audience expect to be broken with an instant, horror
typical, resolution. However this does not happen which is uncanny, because
this is the typical opportunity for a horror movie to use a jump scare, this
lack of conventions is one of the reasons why Reviews do not see this as horror
film. This is similar to what James Berardinelli talks about, in the last
paragraph of the review I analysed, where he talks about how they create an
‘unsettling’ atmosphere and then it just ends. He goes on to say that ‘the
style is disappointing’ this is because it is not expected in the horror genre.
After the phone is knocked out of Anthony’s hand (shot 15) we are left in the dark
for, then using a jump cut the darkness is broken and Sarah’s body is revealed
on the floor (shot 16).
For the most part the victims spend their time in the elevator;
this is a good setting for a horror, because its tight space gives a
claustrophobic feel and makes the scene tense, so when the characters become
restless they are forced into a confrontation because there is nowhere else
they can go. The claustrophobic feel is added to with the use of cinematography
and how close the shots are to the characters. The props used were pieces of
glass. This can be seen as a substitute for knives, as they are typical to the
genre however it would not be understandable for them to be in this
environment.
The position that the characters are in is unusual and so
they are nervous and constantly in bewilderment. This is clearly show by their
facial expressions and body language.
Devil review analysis
Reelview review
I have read a review about Devil from the website
‘reelviews’. The review was written by James Berardinelli. At the top of the
review is the title of the film and below it is the score which is 1.5/4 stars.
The reviews first paragraph gives us a good summary of James’
thoughts and what we should expect in the review, he is clearly stating his
disappointment in the film and goes as far as to use a dead director and
producer (Alfred Hitchcock) as an example of who could’ve done a better job,
furthermore he declares John Erick Dowdle (director) and Brian Nelson (screenplay
writer) as incompetent in comparison. He makes out that the concept has good
potential but fails because of who it was given to. James’ language gives us
the idea that he intends to be condescending towards the people involved in
this film. In addition he brings M Night Shyamalan into discussion stating that
it is ‘unfair’ to blame him, simply, because it was his concept. However, he
then uses ‘exclusively’ this signifies that he does still blame him for the
films failure.
He now starts to talk about the film telling us about the
setting, then lists the characters, their persona and the actor that played
them, this helps the reader identify the characters and lets them think about
how that kind of person would react in that sort of environment. Following this
he explains the situation between those stuck in the elevator and those who
witness what is going on. Furthermore, he says that one of the film’s biggest
mistakes was adding a ‘Greek chorus’ (someone who comments on what is
happening, in this instance Ramirez, one of the security guards, explains what
is happening through a story his mum used to tell him). He follows this up by
saying that it is a ‘screenwriter’s crutch’ suggesting that they are using this
as the easy way out by explaining what is going on rather than let the audience
guess and work it out for themselves. James talks about how the film breaks
down in an attempt to gain the views sympathy for the characters. He mentions Agatha
Christie (A crime novel writer), saying this is something she’s ‘warmed-over’,
meaning he feels that the characters are stale and not original.
As the review progresses it gets more aggressive and in turn
becomes more informal, where he uses the term ‘half-assed’. As this isn’t a big
website known for reviews it doesn’t need to be professional for a more formal
class of readers. The review seems very one sided and does not leave room for
positive feedback or an argument supporting the film.
As James starts to conclude his opinion of the film, he
presents what he thought was a strength for the film and how it’s use of
lighting (or lack thereof), created an ‘unsettling’ atmosphere. However, he
returns to his original point and specifies what he found most distasteful. For
example, he says that the ‘style is disappointing’; there is ‘lazy
screenwriting’ and also ‘lackluster performances’. He ends the review with ‘the
film is a joke.’ This makes obvious his opinion of the film.
The next review is from the website ‘examiner’, the review is
by Jess Carson. Like the last review the film title is at the top and beneath
it is the rating they gave it, which is 3/5 stars. Next to this on the left
hand side is an image of the Devil film poster. There are no details about the
film but there is information about its themes. Compared to the ‘reelviews’,
this website seems to appeal to a younger audience. I can tell this due to the
use of colours, there are also links to pages of people who appeal to a young
audience. Her review is more formal then James’, so the audience of the reviews
do not relate to the language used, however the examiner is a more professional
site so it is understandable for it to be more formal.
In contrast to James, Jess starts with a synopsis of the
film, this makes it clear for us what the film is about and makes what Jess
says more relevant. With James he started with a negative argument, but because
we don’t know anything about the films premise we don’t understand what his
arguments are about.
She has separated the positives and negatives in paragraphs
labelled ‘the yays’ and ‘the nays’, This already shows me this is going to be a
more balanced review. She starts the positives with the films creator, Shyamalan.
She says that she feels that his current strength is his storytelling but his
directing has been debatable, drawing from ‘the last airbender’ as an example,
this leads into her stating that ‘he is only credited for coming up with the
storyline’. This gives a more supportive argument compared to James’ review and
in turn gives a more positive feel, this is understandable considering that the
audience for this review is younger and would have a more accepting mind,
seeing as they have a less developed idea of the genre compared to the more mature audience. Continuing from
this she states that Dowdle’s directing and Nelson’s screenwriting is of good
quality which is very contradictory to James’ thoughts, this might also be
because of the difference of audience. She moves onto the negatives of the
film, she talks about how the writers focused too much on the story and in
doing so they missed opportunities to the film complete. This was also said in
James’ review, I also agree with this as, Devil is a horror film but its lacks
some of the conventions of the horror genre, for example it has opportunities
to use jump scares but does not.
The ‘nays’ section starts by stating that the story is one of
the films positives, then follows by saying that the film’s focus on this causes
it to lack in other areas. Again, we can look at James’ comment about the
missed ‘opportunity’; we can take this to have a similar meaning. She discusses
some of the moments that that she thought were unnecessary that left her with
questions that didn’t ‘lead to a sequel’ or ‘contribute to the story’ this
could be linked to James’ idea that the screenwriting was ‘lazy’. Jess talks
about how if you are looking for a film that will ‘make you jump out of your
seats’ then Devil is an ideal film as it has its moments, however, I disagree
with this, as I think that the lack of jumpy moments is one of Devil’s failures
as a horror film. This judgement is also refuted by James’; he says there is
‘too little suspense’ for a film that should be full of it, giving us the idea
that there is too little tension to provide a horror atmosphere. Jess finalises
her ‘nay’ section by saying that the film has plot holes that can leave the
audience confused for a moment again this adds to James’ comment on ‘lazy
screenwriting’, this makes me question the actual quality of the films story.
In Jess’ last paragraph, she doesn’t summaries her thoughts
about the film but she recommends it so we take it that her feelings are
positive. This is completely opposite to James’ review of the film and even
though it is their opinions it may also be affect by what audience their review
is aimed at. Jess’ review seems more lenient to the film as it is very positive
and even her negative section is half positive.
Devil poster analysis
The genre of the film is conveyed through its image. The red used
connotes danger, because it is coming from the elevator we can guess that this
is a place of danger. Furthermore it is in the shape of an upside down cross
that symbolises the devil this tells us that the film has religious themes.
The age rating for this film is 15 this tells us that the
film is aim age people 15+ which is the typical age for horror films this. In
the poster we have M. Night Shyamalan he is a big director and writer, making
it appear to be for a mass market. We also have the people that are fans of the
genre of this film. The genres and sub-genre identified in this poster are:
horror, mystery, religion.
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