Film Comparison Assignment - Neil

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Setting:

This scene is set in the house of Nancy who is having a battle with Freddy after pulling him out of her nightmare. Nancy traps Freddy in a room where he escapes from and is hit with a swinging hammer but then Nancy has more tricks up her sleeve as she makes Freddie chase her around the house where more traps lie such as a trip wire which sets off an explosion which sends Freddy to the ground. Also, Nancy proceeds to run further away from Freddy which encourages him to chase her down towards the basement where she throws flammable liquid across him then lights a match to throw onto the flammable liquid which sets Freddy’s whole body on fire however he still chases her back up from the basement which shows his sinister intent to kill Nancy. As he climbs the stairs back up from the basement Freddy reaches the door at the top of the staircase where Nancy pushes the door with power which sends Freddy rolling down the flight of stairs. The scene is very dark which creates a sense of evil and terror as the colour black is often seen as a deathly or spooky colour which is used often in horror films along with the colour red which could present the idea of blood and gore.

Expression or Performance:

Freddie lets out a petrified scream as he is set on fire which represents his fear of fire since he is scarred for life because of the event of a fire. This shows that Nancy has exposed Freddy’s weakness as the fire is clearly too much for him to handle. 

Costume:

Freddy is wearing his signature leathered glove with razors attached to the fingers which is his main weapon/ attribute that is used throughout the film. Also, Freddy has his burnt face which is the one of the most recognizable features of his character as his melted skin makes his character look disgustingly scary which is likely to leave viewers and characters within the film even more disturbed by the villain which is Freddy Krueger.  Freddy is wearing his red and green striped sweater in this scene which is a sweater that he always wears throughout the film and is another feature that both characters and viewers could recognize his character by.

Lighting:

Underexposure is a lighting technique used i this scene as it is presented late at night and the house has no lights turned on considering the time of day therefore Freddie's character is barely visible or partly visible until exposed to larger amounts of light such as when his body is up in flames which is shown near the end of the scene.
Also in this scene, low key lighting is used to give Freddy a hidden and dark look which is sure to make him seem more evil to the audience as he walks around Nancy's home late at night. The darkness is used throughout the film to give off a more frightening tone which could make it a more intense watch for the viewer. Also shadows used within scenes are used to make the audience question who could be behind the shadows or they could simply be scared by the fact that most scenes are in the dark which always gives the film a sense of mystery or an element of surprise (a scary surprise which is usually a jump-scare is expected when a scene is extremely dark).


cinematography, lighting, editing, mise en scene

Sound:

Non diegetic sound is used within the scene which gives it an eerie atmosphere. Highlighting is used throughout this scene as the volume increases when Nancy becomes closer to Freddy or vice versa and this is used to build up the tension for the viewer which will surely give them a more anxious or unnerved feeling as they watch the scene. Also diegetic sounds are used within the film such as the loud painful sound of discomfort Freddy makes as the hammer hits him and as he falls down the staircase. Freddy lets out sounds of discomfort throughout this scene multiple times such as when he walks into the trip wire and an explosion is caused which forces him to the ground and also when he is set on fire. Nancy also lets out screams throughout the scene as she calls for help to the Police outside and when she also shuts at Freddy when he is close to her. The smashing of the glass is a sound that increases the intensity of this scene as it is an unnerving sound that represents damage being done and this also shows Nancy's desperate attempt to get the Policeman's attention.

Props:

Hammer is used as a weapon in this scene in an attempt to hurt Freddy and keep him away from Nancy as he opens the door. A glass container with flammable liquid inside is used in this scene as a weapon for Nancy to throw at Freddy and also matches are used in this scene as a prop in order to set a light and throw at Freddy after he is covered in the flammable liquid.

The Hunted (2003)

Setting:

In this scene from The Hunted, Aaron (the hunter) is hunting down two deer hunters in the woods and he begins by slicing the cheek of the first deer hunter then sprinting off into the distance as the other deer hunter shoots at him yet misses. The sense of panic is presented at this point as the deer hunters realise they are now being hunted themselves therefore they turn their focus towards hunting down the hunter rather than hunting deer. Whilst hunting down the hunter the deer hunter, who was previously sliced on the cheek, falls into a trap set up by the hunter which cuts his ankle and leaves him lying on the floor in agony. As the trapped deer hunter lays their trapped by rope around his ankle, the other hunter continues to prowl around the forest in search of the hunter but is then seemingly killed by the hunter as a loud scream of fear is heard from inside the forest. After this, the hunter comes back to the trapped deer hunter and proceeds to cut the rope to free him from the trap but still the deer hunter is clearly frightened and attempts to crawl away from the hunter whilst staring at him. However, it is clear to see that the deer hunter can’t walk because of his injury therefore the hunter is doing this to further torture the deer hunter as he knows that he has no escape despite setting him free from the trap.

Expression or Performance:

At the beginning of the scene where the deer hunter is sliced on his cheek buy the hunter (Aaron), the deer hunter lets out a sound of discomfort and pain as he falls to the ground in unease. As the deer hunter prowls through the woods in search of the hunter he is clearly in shock and fearful judging by the expression on his face as he is now faced with a scenario that he never expected and also knows that the hunter is a threat to him after being cut across the cheek by him. Later on in the scene, the same deer hunter falls into a trap set up by the hunter and lets out several groans of agony as he attempts to remove the trap from his ankle. Just seconds later the scene cuts to the other deer hunter searching through the woods looking for the hunter and then suddenly the sound of a knife piercing through skin is followed by a loud scream of the deer hunter which gives the impression that the hunter (Aaron) has killed him judging by how intense the scream sounded.

Costume:

The deer hunters are dressed in their camouflage pants, jacket and cap with a red coloured vest which would show that they are trying to stay hidden from the deer in order to kill them easier without being noticed. The deer hunters are also wearing boots which would make sense to wear in the terrain that they are located at (The Forest) as it will keep their feet rooted to the ground so this can help them to have better precision whilst hunting. Also, the deer hunters are carrying bolt action sniper rifles which are used in this scene to hunt the deer but the hunter also.

The hunter on the other hand is hidden a lot better with his costume as his skin is painted green which would help a lot more when hiding from people between the plant infested terrain as his complexion of skin won't be able to be seen within the forest. Similarly to the deer hunters, the hunter also wears a camouflage outfit with his dark camouflage pants but the hunter uses a dark camouflage hoodie instead of the jacket and cap that the deer hunters use as the hunter uses the hood of his hoodie to hide his hair. rather than a cap.

Lighting:

This scene from the hunted is filmed outside in the day time so it is bright, however the scene is darkened by the trees as the scene is set in the woods.

Sound:

At the beginning of the scene the hunter cuts the deer hunters face and the sharp scratch of the knife is heard followed up with a discomforting grunt from the deer hunter as he falls to the ground in pain. Rustling of leaves is heard constantly throughout the scenes the hunters move through the forest steadily in search of one another. Also the loud sound of the bullets being shot from the deer hunters guns are used to build up the tension of the scene as the action begins to get gripping when the deer hunters begin to search for the hunter in a clear attempt to kill.

Props:

A metal hunting knife is used as the main weapon in this scene as it is what the hunter uses to inflict pain to the deer hunters and also the deer hunters use the sniper rifles as their main weapon which is originally used to shoot and kill deer but instead they turn into weapons that are used to try to shoot and kill the hunter.

In the Hunted there is a lot of weaponary used such as knives and guns. This is similar to A nightmare on elm street as Freddy Krueger uses his leathered glove with the knives attached to each finger.