Film Analysis: Heathers (1988)

Film Analysis: Heathers (1988)

Michael Lehmann (1988)

BBFC 18 , MPAA R 

Opening Length: 11 minutes

Budget: $3 million 

Box Office: $1,1 million (US)

Re-Release: $55,000 (UK)

Theatrical Distribution: US only

Production Company: Cinemarque Entertainment

Distributor: New World Pictures

Synopsis: At Westerburg High, where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take Veronica and a mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count. (IMDB)

LINKS: wikipedia , IMDB , Box Office Mojo, art of the title

Trailer: 

.......

Possible Influences For My Film: I like the dark comedy genre and the "accidental killings" of the film rather than murder like in most horror. I also think the idea of a clique, wearing matching costumes could be an interesting idea.                                         

Companies/Idents: 

This was the only ident shown, as the distributor. The ident only lasted 20 seconds, which is conventional for a main ident in a film. 

The use of a single ident is unusual, however as this film is from the 80s it was common to only show one ident at that time. 

Opening Shot: 

The first shot is a Close-Up (CU) of a girl tying her hair with a scrunchie. This tight framing is unconventional as films usually open with an Extreme Long Shot (ELS) to reveal as much exposition as possible. This opening does the opposite, as it doesn't give much exposition and builds up narrative enigma (Barthes). 

Titles:

The titles before the opening shot show the production and distribution company first. The linking words between them are in a separate font and case, to highlight the companies, which is a title convention. 

The font used for the names is uppercase and uses white and pink/red. These colours have a feminine connotation, which shows the primary target audience for the film. This could also be seen as satire or humour from the director. 

The first two names that appear, Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, play the two protagonists, and as they are A-List actors of the time, the audience will be able to identify the protagonists easily.

The remainder of the titles continue in the conventional way, and don't highlight anyone else specifically. 

They are also on the side of the screen, further showing their importance. 

The main title of the film, also in the same font and style. The use of cursive connotes sophistication and the sentence case creates a more casual effect. The title is in the centre of the screen and in the largest font size, showing its importance. 

Mise-En-Scene/ First Five Shots: 

The garden is clearly presented with the flowers, furniture. The flowers surrounding them cleverly shows their isolation. Three characters are introduced. The marble statues and croquet connote sophistication and wealth. 

The shot of the girls stepping on the flowers is a well shown metaphor for their disregard of others, exposing a lot about their personalities. The croquet is also anchored here.

The shot tracks the girls walking from behind a tree. This angle gives a voyeuristic feel. The statue further anchors wealth, as well as the vast garden. This shot shows the three girls wearing distinctively differing clothing, and showing them as individuals. 

This shot shows the clear colour distinctions of the girls and their separate identities within the group. Their synchronised steps also show their group mentality. Using a Close-Up (CU) of their feet also builds up the narrative enigma. 

The final shot of the sequence finally reveals the characters, giving a shot of their clothing and faces. This reveals exposition on the characters after the build up of the previously cryptic shots. 

Sound: 

The audio-bridge is very light and airy, giving a lighthearted effect. The song and singer are very light and connote a church choir. The lyrics are also of an Italian song, connoting wealth and using Bordieu's cultural capital to create a reference. The first diegetic sound heard is of the girls stepping on the flowers, a clever choice from the director to foreshadow and represent their personalities.