FILM ANALYSIS: Pearl (2022)

FILM ANALYSIS: PEARL (2022)

dir. Ti West 

BBFC 15 , MPAA R 

Opening Length: 6 minutes

Budget: $1 million 

Box Office: $9.7 million

Theatrical Distribution: US and Canada only

Production Company: Mad Solar Productions, Little Lamb Productions

Distributor: A24, Universal

Synopsis: In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm. (IMDB)

LINKS: wikipedia , imdb, boxoffciemojo, artofthetitle

Trailer: 

.......

Possible Influences For My Film: The slasher genre, killing methods.                                  

Companies/Idents: 

The idents for the companies are shown. They all last between 8 seconds, and are silent. This is very unconventional, as typically idents vary in length, and always contain non-diegetic music, or an audio-bridge. 

Opening Shot: 

The opening shot is an ELS of a dark barn door. The darkness creates narrative enigma, as there is some light coming through the windows and cracks. The shot tightens as the camera zooms in, and the barn doors then open. The ELS is conventional, as it is also known as an establishing shot, and gives information about the narrative. However, it is unconventional to have such a dark opening shot. 

Titles: 

The first title (A24) appears on a black background with white letters to make it stand out. The title font is used for the company, and a sans-serif capitalised font is used for the linking words. The same is seen in the second production title, but the text appears over the opening shot. 

The cursive font signifies the primarily female target audience, as well as being an intertextual reference to the technicolour films of 1940s America, specifically The Wizard of Oz, 1939.

The remainder of the titles are centrally framed, and appear over the opening sequence. There is an effect on them where the letters appear one by one, which gives an analog and vintage effect.

The main title appears 6 minutes into the sequence, and is a freeze-frame of Pearl feeding a dead goose to a crocodile, which is foreshadowing for the remainder of the film. The title covers the majority of the screen and is centrally framed, with a fade to black to continue to the remainder of the film, and signify the end of the opening sequence. 

Mise-En-Scene/First Five Shots:

The ELS of the farm exterior reveals exposition of the previously built up narrative enigma. The house and machinery seem dated, placing the setting in the past. 

There is a panning shot at a close-up showing an old black and white family photo, further reinforcing the past setting. The photograph is of the protagonist and her parents, and denotes the close bond between the family. The panning continues around the room, revealing small details about the protagonist. 

Here, the pan has ended at a medium shot of the protagonist looking at herself in the mirror. Exposition is immediately revealed here and the dress anchors the film as a period piece. She is wearing a stereotypically feminine pink and lace dress of the time, and has her long brown hair tied up in 

ribbons. She wears no makeup or jewellery, which denotes the simple life she lives on the farm. 

The lights abruptly go off and then turn back on, showing her dancing in a dark room in front of the mirror. The use of light here emphasises the protagonist, and symbolises her love of performing and dancing. 

The lights then turn back on and there is a panning shot to the door, where her mother walks in. This over the shoulder shot denotes conflict and tension due to the distance of the characters. Binary opposition is seen, as the pink and feminine dress of the protagonist, is juxtaposed by the structured grey and modest outfit  of her mother. She also has her hair tied back, but this is seen as a practical measure rather than a conscious fashion choice, like her daughter. 

Sound: 

There is a bright orchestral soundtrack playing with many strings, that intertextually references the technicolour productions of the 1940s. When the barn doors open, and the lights turn back on in the mirror this music increases and conveys the dramatic narrative. Once the protagonist is seen, the strings quite down and wind instruments are heard, and sound more sinister. When the door opens, the sound of a vinyl scratching is heard, and the music abruptly stops, signifying that the illusion is over. 

SLASHER GENRE: Titles

Order: 

Through my analysis of general film and genre film openings, I have found the general order of titles to be: 

1. Distribution company

2. Production companies

3. Director

4. Cast

5. Crew

6. Director again

In more detail: 

1. Distribution company- Conventionally the first title, it is usually structured as (distributor) presents...

2. Production companies- Depending on the budget and year of the film, the number of production companies differs. If it is one company it appears as a (producer) production, and if it is multiple it appears as (producer 1) in association with (producer 2) presents...

3. + 6. Director- It is conventional for the first and last appearing name to be the director's. This repetition highlights the important role of the director, and the two named appearances are worded differently. It normally appears as, a (director) film, a film by (director) or directed by (director) 

4. Cast- The cast names appear next and typically start with the most prominent role, to the least. If an actor is unknown or it is their first appearance, the title says introducing (actor), if they are known it says starring (actor), (actor), or (actor) as (role). If the actor is very well known and playing a supporting role, the title says with an appearance from (actor), or with (actor) and they are usually one of the final cast names to appear. 

5. Crew- The crew conventionally appear after the cast names, and highlight the most prominent roles, while the final credits detail the whole crew. These are typically the roles of; director of photography, editor, costume designer, and casting director. The roles are typically presented as costume design by (costume designer), and the name differs in font, font size, or case, to differentiate the role and the name. 

Colours: 

The colour most frequently used to denote horror or slasher was red. The colour red has connotations of danger, blood, and anger. This is seen in examples like Scream (1996) , Eden Lake (2008), and The Cabin In The Woods (2011). 

The colour white was used to connote good, innocence, purity, such as in Cherry Falls (2000). It was also used along with black to accompany red, like in Scream (1996). 

The final colour I saw used was blue. This colour denotes coldness, and is conventionally used to connote science-fiction or the supernatural. This is seen in Bride Of Chucky (1998). 

The background colour is usually dark, to set the tone for the dark atmosphere of the film, and sometimes to create contrast against a white title, and symbolise good vs. evil. 

Fonts: 

The font types varied based on the hybridity of the film and the other genres included along with horror/slasher. It also varied depending on the primary target audience. 

Cursive fonts were used when targeting a primarily female audience. This was also used to target both genders, like in Bride Of Chucky (1998). Examples of cursive are seen in Jennifer's Body (2009) and Heathers (1988). 

The use of a serif, or elongated font, was used in examples presented as serious, such as Eden Lake (2008), and The Cabin In The Woods (2011), which are marketed towards an older audience and tend to be classified as psychological thrillers, rather than slashers. 

A sans-serif or bubble font, was used to denote comedy. This is seen in the examples of Scream (1996), and Bride Of Chucky (1998), and are hybrid films, featuring a comedy element. 

The case of the fonts varies between sentence-case and uppercase. The sentence-case denotes a less serious film, and the uppercase denotes serious horror. 

SLASHER GENRE: Narrative Structure

Within the slasher genre, the structure and conventions are very specific, so audience expectation is of a reoccurring pattern. This is an example of genre purism. As an extension of Todorov's narrative structure, the slasher genre has its own interpretation of it. 

This is best summarised in the figure below, taken from Richard Nowell's book, "Blood Money".

According to Todorov's narrative structure this would be; equilibrium (the teenagers daily life), disruption (stalking or killing begins), recognition (noticing murders), attempt to repair (attempt to survive), new equilibrium (killer is defeated). 

This structure is seen in older slasher films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Halloween (1976), Prom Night (1980), as well as modern examples such as Scream (1996), Bride of Chucky (1998), The Cabin in the Woods (2011), and The Babysitter (2017).

"The horror genre's hidebound founding texts prevent films from deviating too far from tradition...The audience is itself psychologically unsuited for drastic changes in the formula horror film."

- John L. Crane, "Genre Criticism and the Horror film"

This quote summarises the idea that the early, blueprint slasher films have set the conventions for following films, and created the audience's expectations. When the conventions are slightly altered, this is counter-typical, and instantly recognisable within the formula, often to the disappointment of audiences. 

Resources:

https://gatecrashers.fan/2021/10/29/slasher-history-1/

https://sk.sagepub.com/books/terror-and-everyday-life-singular-moments-in-the-history-of-the-horror-film/n2.xml

SLASHER GENRE: Role of Comedy

"Horror-Comedy is a literary, television, and film genre, that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction." 

This genre is categorised into three subtypes; dark comedy (Heathers, 1988), parody (Scary Movie, 2000), and spoof (Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th, 2000). Many comedy-horrors and parodies satirise the slasher character archetypes, and are prevalent throughout pop-culture. 

Background and History: 

The short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving is considered to be "the first great comedy horror", being published in 1820 and taking place around Halloween. The first horror-comedy film is the 1920 short film Haunted Spooks, by Harold Lloyd, but the most successful first release was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, 1948, directed by Charles Barton. The initial reasoning behind the film, was to combine iconic monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and the werewolf, played by household comedy names. This unintentional hybridity proved commercially viable, and evolved into four quadrant films such as Beetlejuice (1988), The Addams Family (1991), or Casper (1995). 

After the first slasher cycle ended in the late 1980s, and slasher conventions had been established, postmodernist films and parodies or spoofs began to emerge. An early example is 1981's Student Bodies, followed by Bride of Chucky in 1998, and notably Scary Movie (2000). This exaggerated slasher tropes and plot lines, ridiculing them and directly referencing popular films of the time. This resulted in strong box office figures and a large number of sequels, and solidified the horror-comedy genre. Another film of the time was the zom-rom-com, Sean of the Dead (2004), which added a further layer of hybridity and was followed by large success and further adaptations (Warm Bodies, 2013). In recent years, the self-awareness and mockery of tropes in films such as The Cabin in the Woods (2012), The Final Girls (2015),  and The Babysitter (2017), have dominated the horror-comedy genre.

Psychological Elements: 

Apart for the increased commercial appeal created through hybridity, the popularity and success of comedy-horror lies in the safety felt by the audience compared to a classic thriller or slasher. In "Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History", Bruce Hallenbeck summarises this best: 

"(comedy-horror films) provide the permission to laugh at your fears, to whistle past the cinematic graveyard and feel secure in the knowledge that monsters can't get you." 

Definitions/Concepts: 

Comedy: laughter and humour is created due to the contrast of a characters existence and the attempt to achieve their goal, which a viewer is able to watch from afar and see elements a character cannot perceive about themselves. 

Horror: discomfort, terror, and repulsion is created to provoke a psychological reaction within the viewer.

The sub-types of the comedy-horror:

As I had previously mentioned, there are three main types of the horror-comedy; dark comedy, parody, and spoof.  

Parody: A common way and type of comedy-horror, as it relied on parodying the distinct tropes of the horror genre. This is because of the horror's set conventions that an audience can recognise and see in a different element. For example, the film Scary Movie (2000) is a great example of a parody, as it makes fun of the film Scream (1996), as well as many other classic horror films. For example, the opening sequence is a recreation of Scream, but adds elements of humour such as the "safety/death" sign or the slow motion running of the victim. 

The reminder of watching a film allows a viewer to laugh at their own fears, while also leaving them vulnerable for a scare, as laughter is relaxing. 

Dark Comedy: Dark comedy creates humour from a dark subject matter as a coping mechanism, to remove the seriousness or fear from a bleak situation. It is not as reliant on horror conventions as the other sub-types, and often ends negatively, but the manner in which the story was carried out does not have the same effect on the viewer as a serious horror film would. For example, the film Heathers (1988), features comedic ways of death or accidental killings, and the protagonist ignores the death of her friends as she has her own teenage problems, as well as the de-sensitisation of her classmates. This creates humour as it is an inappropriate manner in which to react at the horror, while having the bleak situations still depicted. 

Spoof: A spoof refers to the humorous exaggeration of something for comic effect. When a situation is depicted extremely, this removes the horror element and allows for more violence as it is seen as comedic. The more unbelievable and exaggerated something is, the more humour it creates. For example, the clips of The Babysitter (2017) seen below, contain a lot of violent imagery such as blood, but because it is so exaggerated, the viewer is aware it is fictional, and humour is created. 

Conclusion: 

The most frequent combination of horror-comedy in these films is in jump scares (false scares), killing methods, the killer, or the victims reaction. This hybridity allows for a wider audience appeal, and more commercial adaptations of the genre, as family films (The Addams Family, 1991), or satire (The Final Girls, 2015). However, the main reason behind the comedy-horror's success is the genre purism of horror, and the distinct conventions it has. In order to effectively create a comedy-horror, the filmmaker must establish and recognise the conventions, in order for them to be subverted. 

Resources: 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/432309

https://industrialscripts.com/comedy-horror-movie/

https://www.vulture.com/2015/10/history-of-horror-comedy-in-11-crucial-films.html

https://books.google.lu/books?id=_jZnAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA201&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_horror

SLASHER GENRE: Auteur Directors

Wes Craven

Wesley Craven (b. 1939- d. 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and producer. 

He is "recognised as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural impact and influence of his work." (Wikipedia) He is best known for satirising horror cliches of the slasher genre, and for his films A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the Scream franchise (1996-2011), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and the Swamp Thing (1982). 

Dario Argento 

Dario Argento (b. 1940 -) is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter still active today. Known as the "Master of the Thrill," he is "one of the most important figures within the Italian sub-genre of giallo films". (Wikipedia) Giallo films are "not strictly adhering to the tenets of either slasher films or arthouse cinema, and feature striking colours, propulsive music, and unseen threats to create their auras of suspense, bridging the gap between horror and noir." (Wikipedia)

He is best known for the films Suspiria (1977), Deep Red (1975), and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970). 

Tobe Hooper

Willard Tobe Hooper (b. 1943- d. 2017) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. The BFI has cited him as "one of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time". He is known for his films The Funhouse (1981), Poltergeist (1982), Eaten Alive (1977), and most notably The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). This realistic horror film is one of the early examples of slasher, and the visceral imagery and sound was found too disturbing, and consequently banned in many territories. 

James Wan 

James Wan (b. 1977 -) is an Australian filmmaker known for his work in the horror genre and is still active today. He is best known for creating some of the most prolific contemporary franchises, such as Saw (2003-), Insidious (2010-) and The Conjuring (2013-2021). He has directed many films of the franchises, which are some of the highest grossing horrors of all time. 

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Hitchcock (b. 1899 - d. 1980) is an English film director, producer, actor, and editor known as the "Master of Suspense", and regarded as "one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema." He is known for his thrillers, such as The 39 Steps (1935), The Birds (1963), Dial M for Murder (1954), Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960). Psycho is regarded as one of the first slashers, and Marion as the first scream queen. His style includes editing and movement to mimic a gaze (voyuerism), his shot framing, and soundtracks instilling fear into the viewer. 

John Carpenter

John Carpenter (b. 1948-) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor and composer.
Many of Carpenter's films are considered as cult classics, such as In the Mouth of Madness (1978), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), and most notably Halloween (1978). The film is seen as the start of the first slasher film cycle, and was a box office success. He popularised the masked knife wielding killer, POV shots, and the recognisable Halloween theme, which he composed. 

Resources: 

https://www.slashfilm.com/643505/best-horror-movie-directors-of-all-time/
https://www.wikipedia.org/

Horror Certification Analysis

Below, I have researched various horror films based on their BBFC ratings, as well as comparing Working Title and Warp examples. 

BBFC Horror Certifications by Laura Fagan on Scribd

SLASHER GENRE: Sound

Sound is an extremely important element of the slasher genre. This not only sets the tone for the film, but also serves to illustrate scenes graphically without having to visibly portray the acts and gain a higher age certification, that can damage the film's success. 

An example of this is the film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), that was banned in many territories due to its violence, despite the violence mostly being portrayed through effective use of sounds. 

Below I have attached videos that I believe to be good examples of sound in the slasher genre, as well as some I am taking inspiration for in my film opening. 

Psycho (1960) shower scene: 

The score here creates tension, and is a recognisable theme. The use of slashing and stabbing sounds of the knife creates the effect without having to be visually and violently represented. 

Scream (1996) titles: 

The layered sounds (screams, slashing, banging) created in the titles denote the slasher genre, and I am taking inspiration for my film opening main title.

Halloween (1978) opening sequence: 

Carpenter's recognisable score and theme uses long drawn out and repetitive synth notes to create tension, which I am recreating in my film opening. 

Friday the 13th (1980) theme: 

Similarly to Halloween, Friday the 13th's theme creates tension with the high pitched and fast paced notes, accompanied by sounds of slashing. 

Audiences and Classifications

In this post I will cover; different types of audiences and audience classifications. 

Types of Audience:

Mainstream- A mainstream audience focuses on appealing to the largest market possible. Often, a four-quadrant audience is targeted; male, female, young and old. The vertically-integrated conglomerate, Universal Pictures, has a subsidiary, the British film company Working Title. They focus on having as much commercial appeal as possible, with films such as Notting Hill (1999) or Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), both set in London and featuring an all caucasian cast playing middle class characters, in order to have a wide release and larger commercial appeal, especially in the US. This is explained by the Gant rule, where in order to make a profit, a film company should make 10x the amount of the UK box office in the US. The films are often hybrid's; or combinations of genres in order to broaden the appeal. They also have larger budgets to accommodate IP or franchising, stars, and special effects. 

Niche- Also known as an arthouse audience, a niche audience focuses on targeting a small group with a specific interest. These are often independent (indie) films that don't have a mass-market appeal. The indie company Warp, focuses on representing minorities, and feature characters of under-privileged areas positively rather than reducing them to a stereotype. This makes the films less commercially viable, and the films have limited theatrical releases. For example, the film Submarine (2010) is set in Wales, and She, A Chinese (2009), is about a Chinese immigrant, with the film's dialogue being mostly in Mandarin. Because of the niche representations, the UK government often give grants to the company, to help support them financially and fund representations for certain areas. These films are typically low budget (under $10m) and social-realist drama's, with little known actors. 

Classifications: 

When analysing films throughout my blog, I have mainly focused on BBFC (UK) and MPAA (US) age ratings. 

From my research, I have noticed that higher budget films receive lower age ratings, compared to indie films that receive higher ones. For example, the Warp indie film This Is England (2006), featuring mostly under-18 actors, received an 18 rating. Meanwhile, the Working Title franchise instalment The World's End (2013) received a 15. This example shows the damage on the commercial appeal needed by an indie company, and hurts them financially, but allows big 5 studio productions to reach a larger audience. 

Here are the classification requirements I found on the websites. 

IMDB also has a parent's guide, which shows the different restrictions worldwide, as well as a detailed breakdown of the different aspects and user reviews. 

Specific examples of horror film certifications are linked here. 

Possible Influences for my Film: 

As an indie filmmaker making a slasher film with a primary target audience of 15-24+ I would aim to fit into the 15 BBFC classification. I would need to avoid the 18 rating as this would damage my commercial prospects and theatrical distribution. However, due to Web 2.0 (O'Reilly) and the effects of digitisation and disruption, such as streaming platforms, my film could still be viewed by those under the age rating or classification I receive. 

This blogpost covers a detailed box office analysis of horror films. 

According to the BBFC, my restrictions to remain under this rating are:

- Dangerous behaviour should not show imitable detail

- No discriminatory endorsements

- No misuse of dangerous substances, or endorsements of drug use

- Strong sexual detail and nudity can only be presented in a comedic context, and repeated strong references or scenes without narrative purpose are unacceptable

- Sexual silences or threat can be referred to or depicted, but not detailed or prolonged

- Horror must serve a narrative purpose and not focus on sadistic threat

- Violence should not focus on the injury, and strong gory images are unacceptable

Audience Survey

To grasp a better understanding of our audience, we started by creating a digital survey on Google Forms. 

The overall aim of the survey was to analyse the attitude towards horror films, as well as see any correlations or patterns due to age and gender. 

The survey was anonymous. We had a total of 28 participants, where 1 was 15 and under, 24 were aged 16 to 25, and 3 were aged 36 to 55. This showed that most of the views resulting from our survey would be from a young age group, however, 15-24+ is the primary target audience for our slasher opening. 

An important factor of our survey was gender, the majority of the participants, being 17 out of 28, were females. This was followed with 10 of the participants being males, and 1 person choosing not to specify their gender. 

Below is our video summarising the survey findings using the green screen:

We started by gaining an understanding of the audience's viewing habits: 

An interesting finding was that the 2 participants who selected 1 (not at all) were female while the 2 responders who selected 10 (very much) were male.

Does this mean that horror is unappealable to women? 

It is also interesting to note that no contenders in the age group of 36 to 55 showed much interest in the genre, their answers being 1, 2 and 4.  

VODCAST: Slasher Genre Conventions

 

Transcript: 

In this vodcast I will analyse the following slasher conventions: the killer, the setting, character archetypes, character separation, signals, jump scares, illogical thinking, sounds, shots, and lighting. 

SLASHER GENRE: Character Archetypes

In this post I will analyse the following slasher character archetypes; the killer, the jock, the fool, the nice guy, the scream queen and the final girl, as well as treatment of minorities and adults. 

I will be mainly referring to the films The Cabin In The Woods (2011) ,  The Final Girls (2015) and The Babysitter (2017) , as they are post-modern films satirising these archetypes. 

Barthes: Narrative Enigma

Roland Barthes 

(b. 1915- d. 1980)

Roland Barthes was a French theorist, philosopher and semiotician. 

What is Narrative Enigma? 

Narrative enigma is defined as the intentional withholding of exposition in order to create mystery and suspense. 

An example of narrative enigma being used in an opening is Pretty In Pink (1986), which shows shots of the bedroom and the protagonists body parts, building up to reveal her face. 

An example where narrative enigma is not upheld is the opening of Bridget Jones' Diary (2001), where the protagonist immediately reveals exposition through a voiceover. 

Possible influences for my film: 

In my opening, I would want to build up narrative enigma to create suspense and mystery, especially around the killer's identity. I would reveal exposition visually rather than through dialogue. 

Todorov: Narrative Structure

Tzvetan Todorov 

(b. 1939- d. 2017)

Tzvetan Todorov was a Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher and literary critic.

What is Narrative Structure? 

Todorov analysed properties of hundreds of different narratives, and found a general theory that fits them all. 

The 5 part structure consists of: 

Equilibrium- the stable situation or routine and opening of the narrative

Disruption- disturbance caused breaking the routine

Recognition- realisation of caused disturbance within the narrative

Attempt to resolve- fixing the disturbance in order to regain balance

New equilibrium- new balance and stability created after the occurrence of the disruptor

This structure is illustrated in the diagram below. 

Example:

This theory can be seen in the film Shrek (2001). The film opens showing Shrek's life living alone in his swamp, the equilibrium stage. The fairytale characters that are banished by Lord Farquaad then create disruption as they invade his swamp. After Shrek recognises this, he sets off to find Lord Farquaad and makes a deal with him, he will find Princess Fiona in exchange for him taking back all the fairytale characters. This is the attempt to repair the damage. However, Princess Fiona is an ogre and she ends up marrying Shrek and moving into his swamp, which is the new equilibrium.