My analysis of an AS thriller

Presence Presence starts with three short clips of a very old looking house giving the idea that it’s going to lead on to something scary or mysterious. At the start on the gate post it says private and the gates are wide open, which implies that no one or nothing should be in there. The music for these first three clips is well done, it starts as an eerie wind leading into a soft but almost intimidating sound as it gets louder. The way these clips have been shot, they have been done at a similar angle as if you were looking up at the building, like it were leaning over you. The lighting is very weak, there are no bright colours and not very many contrasts, so it all seems very empty and almost faded as if it wasn’t meant to be there at all. Leading into a dark room with an open door and going though the other rooms again gives a feeling of emptiness, meanwhile the music is still growing in the background. The dead flies to me makes it seem as if no one has been there for a very long time because of the number of flies but also a feeling of imprisonment as if they became trapped in the house. When the window comes into the frame it gives a feeling of fading hope as the main protagonist, possibly a tramp, is moving out of the light into the dark. When she enters the bathroom wearing mostly dark colours it implies that she as alone and mysterious as the house is itself, this shows similarities between the two. The way camera moves around the door frame as if someone was watching. When she’s washing her face all the doors and windows start to slam shut. The doors give off sharp sudden bangs which echo as if the sound was travelling even closer towards her. When everything starts to close it feels like it’s cutting out all light and life completely, giving a feeling it is all coming to an end, a sort of ironic closure. When she lifts her head she sees her blood in the sink, I think her reaction was weak as if she wasn’t that shocked. Red is the only colour we have had throughout these pieces of footage but red is a very dark associated colour. The only time we hear words is when she calls “hello” in a way as if she was trying to assure her dominance but she is still afraid. Again the lighting is still very dark. As the slamming of the door gets louder and louder it builds tension and suspense which is what every good thriller needs to work effectively. When the last door closes it seems as if there is no way out and again being trapped like the flies which ended up dead. As she turns back and looks in the mirror she sees a dark figure holding her dead body. The figure having no face and being black gives a sense of evil but also mystery. Ending on this I think for a film trailer was good as it gives suspense and creates a cliff hanger which makes people want to see more, so I think it sells itself well. Overall it was very good, there were only two things I could point out as faults, she wasn’t very shocked by the blood and when the doors were slamming she didn’t seem as scared as she should have been.