Documentary Script

The Use of Sounds & Lighting in Horror Films to Create
Surprise/Suspense – Japan & Germany
Written By: Gianna Spangler
IB #: 000949-200

The Use of Sounds& LightinginHorror FilmstoCreate Surprise/Suspense –Japan& Germany
Visual Audio
FADE IN:
NARRATOR, 17, incredibly good
looking, is staring into an
open medicine cabinet. It is
entirely dark with the
exception of one light
illuminating her eyes. She
closes the medicine cabinet
door and in the reflection of
the cabinet can be seen a
person standing there with a
knife.
The Narrator now turns towards
the camera and smiles
knowingly.
Montage of scenes of people
screaming throughout horror
films In history.
Cut to clip of an audience in a
movie theatre shrieking and
A sharp high pitched shrill is
heard.
NARRATOR: Do you ever watch a
horror or thriller film and
wonder what exactly makes it so
scary? Is it the surprise,
suspense, dramatic irony? While
a horror movie is an
accumulation of those things,
the startling aspects of horror
movies can mainly be attributed
to the particular sound and
lighting used. You see, “Horror
movies are intended to have a
negative emotional effect on
the audience by playing on
their primal fears” (1). The
filmmakers’ goal is to use
diegetic and nondiegetic
elements to immerse the
audience into the world of the
character. Simply put, a horror
movie is not unsettling unless
there is some form of
attachment or investment in the
story. Therefore, sound and
lighting must be employed as a

throwing their popcorn while way of keeping audiences
Watching a horror movie.
Cut to Narrator wearing a
Japanese silk robe.
Cut to montage of images of
post WWII Japan. Video clip of
the bombing of Hiroshima.
Video clip of Japanese
directors using a video camera.
CUT:
Scene From Ugetsu
(00:00:23-00:01:59)
A woman is standing up on a
boat rowing a group of people
across a glossy lake. It is
Engrossed in the film.
Startling eerie sounds and
ominous lighting can mean the
difference between audience
apathy and formidable fear.
NARRATOR: One of the first
countries to exploit the use of
sound and lighting to create
fear in audiences was Japan.
After WWII, Japan became a
democratic state. As a result,
filmmakers began to experiment
with more eccentric film
topics, unintentionally giving
birth to the first horror
movie, Ugetsu, directed by
Kenji Mizoguchi in 1953.
Woman sings Japanese ballad

dark and the lake is covered In
fog.
Fade to Narrator holding a
LIGHTING KIT In a movie studio.
She puts a filter over one of
the lights and a shadow appears
on the opposite wall.
while the water splashes softly
against the side of the boat.
Her lyrics echo across the
lake.
WOMAN: “A little boat floats
along, All are asleep,
Slumped over the rudder.
The world is a temporary abode.
Where we weep until the dawn
comes”
Clip goes silent
NARRATOR: This is an example of
Mizoguchi using diegetic sound
in order to give the scene a
macabre feel. By making the
haunting musical lyrics coming
from the character herself, she
appears to be aware of her own
impending doom, creating a
realistic suspense detectable
to both audience and the
characters in the movie. The
darkness also plays on man’s
primal fear of the dark in
order to create unsettling
emotion. Had she been singing
an uplifting song while rowing
a boat in broad daylight, the
audience would have responded
with positive emotions. This
scene is a very critical
example of how it is the sound
both inside and outside of the
world of the movie which serves
to make a difference In the
overall fear.

FADE:
Scene from Rodan
(00:40:18-00:43:04)
A group of miners are walking
through dark tunnels with
flashlights on their heads.
The ceiling of the mine
collapses and caves in on them.
FADE:
NARRATOR: With the inception of
horror films in Japan, it was
very apparent that lights were
to play a major role in
creating fear. While they did
not have the technology we had
today, they would use candles,
moonlight, and streetlamps in
the darkness to create their
desired level of creepiness. In
the 1956 movie, Rodan, a
majority of the movie takes
place underground in the mines.
Therefore, the primary light
source for these scenes is the
flashlights on top of the
miner’s heads. When they walk,
the lights cast shadows on the
wall, bouncing around and
creating suspense. In this
movie, they are looking for a
monster, and the bouncing of
the shadows on the wall makes
it appear as though the cave is
teasing them because what they
are looking for already knows
of their presence and is
waiting to attack. Unlike
Ugetsu, the scary sounds and
elements of Rodan are mostly
nondiegetic. The sounds of this
movie are primarily music and
voiceovers, which create
surprised emotions, while the
diegetic sounds inflict fearful
and suspenseful emotion.
Eerie music from the scene
plays. It gets louder. Screams
are heard.

Narrator puts hands on face and
opens mouth.
Montage of women screaming from
Japanese films such as Godzilla
(1954), Blind Beast (1969), and
Ghosts of Kusane Swamp (1957)
Video clip of Daniel Blumstein
sitting in front of computers
with headphones on, writing in
a notepad.
CUT:
Image of the bar graph produced
as a result of the research,
with Movie titles labeled on
the X axis and number of
screams, high pitched sounds,
and sound effects labeled on
the Y axis.
Narrator screams.
NARRATOR: Yes, that’s another
thing. What would horror movies
be without those earth
shattering, deaf-inducing,
blood curdling screams? And in
Japan, they are very talented
in the art of screaming.
Screams are heard.
NARRATOR: Filmmakers often
employ the use of the scream as
a way to convey sheer and utter
terror to the audience. In
2010, Professor Daniel
Blumstein and Composer Peter
Kaya lead a study which looked
at the music in films, as well
as special effects and screams.
After studying the soundtracks
of 102 of the world’s most
popular movies, the analysis
showed that horror films
contained the most amounts of
high pitched female screams,
while adventure films had the
most men screams. Also, horror
films contained an extremely
high number of abrupt shifts up
and down in pitch. “The study
concluded that the use of these
non-linear sounds was not
random- but used to ‘enhance
the emotional impact of the
scenes’” (2). The Japanese were

Narrator sits in a large red
velvet chair wearing a black
cloak.
FADE:
A Scene from The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari (1920)
(00:24:35-
Alan is sleeping in his bed
while another sneaks up on him.
Shadows are dancing across the
wall. He sits up in his bed.
The shadow on the wall depicts
the pioneers in the use of
these non-linear suspenseful
sounds, but next up to compete
with them for the horror and
thriller spotlight were the
Germans.
NARRATOR: The beginning of
German horror films began with
German Expressionism In the
1920s. This film movement was
highly characterized as
“reflecting emotion over
realism” (3) and
experimentation with shadow,
set design, and abstract art.
In 1920, the first German
Landmark film, The Cabinet of
Dr. Caligari, epitomized both
the expressionism movement as
well as the early roots of
horror film. The unique aspects
of this film include distorted
set design, painted landscapes,
and dark ominous lighting set
to create a dreamlike quality.
Without any form of diegetic
sound, this silent film relied
primarily on this dark lighting
and the musical soundtrack of
Giuseppe Becce in order to
create suspense and fear.
Suspenseful music composed by
Giuseppe Becce plays. It gets
louder as the scene progresses.

him being murdered.
CUT to scene from Noseferatu
(1929)
(01:15:52-01:18:07)
A girl stands at her window,
Noseferatu’s shadow creeps up
the stairs. Intercutting
between different people. Final
cut is back to Nosefratu,
sucking the girl’s blood.
NARRATOR: The use of shadows In
this scene is considered
revolutionary for the time
frame in which this movie was
created. The audience registers
the threat when they begin to
see the shadowed figure
approaching Alan’s bedside. The
suspense heightens when the
music begins to become louder
and incorporate higher pitched
piano notes. At this point, all
the audience sees is the shadow
on the wall struggling to be
free, and this has the effect
of conveying fear and revulsion
to the audience without
revealing who the killer is.
The lighting in this scene
keeps it grotesque and graphic
while simultaneously leaving an
element of mystery.
Very rhythmic, increasingly
loud drums and trumpets play.
NARRATOR: Due to its plot
creativity and use of sped-up
film, negatives,
transparencies, and montages,
the 1922 Noseferatu was one of
the first highly acclaimed
horror movies. And while the
aforementioned effects worked
to entertain and introduce new

Narrator is sitting in red
chair.
Montage of images from
Directors of the 1920s-1930s
using lights to create shadow.
concepts to the audience, the
previous scene is still proof
that the primary scary elements
come from the shadow lighting
and the eerie music playing in
the background. In this scene,
the shadow of Count Orlok
outside of the bedroom is used
to emphasize and exaggerate his
already grotesque features.
When you have a movie without
audible dialogue, the
soundtrack is what is dictating
the audience’s emotion. It not
only conveys the characters’
emotions but it gives the
audience proper cues to be
alarmed, worried, or even
relieved the horror is over.
NARRATOR: Before we move out of
the expressionist era in
Germany, I would just like to
take a moment to emphasize the
vast importance of shadows
during this time. While film
technology was very primitive
at this time, directors
discovered creative methods of
creating shadows. The use of
candles, lamps, and fire was
frequent. During the
expressionist era, and for
several decades after, shadows
effectively conveyed mystery
and suspense. Most of the time,
without the audience’s
awareness, the light and shadow
in a film can set the entire
mood and emphasize character

Montage of clips of “evil”
characters from various horror
and thriller films surrounded
by darkness.
FADE:
Narrator is sitting in red
chair
traits. For example, “even if a
character is not said to be
evil, but he is always
portrayed in dark light, one
could presume this person is
evil”. The truth of the matter
is that darkness contains a
certain connotation which holds
true in both film and reality.
If a character often finds
himself shrouded in darkness,
or in the case of shadow, the
source of the darkness, then
the audience is invariably
going to associate the
character with darkness and
vice versa.
NARRATOR: After WWII, Germany
experienced a decline in the
amount of horror movies
produced due to the need to
escape from violence. During
this time, horror movie efforts
such as The Head (1959) and
Horror of Spider Island (1960)
were incredible flops. It is
very interesting because while
horror movies were experiencing
a decline in Germany, over in
Japan they were just reaching
the height of their fame. This
says a lot about the effect of
social and political
circumstances on the arts.
It was not until the late 70s
and early 80s where Germany
began to produce horror movies
with a new found aggression.
These films became known as

CUT to scene from Nekromantik
(1987)
(00:58:10-00:58:56)
A man wakes up and chops off a
farmer’s head with a shovel
FADE: Narrator standing holding
a shovel
Narrator walks around while
talking, begins digging.
Continues digging while making
occasional eye contact with the
camera
“splatter” films for their use
of blood and gore. This era of
filmmaking has continued to
present day, and while
filmmakers can now use special
effects to create suspense and
fear, they still find
themselves relying upon sound
and lighting to deliver their
desired amount of scare.
NARRATOR: Those special effects
may be poor by today’s
standards, but those very same
special effects served the
purpose of terrifying audiences
in the 70s. However, had
different music been playing,
maybe some upbeat piano riff or
a Christmas Carol, the scene
may have come off as ironic or
satirical. A lot of shows and
movies display violence, but
not all of them fall into the
horror genre because they do
not contain the non-linear
sound that horror movies do. In
this scene, there is of course
dramatic music playing, and the
background is dark with a
slightly lit foreground. The
difference between these horror
movies of the 70s and those of
the German Expressionist era
lies in the use of

Shovel hits something; narrator
reaches down and pulls it out
of the ground. It is a wooden
box; Narrator opens it to find
the decapitated head of
Godzilla.
CUT: Scene from Ju-On The
Grudge (2002)
(00:43:56-00:44:27)
Girl screams
Montage of movie posters from
The Grudge (2002), One Missed
Call (2003) and Kibakichi
(2004)
“splattering” blood and special
effects. However, the two
things which have remained an
integral part of German Horror
are sound and lighting. This
evidence can be used to support
the realization that without
specific sounds and lighting a
movie will not be scary enough
to be classified as a horror
film.
NARRATOR: Now, as for Japan,
their horror movie industry has
not experienced many changes in
terms of technique. They were
always rather experimental and
relied on distinct camera
movements as well as sound and
lighting. Some of their element
of horror was by using
traditional Japanese spirits as
ways of horrifying their
audiences, such as Yurei, a
pale, stringy-haired female
ghost who emits a guttural
croaking noise. While her hair
and makeup may be scary, the
thing that makes her haunting
is her loud non-linear shriek
and the fact that she appears
out of the darkness. This
Japanese spirit inspired many
horror characters in movies
such as The Grudge (2002), One
Missed Call (2003), and
Kibakichi(2004). The Japanese
horror and thriller films truly
exhibit just how powerful one
sharp non-linear sound such as
the scream can be, and really
illustrate the importance of

Narrator is sitting by the
fireplace.
FADE OUT
diegetic sound. While the
height of the German Horror
Film Era of expressionism in
the 1920s exhibited the power
of nondiegetic sound. Both
countries employed dark
lighting in order to put the
audience in a mindset of
impending doom and uncertainty,
and all horror movies,
regardless of country and year,
need the proper soundtrack to
effectively convey terror.
NARRATOR: And so, now I must
conclude my little
presentation. I hope you have
learned a lot about the roots
of sound and lighting in horror
films, and can apply this
knowledge in the creation of
your own, or to just be aware
the next time you view one of
these types of films. Now I
will leave you with this bit of
wisdom: Sound and Lighting will
always set the mood, in film,
and in life. Thank you.

Quotes:
1. “Horror movies are intended to have a negative emotional effect on the audience by
playing on their primal fears”
2. “The study concluded that the use of these non-linear sounds was not random- but used to
‘enhance the emotional impact of the scenes’”
3. “reflecting emotion over realism”
Film Clips
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Dir. Robert Wiene. Prod. Rudolph Meinert. Perf. Werner Krauss and
Conrad Veidt. Decla-Bioscop, 1920. Film.
Director Robert Wiene truly captures the essence of the German Expressionist Era, and plants
the foundation for horror movies. This clip exhibits the use of sound and shadow in order to
create mystery and suspense.
Ju-On: The Grudge. Dir. Takashi Shimizu. Prod. Takashige Ichise. Perf. Megumi Okina and Misake Ito.
Screamfest Film Festival, 2002.
Shimizu is a modern Japanese director. This clip is used to exhibit the inspired use of Japanese
spirits and their non-linear horrifying sounds. Example of diegetic sounds means to cause
surprise.
Nekromantik. Dir. Jörg Buttgereit. Prod. Manfred O. Jelinski. Perf. Daktari Lorenz and Harold Lundt.
1987. Film.
Buttgereit’s film was noted mostly for its controversial storyline, however I used it in my script
to discuss the growing use of blood, gore, and special effects and how this is only highlighted by
the use of sound and lighting.
Nosferatu. Dir. F. W. Murnau. Prod. Albin Grau. Perf. Max Schrek and Greta Schroder. Film Arts
Guild, 1922. Film.

This clip is essential in showing the use of shadows in order to emphasize the grotesque qualities
of a character and make them appear as If they are a creature of the night. The sound also is very
dramatic and nondiegetic, it dictates how the audience should feel.
Rodan. Dir. Ishiro Honda. Prod. Tomoyuki Tanaka. Perf. Kenji Sahara and Yumi Shirokawa. Toho,
1956. Film.
Due to Ishiro’s lack of lighting kits in the 50s, this film clip is meant to show primitive lighting
techniques and how the light bounces upon the walls to create shadows and suspense.
Ugetsu. Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi. Prod. Masaichi Nagata. Perf. Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyo. Daiei,
1953. Film
Mizoguchi uses diegetic sound and natural moonlight to create an eerie feel. The audience
reaction to this is unsettlement or foreboding. This clip further illustrates the effect of lighting
and sound to create feelings of horror.

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