textual analysis

1. Lights Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGryjq3EmJI

2. Film opening
• Lights Out is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg in his
major directorial debut, produced by Lawrence Grey, James Wan and Eric Heisserer and
written by Heisserer.
• Lights Out inspires the horror genre by the use of jump scares, the use of weapons (such as
the baseball bat) and the dim lighting through the office and corridor, which are the
stereotypical aspects of a horror genre to create tension.
• The budget was $4,900,000 (estimated) and the box office was $67,235,683. This shows that
Lights out was a successful film due to the box office being nearly 17 times more than the
budget.
• The verisimilitude wasn't maintained within the opening of Lights Out due to it being
unrealistic for a "monster" in the shadows to randomly attack someone in a warehouse,
therefore the film may have not been as successful as other horror films.

3. Plot
• A man called Paul is working after hours
and is murdered by a supernatural entity in
the shadow. When his son, the boy Martin,
is frightened by the same creature, he sees
his mother Sophie talking to an imaginary
friend called Diana in the shadow of her
room. Martin does not sleep anymore
during the night. His older step sister
Rebecca who lives alone is summoned by
the social assistant. She brings Martin
home and recalls her own experience with
Diana years ago when she was young.
Sophie and her boyfriend Bret investigate
the connection of Sophie with Diana and
come up to a scary revelation about their
past.

4. Background information about the
director
• David F. Sandberg was born in 1981 and is a Swedish
filmmaker.
• He is best known for his collective no-budget horror short films
under his "ponysmasher" alias, and for his 2016 debut Lights
Out, based on his 2013 acclaimed horror short of the same
name
• David F. Sandberg is a director and writer, known for Lights Out
(2013) and Attic Panic (2015). He is married to Lotta Losten.
• Before Lights Out, Sandberg was a freelance animator and
maker of documentary and short films. He was deeply in debt
in 2013, and said the short film Lights Out changed his life in
"every way imaginable".
• Sandberg released his feature film of the same name in 2016
based on his 2013 film and received critical praise.
• He is set to direct Annabelle 2, the sequel to 2014 supernatural
horror film, Annabelle, set to be released in 2017.
• Sandberg stars Lotta Losten in many of his short films,
including Lights Out. They married in 2013.

5. Editing
• The editing used is shot-reverse-shot, which
emphasizes the fear of the main character and the
tension between him and the antagonist whilst
they are in the hallway with the spotlights. This
builds tension to the scene and makes the audience
have a clue to what may happen next
(stereotypically a jump scare if a horror genre
movie).
• Parallel editing is also used, different things are
happening in the warehouse at the same time. For
example, the antagonist is getting closer to the
victim as he is looking around in the corridor. This
links to Barthes Enigma Theory due to the
Proairetic Code being used. Which is where it builds
tension, referring to any other action or event that
indicates something else is going to happen, and
which gets the audeince guessing as to what will
happen next.

6. Editing
• The use of the dim lighting helped the diegetic sounds seem more tragic due to the eerie
ambience taking place, which fears both the victim in the film and the audience whom are
watching.
• Dim lighting is one of the key aspects of a horror genre movie due to it creating an intense
atmosphere and makes the scene look more realistic to fear the target audience whom are
watching

7. Mise-en-scene
• Firstly, the mise-en-scene used is the baseball
bat, to show the audience that the character is in
fear. However, the audience see that he is not a
hero due to being a violent character by carrying
a weapon. However, he is not an antagonist
either due to him being under attack, therefore
he is a false hero. This links to Propp’s theory of
the stereotypical 7 character types.
• Mannequins are used to create an eerie enigma
in the workshop and show that it is a factory for
clothing. This links to Barthes Enigma Theory by
using the enigma code. The purpose is that the
author in this is typically keeping the audience
guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final
scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are
tied off and closure is achieved.

8. Mise-en-scene
• A spotlight is also used on the character to
make him vulnerable to the antagonist and
make the audience sympathize the characters
fear. This, again, links to Barthes Enigma
Theory by using the enigma code again.
• The lighting used is very dark and this connotes
the idea of the unknown as the audience and
characters in the film are unable to see what's
could be coming. This links to Barthes Enigma
Theory by using the Proairetic Code. This builds
tension, referring to any other action or event
that indicates something else is going to
happen, and which hence gets the audience
guessing as to what will happen next.
• Similarly, the dark lighting is suitable for the
horror genre as it adds to the gloomy, negative
atmosphere.

9. Sound
Diegetic
• Chains and footsteps were used to show that the antagonist had weapons and was
approaching the victim. This makes the audience fear for the victim as he isn’t aware of
what’s about to occur.
• The victim calling out to the antagonist saying “who is that?”. This quote is very stereotypical
as it’s used in majority of horror movies to connote the fear of the character. This links to
Barthes theory due to the action code being used, which was the quote.
Non diegetic
• There is a use of non-diegetic sounds such as fast violins and screeching playing at the when
the victim is running away from the antagonist across the corridor, which influences the
horror genre due to this type of music being used in many other horror genre movies. Also, it
makes the audience feel the same way as the main character does due to the use of the point
of view camera shot, which makes them feel like they’re in the scene with the character.

10. Cinematography
• The cinematography used in Lights Out are: close-
up shots to express the characters emotions when
he is in the corridor hearing the loud footsteps,
and when he is laying on the floor injured, which
gives the audience a wider understanding of how
they feel. Horror genre movies tend to mainly use
close-up shots to build tension and create an
enigma.
• Also, a long shot was used to show the figure of
the antagonist and the dim lighting around her to
create a silhouette, which makes her have a
hidden identity and a mysterious figure (this
included the 180 degree rule).
• Medium shots were used to show the body
language of both characters whilst they are in the
corridor. For example, the victim running away in
fear from the antagonist. This links to Barthes
theory by using the Proairetic Code.

11. Cinematography
• There was also a use of pan, which
followed the character as he is
running away in the corridor and
office. This, again, links to Barthes
Enigma Theory by using the the
Proairetic Code. This builds tension,
referring to any other action or
event that indicates something else
is going to happen, and which hence
gets the audience guessing as to
what will happen next.
• An extreme close-up to show the
characters wound, which fears the
audience and alarms them that
there something else will happen.
This also connotes that the
antagonist is a dangerous and
vicious character.