1) The document compares the horror films "The Woman in Black" and "The Babadook" in how they build atmosphere and use jump scares. 2) Both films start by showing glimpses of the main horror characters, the Woman in Black and the Babadook, to build mystery and intrigue. 3) They establish a threatening atmosphere through suspenseful scenes and isolated settings before revealing the horror characters through sudden jump scares, leaving lasting images in the audience's mind.

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: Clement Chen Kit Seong
STUDENT ID NO: 0319574
FILMS SELECTED: The Woman In Black & The Babadook
WORD COUNT: 911
ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSIONDATE: 5TH
DECEMBER2014

2. Horror movies- It’sall aboutthe excitement,the intimidatingatmosphere andanunforgettable
experience.Thisexperience isone thatis notexperiencedfrequentlyanditisone of the mainreasons
whypeople are sofascinatedinit.But have youeverwonderedwhatmakesahorrormovie so
entertainingandintimidating? Horrormoviestendtoplace atriggerinthe mindof the audience.The
audience are placedthroughthe joltsanda risingatmosphere andthensuddenlytobreakthe cycle with
a jumpscare. Thissettinginthe twofilmsisa keysignificance usedtoestablishathreatingatmosphere.
In the movie “The WomanIn Black”,the directorbeganwiththree littleprettygirlsdressedinnursery
dressesplayingwitheachotherwhensuddenlytheylookedintoeachotherstaredatthe window,and
withouta wordheldtheirhands,approachedthe window andjumpedaccordingtotheirownaccord.
There isa momentof silence.Thisisapart where the directorbuildssuspensethroughthe happenings
that leave the audience going:“Whathappenedtothe three little girls?”
The mysteryremainsunsolveduntil ArthurKipps,ayoungagentwascommittedto solve the
mystery.He wentto the place where the three littlegirlsjumpedoff,givingafeelingof dejavutothe
audience,withanintimidatingfeelingthatsomethingisgoingto‘popout’of somewhere.Afterthat,the
suspense buildswhenArthurentersanisolatedmansionwhere nobodyseemstobe at home,he then
wentupto the secondfloor,readytoworkon a pile of paperswhenhe seesanestof ravens rushesout
flyingfroma room,startlinghim. Here,the audience’s attentionisstartledtoo,wonderingwhat’sinthe
room. Close upshots are beingusedfrequently,portrayingthe relaxedemotionsof Arthurandthe
creepyenvironment. WhenArthurwentinthe roomandlookedoutof the window,ablackshadow
appearson the garden.AndwhenArthurlookedagain,there isnobodythere! Thisisthe partwhere the
womaninblack issoftlyrevealed,notinitsfull formyet. These effectscreate anatmosphere of
confusionandthisisexploitedwell.
Aftermore and more people died,the excitementbuildsbehindthe mystery,wantingtosolve it
as soonas possible.The womaninblackrevealsherselfinshadowsagainbehindArthurinthe mansion.
WhenArthurwakesup and walksalonga darkcorridor intothe lockedroom, he triesto openitbut
can’t. Butsuddenlywhenhe looked,it’swideopenandarockingchair ismovingonits own,andfor a
second,the womaninblackappearsrockingherself.Underthe wallpaper,itwritten“YOUCOULD HAVE
SAVEHIM” writteninblood. Redgivesasense of violence,anddevelopstension.
In anotherhorrormovie “The Babadook”,the directoruseda similarapproachto “The Woman
In Black”but indifferentcontexts.The movie beganwithaboyof erraticbehaviour,Sam, whichalso
causedhimto be takenout of school.One nightwhenSamaskshismotherto readfrom a mysterious
pop-upbookhe foundonthe shelf,titled“MisterBabadook”,whichisaboutasupernatural creature
similartothe womanin black.Hismum,Amelia,awidow isdisturbedbythe book’scontentswhile Sam
becomesaware thatthe babadookis stalkingthemintheirhome.Justlike Arthurwhenhe wasinthe
mansioninthe womaninblack. Whenstrange eventsbeganoccurringthroughoutthe house,Amelia
begantearingthe bookapart and threwitin a rubbishbinoutside theirhome.Strange eventskept
occurringand one of themwasSam’s seizure afterexperiencingavisionof the monster.
One morning,Ameliahearsknocksatthe doorand findsthe reassembledandaltered“Mister
Babadook”on the frontstep,she readsabout how the monsterbecomesstronger,andsee herself die I
it,reachingthe climax of the atmosphere building usingcloseupsof the book,horrifyingsuspense
soundsandlightings.Thenone nightwhenSamisaboutto sleep,he heardrumbling soundsonthe
door,the doorbeganopeningbyitself andashadow cast overhisblanket.“BA..BA…BA…. Dooookk….

3. Dooookk……Doooookk”inabreathlessvoice. Thenamomentof silence.Samopenedhisblanketand
thenthe monsterappearedsuddenly,creatingahuge jumpscare andrevealedthe Babadook inaflash,
creatinga horrifyingimage inthe audience’smind.
In conclusion,Ithinkthatboth“The Womanin Black”and “The Babadook”portrayedsimilarities
by justshowingashort flashof the maincharacters, whichisThe Woman inBlack and MisterBabadook.
Overall,Ibelieve that“The WomanIn Black”useshorror genre conventionstothe besteffecttogether
with“The Babadook”whichbuildsthe horrifyingatmosphere towardsthe endandleavesjumpscares
and imagesof the mainhorror intothe mind. The directormergeshisownideaswithtraditional
conventionstogreateffectinthe film whichmade the audience experience beinginitandpart of the
horrifyingexperience.