2. CAMERA SHOTS/ANGLES/MOVEMENTS
Long establishing shots with a slow zoom in movement show the gates, cattle and
machinery in the slaughterhouse. Panning and close ups of the meat hooks and meat
being packed show the audience the setting and lets them see it is slightly off-putting
and grubby looking.
The title screen intro shows images with a strong vignette and fade in fade out,
almost like slow blinking. The images show writing with words such as “disease” and
“mutilation”. There are extreme close ups of blood, skin and a knife. The images are
dirty and dark, and are often only on screen for a short time, so the audience knows
there is something horrific going on but can not see the full extent, creating enigma.
Over the shoulder mid shot shows Hewitt in the background, hacking meat with a
cleaver. A low angle is used when he is looking at him, but he is still out of focus
slightly using depth of field with the over shoulder shot. Slight parts of his face are
shown using profile and over shoulder angles. There is also a close up of his hand
tightening on the meat cleaver handle. All together, this shows the audience he is a
large man with a deformation of his face, and the fact you cant fully see it creates
enigma and fear, because we can tell he is dangerous.
2 shot and reverse shots are used to depict the teenagers light hearted conversations,
as well as 2 shots of them kissing. This shows the conventions of stereotypical
teenagers, as they are in couples and interested in sex. In the car journey, there are
close ups of them laughing and joking and kissing, again the convention of teens.
3.
Extreme close up of Hewitt's eyes are used after he kills the owner of the factory,
creating enigma and fear. A shaky hand held camera movement is used to show his
craziness and create a sense of trouble. Also, a POV shot is used of Hewitt's, where he
is looking on the ground for a weapon. There is then a close up of a chainsaw, making
the link to the title and creating the basis for the iconography of the film. There is
then a long full body shot of him in the distance holding the chainsaw walking along
the road, creating a fear in the audience because it is symbolic that he is free with the
chainsaw, and he has already killed.
Low angle long shots are used for the house, often with eerie music at the same time,
creating a sense of unease around that house. It creates a iconography around that
shot as it is used a few times, such as when the sheriff comes to the house and is
killed, and when the teens are brought there. It uses a low angle with a lot of space
round it to show it is a place of power and becomes the scene of most of the killings.
Shadows and over shoulder sillhouettes, and close ups of his hands create enigma and
he is not shown in full until he has killed the sheriff. This shows he is now the
authority, before he was just nothing even though he still had the killing inside of him.
The low angles and close ups show he will use his power for the wrong reasons,
creating fear in the audience.
Close ups and 3 shot of the teenagers after they have been captured by the sheriff,
bloody and fearful, try to rebel but still victims. 2 shot of the boys hung by their
hands, links to the meat factory and foreshadows their death.
4.
Various canted angles are used to depict the situation, and it gives a sense of the
horribleness and pain they are going through, as well as the twisted power of the
family holding them captive. It shows they have authority but are using it in a sick
way.
There is a lot of hand-held tracking shots which makes it difficult to see exactly what’s
happening, which creates enigma for the audience. It also depicts the consciousness
of the victims, as they become more in pain and unable to stay alive, it becomes more
shaky and hard to see.
POV shots are also used, and they are shaky hand help movements also. For example,
POV is used when the “last girl” finds the boy. She looks through the slats of wood
and we feel as if we are looking with her, and it implies the fear to the audience too.
These techniques are used again while they are all captured, and they are emphasized
further by the use of focus and faster editing, with the POV shots and canted angles
with hand held movements are all used, with the hand held being more jumpy than
before. The focus is effective because it goes from in focus to out of focus, blurring
like her vision, as if she is going in and out of consciousness. It also depicts the sick
twisted situation because of the strangeness that is going on around her, as they cook
their body parts and say grace before they eat human beings.
5. EDITING
There are a number of action matches in the beginning of the film between the family
and the teenagers. As Hewitt walks along the road, it cuts to an action match of the
teenagers' feet walking simultaneously. There is also a zoom in on the teenagers car
driving on the road, and a cut to the sheriff car driving up the the where they live. These
action matching link the two sides together, foreshadowing the event of the teenagers
running into the hands of the family, which will result in death or pain.
There are also contrasting cuts, where the film goes from one scene to another where
the two juxtapose. For example. The scene where Hewitt is told to leave the meat
factory, and he is holding a meat cleaver. The dark music and lighting, paired with the
shadowy low angle on the figure creates fear and suspense and then cuts to a close up of
the teenagers face in a pool, mucking around with a knife in his mouth and bandanna
tied around his head. The scene is light and bright and has upbeat rock music. This
creates a juxtaposition of the people and creates binary opposites.
Fast paced editing and jump cuts are used when there is a lot of drama and action
happening, like the victims being killed or chased, or when the last girl seems like she is
going to get away. The quick jumpy cuts create adrenaline and fast paced movements,
and paired with the camera shaking creates suspense and fear in the audience, as they
feel the situation is very tense and fast.
6. SOUND
There is contrapuntal sound used in this film, often with the old lady. She sings a
lullaby while trying to clean up the blonde injured girl. The lullaby is also repeated a
few times in the film, all where in which the song juxtaposes what is going on on the
screen. This can make the audience feel wary and nervous, because it is something
that shouldn’t be happening.
Another diegetic sound used in the same way is the conversation. There is a lot of
juxtaposing dialogue that contradicts what is happening with what they are saying.
For example when they are serving the human dinner, there are phrases like “more
garlic” and “say grace!”. This creates a almost humorous juxtaposition, because they
are thanking the lord for what they are eating, and they have just killed people to
make the meal.
There are also diegetic sounds of the knife banging against the table, the chainsaw
revving and more. This is important to the film because it is based on the meat
factory, and the fact they kill the humans as if they are just more meat. The
screaming and crying, mostly from the girls, also provokes fear and uncomfortable
feeling in the audience.
7.
The non-diegetic music is used in different ways. The low, drawing out music is slow
and suspenseful, and is used to show something is about to happen and the audience
recognizes this type of music through conventions. A faster paced, beating type music
is used when something is happening, like a drumming sound and could be linked to
the heartbeat being raised. The most fast paced is the same, drumming but faster and
scarier, creating much more fear in the audience as they wait for the result. This is
used when we think the last girl is going to get away.
There is also contrasting music, as the scary deep music is used when we are looking
at the Hewitt family, and upbeat rock music is used when the teenagers are being
shown. This creates a binary opposite between the young and the old.
8. MISE EN SCENE
The setting of the meat factory is dirty and unappealing, especially with the events at
the beginning of the film. The way Hewitt kills the meat and the humans are not
much different, and the meat factory is representative of the killing of the victims.
The link of cannibalism also comes from this and the fact they hang the boys up like
dead meat. The setting of the house and the road is rural, surrounded by fields. This
is a conventional setting, especially for slashers, because it is isolated and a long way
from help. The fact it is in a small town in Texas and he has already killed the sheriff
means there will be no one to help, and it adds to the fear of the audience.
The clothing of the women is promiscuous, showing a lot of flesh. The blonde girl,
who is more sexually available than the brown haired girl shows the more cleavage,
and is represented as more of an object than the other. This is shown when the
“sheriff” touches her and she says nothing during that scene. The brown haired girl
however, still shows a lot of skin, especially when she is crawling to hide from the
family. The male gaze can be applied to a lot of this film, as the tracking shots from
behind her as she crawls show her as a sex object as well as many other shots.
The sheriff outfit that the man has taken from the dead sheriff is a sign of authority.
As soon as he kills the sheriff, it shifts the power dynamic to him from the whole film,
and he becomes the main power. The authority we take it as is twisted for his own
use, and makes the audience feel fear as we know the authority is being used.
9. ICONOGRAPHY
The chainsaw is the main iconography in the film, as it is the main killing weapon
and displays the inhumane and twisted methods that the Hewitt family use. The
sound as well as the sight of it becomes a main theme in the film, as you know
when someone is being killed by it. It is also a phallic symbol and one of power too.
There is religious iconography in the film, with the family insisting on saying grace,
even though they are eating the flesh of the people they have violently killed.
There is also the music, the lullaby and the song amazing grace in the trailer can
also be seen as religious. The way the boys are hung with their hands tied to the
wood could also be a religious depiction of the crucifixion.
Strauss: Binary Opposites
there is a strong sense of binary opposites in this film, as there are many juxtaposing themes. For
example, good and bad; the fact of the religious elements with the immoral actions being carried
out. Young and old – the fighting against the two sides are young and old, with the stereotypes
being met either way. There is also the authority being twisted, also linking to good and bad, with
the sheriff uniform being used for killing.
10. ICONOGRAPHY
The chainsaw is the main iconography in the film, as it is the main killing weapon
and displays the inhumane and twisted methods that the Hewitt family use. The
sound as well as the sight of it becomes a main theme in the film, as you know
when someone is being killed by it. It is also a phallic symbol and one of power too.
There is religious iconography in the film, with the family insisting on saying grace,
even though they are eating the flesh of the people they have violently killed.
There is also the music, the lullaby and the song amazing grace in the trailer can
also be seen as religious. The way the boys are hung with their hands tied to the
wood could also be a religious depiction of the crucifixion.
Strauss: Binary Opposites
there is a strong sense of binary opposites in this film, as there are many juxtaposing themes. For
example, good and bad; the fact of the religious elements with the immoral actions being carried
out. Young and old – the fighting against the two sides are young and old, with the stereotypes
being met either way. There is also the authority being twisted, also linking to good and bad, with
the sheriff uniform being used for killing.
