This is my textual analysis of horror film Durham County.

1. DURHAM COUNTY
Textual Analysis

2. Background
Durham County was a TV series about a homicide police
officer Mike Sweeney moves his family to Durham County
after his partner is killed. He thinks his family will be far
away from any danger yet he is caught up crimes and he
hasn’t even realised yet.
It came out in 2007 and was created by Laurie Finstad-
Knizhnik, Janis Lundman, Adrienne Mitchell.

3. Establishing
Shot
Durham County opens with this
shot. The creators have not used
a conventional establishing shot
(which is used to usual set the
location of a film) and instead
used this shot. The shot has a
dark wash and this represents the
misery and dismay that awaits
them, typical in a horror film. The
use of trees and forest area
(shown in the shot) is common in
horror films as a setting because
it connotes the idea of isolation
and loneliness.

4. Dolly
The use of dolls in the horror
genre is very common and has
been used in a variety of
successful films including
'Chucky' and 'The Woman In
Black'. The use of the single red
shade on the jacket of the doll
brings the audiences attention to
her. The creators have used the
rule of thirds to place the doll and
this is a technique that is used to
decide where the action is taking
place to add movement to the
scene. The audience is made
aware of who the villain could
potentially be and the red is
signifying the danger in the
otherwise derelict looking
location.

5. Setting
This shot is more like an
establishing shot. This is where
the location is made clear to the
audience as an industrial
background yet still very cold and
bare. The smoke shows
destruction of the quiet looking
scene yet still there is no flames
and therefore the shot remains
colourless. This shows the
continuous crime increase
perhaps linking back to the
storyline of a cop having no leads,
a lost cause.

6. Silhouette
The protagonist is revealed
through a sequence of
silhouettes. The dark shadowing
means the man is being shown as
mysterious and hidden from the
viewers perhaps making him
seem inverted and having
something to hide. It's enticing the
audience to find out what his
character is about and why he
has been such a mystery to them.
This is done through the simple
turn of the head revealing more
and more of his face to the
audience gradually.

7. The Basket
The white light in the background
of the scene makes a strong
contrast for the red blood coming
out the basket. The dark shadow
coming for the right of the basket
shows the overshadowing feeling
of danger and empathise that
safety is not close by. This is a
shot that creates an enigma for
the viewers. They question what
is the basket and why there is
blood. The enigma does create
the feeling of excitement and
anticipation for the film and again
the red colour signifies where the
attention needs to be placed.

8. Blonde Hair
Blonde hair represents the
vulnerability of the victims and
creates a sympathy feeling for his
victims. The blonde hair is
showing the innocence and
perhaps an angelic style of
woman he is killing. The dull,
broken door shows the killer
doesn't care about his own
surroundings and yet takes care
in his 'trophy'. The location isn't
quite clear to the audience and
this makes them slightly
disorientated and curious.

9. Protagonist
Revealed
This is the first clear shot we have
of the protagonists face. It makes
the audience able to relate to the
film because typically audiences
like to 'back' the underdog/victim.
It is the only human face which is
shown through out the sequence
and that causes the audience to
make an attachment with him.

10. Focus
Two shots are used both very
similar however completely
different focuses are used. The
first shows an out of focus image
of a doll tied up on the floor, a
common pose in horror films
involving murders. It represents
the uncertainty the police have in
the outcome of the victims and
the uncertainty the viewers have
on who the villain is. The
audience feel disoriented with this
shot because it is unclear of what
is being shown. The second shot
is then in focus which makes it
clear that the victim is in fact
another doll. This time a pool of
red blood is shown alongside a
gun and attention is brought to the
death of this victim.

11. A Town Setting
An average town is used to make
the film come away from the
scenes of immediate danger and
in fact allow the audience to relate
to the setting and makes the
piece become more real because
it lets imagery naturally occurs
similarly to their town. There is no
sign of danger here so perhaps
this is used to show the
equilibrium for the characters.
Alternatively it could make the
audience feel that the danger is
hiding among their everyday lives.

12. Roses
Red roses are shot in a medium
shot in a pond/lake setting. Again
the red is the only colour apart
from the dark wash which makes
the flowers stand out. Surprisingly
the flowers seem to be fully
bloomed rather than dead which
contrasts the dull feeling of the
rest of the shot. Roses are
associated with love typically
rather than death yet this film is a
horror film not a romance film.
The red connotes danger and ties
in with the rest of the blood shots.

13. The Final shot
This is when the title is made
clear to the the viewers and is one
of the few typical shots to find in a
title sequence. It shows the a
clear long shot of the location with
the title centre frame. The
colouring of the text is dark again
with a light, exposed foreground.
However red is used again in one
letter which just shows again the
fearful events are about to spoil
the calm.

14. Text
Text is very important in the tile sequence because of
course it needs to include all the important names of those
who have helped create the film however it still needs to
reflect the genre of the film and its purpose. The text is
predominantly black and white however features red in the
final shot. The text anchors the name of the protagonist in
the shot to the back of his head and this makes its clear
who the hero is. Although only a small amount of red is
used through out the sequence it is used in the final shot
though a stylised font for the letter A.