Pan

1. Millie Joshua
The opening scene to this part of the Pan’s Labyrinth starts with a close up of an
egg timer. This reveals that she is under pressure to find the key before it runs out,
which builds tension within the scene, the pleonastic sound of the sand grains
falling into the timer also enhances this as it shows how important every second is.
The airy-windy sound also reveals her isolation as the corridors are empty and
long. As the character turns around to check how long she has on the timer, we see
a sense of worry in her face and also we hear her breathing heavy - which reveals
to us that this could be a scene where things go wrong. As the shot of the location
widens we see long airy corridors that show the main character, a young girl, to be
isolated and at risk as she is on her own which is typically a situation that a young
adult would be in, rather than a young girl. This contrasts with her costume as she
wears a pastel blue coloured cardigan and dress, which reflects her young age but
her independence throughout the clip shows us that she is very mature for her age.
This is also shown further into the scene as despite what she is advised to do she
rebels against it.
The low key lighting throughout the scene of dark blacks and red colours connotes
a sense of danger as she explores the unknown, and the only traces of light are
reflections from the ceiling above her - where her safe place is, her bedroom. As
she reaches the dining table she is greeted by a table full of bright, vibrant food.
The food is presented this way to attract her, as she is not allowed to eat it - which
relates to the story of Adam and Eve, as despite being told not to eat the food Adam
still ate it. We then see a wide shot of the girl walking whilst looking at the food,
obviously with desire to eat it. This successfully makes the audience on edge, as
they long for her to not give in to temptations - but obviously there are many hints
within this scene that suggest she will. Eventually the character realises that she is
not on her own, and sat at the end of the table is a creature ‘The Pale Man.’ We
hear a non diegetic strike when she realises that the creature is there, to shock the
audience and enhance danger. In the background we now hear faint noises of
babies crying, and on the walls we see a shot of a person eating and killing babies.
Additionally, we then see a pile of baby shoes. This shows the audience that the
mysterious corridors of the location are filled with danger and darkness, which
worries the character as her breathing gets heavier.
As the character goes to unlock the lock, we see a zoom in shot of the egg timer as
it shows us her time is running out. The non diegetic sound accompanied with this
shows us success as she finds the key, but straight after we hear sounds of tension
and faster pace music as she gives into temptation and eats the food. As the
monster wakes up and looks around for the girl, we see an over the shoulder shot
with a shallow focus as she doesn’t realise it is behind her. As the creature puts his
arm out to see where she has gone, we hear a loud baby screaming which
indicates she is in danger. The doors shut close which creates worry for the
audience as the character is at risk and the monster is coming, which is also
heightened as she struggles to get her chalk out and a piece of it snaps. The
screams and roars put the audience on edge as the monster gets closer and time

2. Millie Joshua
runs out. As the character finally gets back to her safe place, the lighting changes
from reds and blacks that represents danger to greys and blacks that show
isolation. This scene shows stereotypical features of a horror film as there is a final
girl left, as she has survived the dangers which is commonly seen in other films too
such as ‘Alien.’