2. • The film opens with a close up shot of an unconscious man in dark
water in this part of the scene the director is able to build a tense
atmosphere due to the lack of lighting hiding the mans face making
the audience wonder what has happened to him and if he Is still alive
due to the sinister connotations of darkness such as death. The
director also makes excellent use of sound as this part of the scene
mostly lacks any diegetic or non diegetic sound apart from the
diegetic rippling of the water which is a common sound associated
with drowning this along with the brief non diegetic sting in the
soundtrack serve to further intensify the sinister atmosphere of the
scene.
3. • The film then shows the mans eyes opening revealing him to be alive
which is made even more dramatic due to the loud non diegetic sting.
Once again the director uses sound to effectively create tension such
as the exaggerated diegetic sounds of the man gasping for air and
splashing about to try and get free which is made even more tense
due to the use of rapid editing to help the audience emphasize with
the mans fear and desperation to get out. During the fast editing
sequence the camera briefly cuts to an object going down the drain
foreshadowing the props importance and creating a mystery of the
props purpose.
4. • As the man escapes from the bath the film cuts to a long short in
order to show the audience a small part of the setting which like the
bath is almost completely dark establishing the location as mysterious
and possibly dangerous due to the sinister connotations associated
with darkness such as evil. As the man tries to move we can hear the
diegetic sound of chains rattling inform the audience that the man is
trapped this is quickly followed up the diegetic sound of something
moving suggesting that there is someone in there with him this
unknown possibility builds tension within in the audience due to the
possible causes of the sound such as the killer.
5. • A voice then speaks to the man showing that there is indeed
someone in there with the man but in contrast to the mans loud
panicked tone the voice speaks in a calm yet defeated tone which
suggests that the voice has been trapped there a long time and has
given up escape. The lights then come on with an exaggerated
diegetic sound making the reveal of the setting an even more
powerful moment. The setting is revealed to be a dirty bathroom the
rust on the pipes and tiles suggesting that it has been abandoned for
a long time conforming to the popular trope of abandoned locations
in thriller films.
6. • With the lights now on we can use mise on scene to learn more about the
characters for example the character behind the voice is shown wearing a
formal blue shirt suggesting that he had high status in society as opposed
to the other mans casually opened shirt suggesting a less mature nature
and a lower status in society. The camera then cuts to a shot of the older
man pointing at something with a horrified facial expression then to a shot
of the younger man investigating keeping it out of the audience view to
build suspense and mystery along with the increasing tone of the non
diegetic soundtrack as the camera slowly pans over to reveal a bloody
corpse a moment made more powerful with the sting of the soundtrack
the camera then briefly cuts to the tape and gun he was holding suggesting
they play some importance in the film opening the film with the sinister
mystery of if those two men will survive and how they ended up there
keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
