Conventions of phycological horrors ( Mise - en - scene)

1. Conventions of
phycological
horror
mise-en-scene
Chosen Film Trailers
Shutter Island
psychological thriller film
directed by Martin Scorsese
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
Phycological Thriller
Split
Phycological horror film
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

2. Setting/ Location
Shutter island
This film is set on an island and is based around
events in a mental facility for the criminally insane.
The island only has one entrance/ port making us
instantly aware of its seclusion. As the audience we
are fearful of people being in this isolated area with
such people.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
The film is set in an autopsy room in the middle of the
night. It is in a quite remote town, the effect of this is
that it increases our fear for the characters as they are
left isolated if anything were to happen.
Split
Split is set in an ordinary house that has a large
basement which is being used to keep some
hostages.Basements have connotations of being creepy
and a place people do not spend time in. The shots of
the basement help us understand how isolated the
teenagers are from everything as the corridors are long
and windy.
All these settings share the similarity of being isolated.
They're all very strange locations that are not typically
places people enjoy spending time in. They are very
dark and have relations to death and suffering.
From this I would say that conventional phycological
films and thrillers are often set in isolated and unsettling
locations that have bad connotations.
Similarities and conventions

3. Lighting
Shutter island
The film uses darkly lit blue-tinged lighting to create a
lifeless feel. Little daylight filming is used, throughout
the trailer and film it tends to be all artificial to create
a sense of abnormality. This type of lighting allows
for lots of shadows to be cast, indicating at a sense
of darkness and creating a mysterious atmosphere
for the location.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
The film trailer thought uses very dark lighting with the
blue tinged tint to it. This again creates the abnormal
atmosphere. Thought the trailer there are moments of
complete darkness making us fear the unknown. At
some points there are high key lights used to give a
sense of a clinical procedure .
Split
In the film Split a range of listing is used to show a
comparison between the everyday world and the
location that the three females are being kept captive in.
The lighting in the basement is far darker and low key,
casting shadows on faces however, the overall lighting
between the two locations remains grey and creates a
muddy cold atmosphere.
A common theme across the three trailers is that all of
the lighting is very low key and often has a slight tinge
to it to create the creepy abnormal situation. Thought
the trailers of Shutter Island and The Autopsy Of Jane
Doe I noticed that there were scenes in which there
was extremely limiting lighting or none at all, I feel this
is to raise the audiences fear of the unknown.
Similarities and conventions

4. Costume
Shutter island
Costumes used for Shutter island are ones to suit
the time period of the 1950’s. Therefore their
costumes often have bowties and waist jackets in
the style of the 50s. The other characters are seen
to be wearing fully white nurse uniforms to
distinguish them from the prisoners, their costumes
are very clinical and fit in with their profession.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
The costumes used in the film are very clinical due to
their profession of dealing with dead bodies. However
underneath they are dressed in very casual modern day
clothing such as a checkered shirt and jeans presenting
them as ordinary people. A swell as this ‘Jane Doe’ the
antagonist, is completely naked creating a very invasive
and uncomputable feeling.
Split
In the film Split many different types of costumes are
used, this is due to the antagonist split personality, from
this the costumes help us identify the characters
persona at one given time. We create emotions towards
different personas and know who is safe and who is to
be feared. The protagonists clothing is ordinary and
casual setting it in the modern day and showing us that
they are very ordinary people.
A common theme across the three trailers is that all of
the lighting is very low key and often has a slight tinge
to it to create the creepy abnormal situation. Thought
the trailers of Shutter Island and The Autopsy Of Jane
Doe I noticed that there were scenes in which there
was extremely limiting lighting or none at all, I feel this
is to raise the audiences fear of the unknown.
Similarities and conventions

5. Hair and Make-up
Shutter island
The hair and Make up that is used is created to fit a certain
time period. In shutter island the women have very styled
hair that is curly and fits with the stereotypical 50’s hair. The
mens hair is conventionally slick back again, fitting the time
period of a smart attire. Some of the antagonists are made
up to reflect their personalities of being insane, they're
made up to look abnormal and dangerous, people that you
would not associate yourself with.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
Hair and makeup for the men is very casual, hair styles
are messy and relaxed, and make up is not present.
The women(Jane doe) is made up in pristine way, this
is contrasting to the typical conventions associated with
dead people. Make up is also used to effectively
indicate abnormalities with this character such as grey
contact lenses.
Split
The lead character uses hair and makeup in order to let
the audience sense a shift in personality, we can then
easily identify when the character is experiencing a
different personality as part of his disorder. This is
effective as we get to know certain identities and learn
which ones to fear when on screen.
Overall hair and make up in phycological horrors tend
to remain very neutral and realist to give the audience
a sense of reality. It is also used to establish a time
period and a characters personality and possible
traits they may posses.
Similarities and conventions

6. Facial Expressions/ Body
Language
Shutter island
Many of the characters who are criminally insane
use erotic and violent body langue. Some of the
body language is very uncomfortable and abnormal
making the viewer fear them as characters.
Other characters are strong and professional and
stand with authority, this gives the effect that they're
in charge and have power.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
Facial expressions start off as curious, much like you’d
expect in their profession due to the nature being
investigating and analysing evidence. Progressively the
expressions start to become fearful and petrified of the
unknown. The characters become weaker as paranormal
activities unfold. This is seen in some scenes of paranormal
forces acting on the protagonists, they loose control of their
own bodies.
Split
The protagonist body language to begin with is very
defensive, the girl all back away and stay close together.
They are seen to be fearful and emotional, this is seen in
their facial expressions (crying and wide eyed). As the
trailer goes on and it becomes darker the protagonist gain
confidence and anger in their body language they start to
separate and rebel. This is different to the antagonist
however who remains calm and takes control using little
urgency and anger.
Facial expressions and body language helps the
audience establish the emotions of certain characters.
Many fearful characters who are weaker and more
vulnerable will reflect this through their body language
by crouching in self defence and out of fear. Other
characters may appear more stern and in control
these are often the antagonists, they remain very
calm and ordinary.
Similarities and conventions

7. Props Used
Shutter island
Many of the props such as gun and chains are there
to raise the awareness of the dangers surrounding
the protagonist characters. In addition there are
needles and drugs, these help the mental hospital
seem more realistic.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe
Props used in this film are very clinical instruments, this
helps us understand the two characters professions.
Other props include a radio that plays creepy music,
this creates an off balance atmosphere and hints at
something not quite being right making us fear for the
protagonists as they reveal Jane’s past.
Split
The props used for Split were conventionally everyday
objects that are seen in homes everywhere. This could
be to make the film more relatable due to it being set in
a modern day home. However there are pros such as
dead animals, the effect of this is that it is
uncomfortable to look at and raises our concerns for the
protagonists as there is danger and want to harm
lurking.
Overall props are used to establish the surroundings
and setting that the characters are in. We soon can
tell if characters are comfortable or our of place in
their surroundings. Props can be used to
communicate and foreshadow later events in the film.
In addition to this certain probs have meaning to them
and hold clues about a character or place, this can
help the audience understand what is happening in
the film and reasons for the events that occur.
Similarities and conventions