Textual analysis of Lights Outs opening scene.

Textual analysis of Lights Out opening scene.

In the opening scene of the film lights out (2016) there is a lot of popular horror movie conventions shown within the beginning, which help set the scene and helps convey meaning to the audience.

The theme of fear is clearly represented in the scene in many different ways. The darkness being the main factor. The film is based on a strange woman hiding in the shadows so the majority of the film is filmed in the dark, which in horror films is highly representative of fear due to people being afraid of the dark. The darkness is there to create a sense of fear towards the audience. There is also a great sense of representation in the woman in the shadows as she is unknown for the majority of the film, which creates fear to the audience, as it is fearful, as the characters don't know what is attacking them.

The technical codes used help create great fear and help with making jump scares. The non-diegetic sounds used within the scene are fearful to the audience as they make them jump and make it have a more eerie feel.

There is a wide variation in the shots used in the scene. Many establishing shots to help set the scene and give us a sense of how the character would feel in that setting. Many close ups used to help us read the characters emotions which help us understand how fearful the character is. Wide/medium close ups are used to show us the look of the character and their body language which also show emotions.

The symbolic codes are shown within the darkness. The symbolism is shown as in the darkness you are able to see the woman in the shadows whereas in the light you cannot, this is juxtaposition as you are usually able to see everything in the light than the dark. This is symbolic due to it showing us that there are things hidden in the dark that we as an audience are unaware about, causing the emotion of fear.

In conclusion, all of these terms are helpful in a film to create a sense of fear to the audience, using technical/ symbolic codes, the way it is represented, the camera shots and editing all help create a good horror film that scares however also intrigues the audience.