Scream Analysis

In class we did brief analysis of scream similar to that of Blade.

The opening of Scream begins with the main title being written across in white writing. The white writing could connote purity however it is contrasted by the black background which could connote evil or danger. This is followed by a flash of red that could similarly connote danger or death. There is an element of foreshadowing seen here as there is a non-digetic sound of a woman screaming as well as the sound effect of a knife which could be relating to the imminent situation that the audience is about to witness which starts to build tension.

The camera angle is slightly slanted later in the scene which exposes the back door which raises suspicion and causes the audience should look at it. This keeps the audience on edge and their eyes on the door as they expect something to happen and enables us to see reflections and what is outside. Later we see an external shot of the garden looking at the house which reveals a tire swing moving which implies that someone had been sitting there and is moving around in the garden which not only adds to the suspense but means the suspected antagonist is close by which installs fear into the audience.

The shot quickly snaps back to the woman which relates again to the sense of proximity from the antagonist and the popcorn supports this feeling as there is a connotation of time cooking and fire to the fact she is running out of time and the fire represents the danger. 

Relating to the Mise-en-scene is the blonde hair on the girl which represent the stereo type of most horror films in that she is vulnerable to threats, as well as this we can tell from her dialogue that she is ditsy and easily manipulated into dangerous situations as she speaks to the murderer and allows him time to talk and scare her. In this dialogue the girl and the murderer talk about horror movies within a movie. This is called post modernism which reveals the film convention to the audience. Whilst doing this the girl plays with knives which relates again to the iconography of the film. This representation shows her playing with something dangerous much like the fact she is playing with the murderer on the phone.