FILM ANALYSISIDENTITY (2003)

CAMERA SHOTS/ANGLES/MOVEMENTS There is use of close ups on different characters faces during the beginning of the film,

depicting their emotions, but with a sense of mystery. There are also pans and over shoulder shots used in this way, as we feel a sense of tension because we know there is going to be trouble (also because of the parallel editing and the conventions we already associate with horror films). We try to work out the villain even before something happens, and the close up shots can influence this desire in the audience, because we question their emotions, thoughts and motives.

There are also low angles used to look up at the main character, Ed, as well as close ups and al;mfea and this makes the audience begin to trust him, especially when we find the story is through his perspective, using POV shots and

Long/mid distance tracking shots of the first victims high heels through the fence show her vulnerability and the fact she is being watched, and the tracking mid shot from behind shows she is being followed. This creates enigma and again makes the audience question the identity of the killer. The flash of her face as she screams and is killed, is followed by a shot of Ed asleep in his room, and then wakes up, confirming the audiences trust in him as we can assume he is not the killer, as well as the fact he wants to investigate and find more. This is further influenced by the tracking over the shoulder shots and POV shots, seeing things from his view and as if we are along with him.

(continued) 2 shots and depth of field let us see the relationships between the characters, who has tension with each other, and allows the audience to establish who they trust and who they don't, and who they sympathise with.

There is another cut to the parallel scene of the case, where it is established that the killer has dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality) and he is unaware of his crimes. As the killer is brought in, close up tracking shots and pans are used on areas of the wheelchair, not his face, creating suspense as we expect to see one of the characters in the motel situation. When it cuts to his face, we see someone completely new, creating confusing for the audience.

Close ups on the door keys show the importance of them, being counted down and each dead body has one on them. Long 2+ shots show the characters unsure of what to do as the situation gets more and more impossible. 3 and 4 shots with the remaining survivors as they look at each spot of the bodies which have disappeared shows confusion and the impossibility, as the situation links more and more to insanity.

Close up – zooms on the survivors faces as they all realise they have the same birthday is showing more links between them and the “strangers” have met in the same place all had the same birthday. Extreme close up on Ed's face when he looks through each character's ID, and reads out the names, which are all states of America. He becomes detached and worried, unlike the Ed the audience had previously trusted.

Close ups are used with the repeated edit and cutaways with jump cuts, creating a sense of unease as we see Ed's character turn from the confident, trusted man to the insane and confused patient. This twists our perspective on the film, and we feel as if we are along with him, as we trusted him when he was investigating and we find out the fact he is insane at the same time as him.

An over the shoulder shot/behind shot shows Ed in the centre of the shot, with the people from the trail scene looking at him from the table. We can see he is in the wheelchair, and we make the link as he is Malcolm Rivers, the man we hadn't recognized from the motel scene. There is then a POV shot as the psychiatrist shows him the mirror, and the face of Malcolm Rivers is in it, and again when he looks in the window. A close up is used when we go back to Ed's face, it is Malcolm. This use of jump cuts and switch between POV and close up allows us to see how he is insane and is a fractured personality.

EDITING Still pauses are used just before a flashback, like when the father finds a shoe in his tire,

and it goes on to show the girl throw her shoe out of the car. This is used to link the characters together and give a little emphasis on the flashback, showing there are important factors that are bringing them all together in some way.

There are cutaways used to give us a sense of each character, as well as how they run into each other. There is also use of repeat editing, where a particular event in the scene is shown from multiple perspectives. This is key to the beginning of the film because we feel the characters have met by chance and all ended up together, and we are unclear on who the “good” and “bad” people are.

Throughout the film, parallel editing is used where a scene is playing out, where we can begin to piece together that “Malcolm Rivers” is being killed by death penalty the following day, but efforts to re-evaluate his case are being carried out, due to insanity. This makes the audience question the link between the two and question who Malcolm Rivers is, and whether he actually is in the character group at the motel.

Parallel editing is also used to show what each character is doing before anything happens, which shows something suspicious about each of them. This again creates suspicion in the audiences mind as they try to link the scene of Malcolm Rivers with the motel scenes and work out who and what is wrong.

Repeat editing is used where Ed turns his head with quick shots from many angles. This quick jumping edit shows choppiness and makes him seem troubled and shows insanity creeping in. This is then used as he turns his head with continuity editing between the parallel scenes as they come together; as Ed turns his head, he goes from the motel to the trail room, with the psychiatrist speaking to him. This breaks the gap between the two separate edits we have been watching and makes the link, and the audiences realises Ed is the one with the multiple personality disorder, shifting the perspective of the audience.

The overlay and quick jump cuts are used when the murderer personality (the child, Timothy) is killing the last personality, the prostitute. The image of Timothy killing her is used with an action match of Malcolm Rivers killing the psychiatrist as they take him to the mental ward. Action matches are used for the car in the parallel scenes to show the link between the characters in his mind and him.

LIGHTING Throughout the film, there is lightning striking, in both the motel scene and the trail

scene, linking that both are going on at the same time. The lightning often flashes across the characters faces in the dark, creating a quick flash of light and dark contrast. This creates a sense of trouble and something going wrong, as well as insanity later in the film, when things start to seem impossible. Lighting is also a convention in Psychological horrors, as the pattern of quick flashing bright light mimics the editing of quick cuts used when people are being depicted as insane, as well as lights flickering, another convention and a link to insanity. It is also reminiscent of the ring's flashing bright light of the actual ring symbol, and the TV.

A lot of the film is set in the dark, during a storm, making it gloomy and sometimes difficult to see. This adds to the enigma, as we do now know what exactly is happening at all times like you would in day light. It is also a horror convention to be set in the night time, especially for murders. The parallel scene, the trail room, is lit warmly. This creates a binary opposite of the dark motel scenes and the warm lit trail room, creating a contrast and again, a binary opposite between fiction and reality. This finally pulls together the two scenes and why they were being shown together, because one is not real.

SOUND The sound used in the film's intro is important, as it is Ed's voice, saying a rhyme and

repeating phrases and talking about him mum. The other voice is that of the psychiatrist, and implies he is mental. He talks about the murders and the phrases seem strange and slightly insane. This is being played over a mysterious piano music, and shows there will be some sign of mystery and enigma in the film. This is along with the images on screen, mug shot of Malcolm Rivers, and news clippings/photographs of the murders, foreshadowing the character we will find out about later in the film.

There is a constant rain and storm sound in the film, with heavy rain in many of the scenes, along with some thunder. This creates a sense of anticipation, as there is often rain and storms when something bad will happen. It also creates a sense of unease.

Another use of non-diegetic sound is the dramatic drumming/high pitched violin music used when the story is unravelling more and there is more urgency in the events. This creates tension and adrenaline in the audience as they respond to the music to see what the events are on screen.

There are echoing voices and whispers and distortion sounds as Ed begins to go into the body of Malcolm Rivers in the trail room, and the music becomes high pitched with distortion. This conveys the fact he is insane.

MISE EN SCENE The setting of the film, the motel, is a very common convention for horror films. It is a

place for people in trouble to stay, for example, when someone has broken down, and often trouble lurks there. In this case, it is the meeting place for all 10 strangers, as they all need somewhere to stay. It could be a representation of the mind of Malcolm Rivers, because they are all fictional personalities and are temporary, and not living there.

The girls in the film are often wearing slightly skimpy clothing, for example the actress who is killed first has a very low cut top and is concerned by her appearance (often a convention for the first victim). The prostitute character also wears short and low cut clothing, and is also looked at by multiple male characters. Although she is confident and the last girl standing, she is still sexually objectified. This complies with Laura Mulvey's theory on the Male Gaze.

There is iconography of weapons in the film, with guns, baseball bats, knives and other weapons used in the killings. They are almost always held by men, implying they can be a phallic symbol, especially the knife and baseball bat.

There is also iconography of the insane, with handcuffs, wheelchairs and psychiatric tapes. This creates a sense of unease because of the man, as he has created all the 10 people in his head.