The Haunting in Connecticut
There is an immediate voice over as the production teams logo appears. The voice uses a rhetorical devise, which is aimed directly at the audience: “why do bad things happen to good people?” During this there is background music that is eerie; this begins to set the tone straight away. Immediately the film is seen to have horror elements due to the voice over and the background music.
The first shot that is shown, is an aerial view across a normal looking American neighbourhood; there is then a blackout and there is white bold writing which indicates where this neighbourhood is: Northern Connecticut. Then the shot changes to show houses, however the camera is on a fast moving dolly and moving left to right across the screen. We then see a lady in a car and realise that this is the woman's voice in the voice over. Again the shot changes to show the woman pulling up at an old looking house, and an old man putting up a for sale sign; the eerie stringed music continues. There is another blackout and the music changes slightly, there are another set of bod white words that tells the audience that this film is based on a true story.
There is a long shot of the house and we hear a woman talking, however this time we know it is supposed to be the woman in the house, as the voice has an echoed effect. As she talks the shot changes to inside the house, it is a medium shot of two people talking about how the house is ‘perfect’. The speaking continues, however the shot and music changes, it shows the outside of the house zooming out; the music changes to serene music as if somebody is humming, this is a complete contrast to the previous music.
The shot changes again to show a medium shot of two boys running by a car parked outside the house; again the speech continues, and the man is explaining how the house has a ‘history’ the shot changes to show two boys racing each other up the stairs inside the house. It becomes clear that the film is based around this house and the family have brought it and are moving in.
The shots become quicker showing different shots of the family exploring the house; the focal point is of a teenage boy who wants to have his space in the basement.
There is a mysterious tone of the music by now and the camera angles and speech begins to hint to the audience that there could be poltergeists living in the house.
The house is shown through the trees at a full moon this particularly has its own connotations, full moon can be linked with strange happenings, and the night could suggest that something ad is going to happen. There are fast shots showing all the family asleep; apart from the teenage boy in the basement, who is shown watching the television. As the television is turned off the camera shot quickly changes to show the black television screen-which displays a person stood in the doorway. The stringed music immediately changes, it becomes considerably louder and higher in pitch the sound suggests it is metal scratching on metal. At this point the shot changes to a close up showing the boys face; there is a blackout and then a long high shot of the whole house and grounds. The next shot that is shown is a medium shot of the woman who we assume is the mother, hearing footsteps upstairs. The music has changed to a clinking piano, drawing a mellow slow tone. The next shot that is shown is a medium close up, it shows the teenage boy attempting to open a mysterious door in the basement; the shot then zooms to show his hand grasp the door handle and it burning him as soon as this happens the music changes to strings which are high pitched and the noise is uncomfortable to listen to; immediately the music changes back to the slow piano tune. The shots that are shown next are fast paced, however the speech that is accompanying it is slow and mellow toned. There is a shot showing again the teenage boy, however another child runs across him, as this happens the same sharp loud stringed music is played over the action, making the audience jump.
The family have found old-fashioned photographs under the floor boards- the next shot is a close up of the photograph, and the teenage boy suggesting to his sister he has seen one of the boys in the photograph. The tone of the music changes to a low rumble of a chello and the house is shown in a shadowed light. The audience is shown a woman biting into rotten apple, and the food in the fridge to have also gone moldy, as the food is shown the small screech of the stringed music is played, zooming into the food. There is a blackout and immediately the music changes back to the low toned rumble of the chello again and the shot changes to a close up of a flickering candle. Again the shot changes to reveal a long shot showing the teenage boy in bed, there is a dark shadow descending towards him; the stringed music creates anxiety within the audience of what will happen next. A blackout shows when the film is coming to cinemas ‘This spring’ the text is white and bold and creates a contrast against the black background; as the text is on screen the music abruptly stops. The next shot shows a medium close up of the sister, explaining about how the old residents used to try and connect to the dead. The picture suddenly flickers into black and white and the camera spins around the group, it is clear that they are looking back showing them connected to spirits.
The stringed music has connotations of fingernails scratching a chalkboard making the ‘hairs on the back of the audiences necks stand up’. The voice over is accompanied by stringed music growing louder as the houses history is revealed. The music changes to a very high pitch, we can assume made by a keyboard. Again as we look back at the happenings in the house the image flicks back into black and white, and the camera spins not allowing the audience to see the faces of the people.
The camera again shows the teenage boy in bed and a figure appear in the television set-the music changes to suggest a metal on metal type noise created by stringed instruments. The camera cuts quickly to show a man holding a small metal cross; the next cut shows a priest in the house confirming their suspicions. The shots suddenly speed up, and there is a sequence of clips suggesting there are ghosts in the house. Throughout these shots there is a voice over saying that there is something inside the house. Suddenly there is a scream and there is a sequence of images, drawing the audience in. The shots slow and the music subsides, the clips begin again unexpected making the audience jump and the cuts become extremely fast showing the son being captured. After the montage there is another blackout and words (“the fear”) come across the stage.
You see something snap shut and this is the entrance for another set of images, we see the silhouette of birds flying in the house and the teenage boy with writing carved into his skin, there is a follow on from the previous words; there is a blackout and “is real” comes across the stage. The audience are now in suspense after being told this is based on a true story, the music and authenticity of the film really draws the viewer in. The shots speed up and the eerie stringed music becomes louder and louder building to a climax, at this point the audience are on the edge of their seats. Suddenly the music cuts out to allow a small amount of dialogue, the music then comes in louder than before; and we see a car crash involving the priest as he has realised that they are trying to kill the teenage boy.
The stringed music gets louder and louder in between cuts to allow dialogue, again it is bringing the action to a climax as the climax invites the denouement, and the stringed high pitched music gets louder almost unbearably high and suddenly cuts to show the title of the film “The Haunting in Connecticut” shown in a dark room with window pouring light through it. The music changes to a simple low toned piano tune, which is a contrast to the high pitched stringed music played prior in the trailer. There is then a small scene at the end showing the teenage boy looking into the mirror, his reflect changes abruptly and the stringed music cuts in small and sharp in a very high pitch tone making the audience jump. This last sequence has drawn the audience in and made them more inclined to go and see the film.
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