Horror genre opening film analysis of saw I - 2004

Saw I opening film analysis

Analysed the first 2 minutes.

Saw opens with an extreme close up of the side of a man’s foot, placed up against the edge of a bath, this shot also reveals the plug which seems to be covered with mould and dirt. The camera then quickly shifts to another extreme close up but this time of the male characters face suddenly waking up under water and gasping for air this is combined with the diegetic sound of the water moving and the bubbles he created from his gasp. It switches back to a close up of his feet awkwardly trying to it up and splashing about uneasily. The camera then focuses again on an extreme close up off the characters face coming out of the water, shaking the water off anxiously. The diegetic sounds of water splashing about increases in volume as he manages to pull himself up and out of the water this is combined with diegetic sounds of the male coughing. It shifts back to a close up of his
bare feet pulling out the plug and for a split second shows an extreme close up
of the plug beginning to drain the water away.

The camera then shows a medium shot of the man coming out of the water, choking and struggling for breath. From this shot the audience see more of the bath tub as it is completely covered in dirt and worn out, also it reveals to the audience that his foot is chained up at the end of the bath. The fact that the bath is small shows that the man is cramped and trapped. The dirt and mould up the walls and the chained highlight that he wasn’t here by choice. This creates many enigma codes for the audience as they want to know why he is there, how he got there and why he is chained up. The low key lighting and use of dark colours sets the scene, this is very typical of a horror film. The medium shot reveals the male character is in shock and is shaking viciously in fear. The camera then switches back to an extreme close up shot of a key with a light attached to it go down the drain this is combined with a diegetic suction sound as the last of the water is drained away.

A medium shot then shows the male character attempting to climb out of the bath but failing and falling out quickly this is merged with the diegetic sound of the characters cries of pain
and his enhanced thump when he lands. A continuous shot shows him standing up and following the chain to the top where it is attached to pipes. The male character then uses dialogue to cry for help as he looks around him nervously. A slow low pitched off screen sound similar to a creaking door stunts the man to stop and cry out “Is there anyone there?” Whilst the main character is still using his hands to feel around the room he starts to talk to an off screen deepened voice of a man.

The camera then jumps to a high angle shot of the lights turning on combined with a diegetic sound of like machines in a factory processing things. It then shows 4 cuts to and from a number of lights switching on and the character squinting as he struggles to open his eyes. The camera then zooms in on his face to show a close up shot, where he is using hand gestures to try and block the lights as they are too bright. The camera then flips to a character's perspective looking up at the lights as they are out of focus and blurry combined with the diegetic sound of his groans and the lights flickering. The camera then shows a medium shot of the male character twitching his eyes whilst still trying to make out where he is. The camera then flips to the opposite end of the room where it shows another female
character holding on to a broken pipe, sweating and also looking baffled and worried.

A wide angle shot reveals the original character beginning to slowly walk forward leaning over to look at something on the floor, it also reveals more of the setting as the audience now discover that the room is completely shut off, surrounded by broken pipes and old, dirty toilet equipment eg. Bath, toilet. This is combined with non-diegetic screams and cries setting an eerie tone. The camera then pans down to show a close up shot of a dead male character with blood pouring out of his body and his head caved in. The camera then suddenly spirals outwards to show a bird’s eye view shot of the dead man's body it shows him holding a gun and a tape recorder. Blood, guns and chains are all typical mise-en-scene used in a horror film. The audience then see 3 close up shots, 1 of the dead man's head still pouring with blood, the 2nd of the tape recorder and the 3rd of the gun, this is combined with tense and eerie music. The camera then switches to and from the male characters as they look in shock and disbelief of what's going on.