Scott Derrikson's Sinister 2012 is a stomach churning, creepy and gory 5 time award winning horror film. Best described by IMDb Sinister is 'A true-crime writer finds a cache of 8mm home movies films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates back to the 1960s.'. This being one of the many great horror films created by the famous Blumhouse productions.
Even though, what I am analysing is not an opening sequence it is a scene of which I take great interest and really enjoy (in a non creepy way). The infamous 'Lawnmower Scene' is infamous because of its disturbingly gory imagery of a human body under a running lawnmower for a short moment. Many critics have thought this to be one of the most violent scene' from 2012 horror film industry.
Start: 00:23
End 01:34
VISUAL
The main aim of the mis-en-scene in this scene is to make it appear to be a vintage 8mm home video and I believe that it captures this very well. The lighting is a very limited but it works to create a retrospective view. The use of the colour yellow connotes a cheapness to the scene, it emphasiseses the am that the producers want the audience to get the impression that it is 'home made'. In the scene you only really are able to see the silhouettes of unknown characters - their costumes are irrelevant as you cannot see it- this is very enigmatic as it leaves the audience not knowing who the killer, or the victims are. The location used is, again, based around a family home. The relevance of the 'home' may signify that the killing itself may solely be to do with the house (not the people that live there for any specific reason) just the fact of living there meant that they were going to be killed. The main props used in this scene is the lawnmower itself ans the dead body in which it runs over. It is so disturbing because we cant see who has done it or why, just a brutally fast killing.
CAMERA
In this specific scene the director uses basic camera shots and angles. The shots begin canted and slightly jolty denoting that the video camera is carelessly hand held - it makes it look as if a child has filmed it (which ultimately was their goal). All of the shots used are also mid-shots, signifying how the action may be careless or the killer is unaware of what he is doing, or possibly lost complete control of his body. The camera is predominantly angled low down, so all you can see is the lawnmower and its positioning on the grass, this creates enigma as to where the lawnmower is going and why is someone using it. The low angle of the camera also connotes that - although he/she kills a woman- the driver of the lawnmower isn't actually in control, there is something above that could be mentally controlling the unknown character. When the camera is still and fixed on the front window it highlights and signifies how the family is being watched, possibly for a long period of time, but they are unaware- this may alarm the audience as they themselves may be sat watching Sinister in their living room; so it creates a sense of involvement. The high camera angles also suggest that the killer is much more dominant than the stereotypical Caucasian American family. At the end of the scene the low angle shots of the lawnmower crossing the floor quickens the pace of the scene.
AUDIO
Throughout the Lawnmower Scene, audio is used very cleverly to explain what is going on to the audience. In the scene the diegetic audio appears slightly muffled, this connotes how the killer may have been deluded and not fully 'with it' at the time of the murder. Also, at the very end of the clip there is the ambient scream as the lawnmower passes over the body, the scream emphasises and signifies the brutality of the killing whilst making the audience jump.
EDITING
The editing in this scene is intentionally meant to be as unnoticeable as possible. The jolty usage of jump cuts make the clip appear and denote unprofessionally and carelessly put together (or appear completely un-edited). A retrospective yellow filter is used on the image to create a sense of time since this clip was filmed - it makes the clip appear dated. The filters on the camera also are to make the screenplay to be seen through an 8mm home video camera which contrasts the rest of the professionally shot film. At the beginning of the clip the editing makes the pace slow, the individual clips that make up the scene are all fairly long, this makes it seem as if the family have been watched for a long amount of time.
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