Crimson Peak Analysis

Crimson Peak

In the clip of ‘Crimson Peak’ it begins with a close up of the character Edith’s (Mia Wasikowska) face, it shows her waking up. This shot uses very low key lighting to set the scene as it is supposed to be the middle of the night. We also get some long shots/establishing shots to show us the setting she is in, she is in an old gothic-type room. She then gets up and walks out into the hallway, the use of mise en scene helps further to set the scene because she uses props such as an old candle to use as a light. The camera pans a lot in this part to show the viewers where the character is and to show all around her to show she is alone, also the lighting remains low key to add the mysterious effect and to emphasize that she is trapped in the darkness which would create a scary effect for the audience because we cant see her surroundings.

There are a lot of diegetic sound effects used such as, dogs barking and doors creaking, on top of this there is non diegetic music being played on top, the music has a very negative tone and the volume is quite quiet to make it more intense. The dogs barking would make the audience unsettled because we know that dogs only bark when someone or something is moving around them. The diegetic noise of creaking floorboards and the doors create an eerie effect.

When she starts walking around in her corridor we get lots of tracking shots and long shots and the sound effects get louder, the camera shots used show a lot more of the background as if something is waiting to happen. She then hears noises within a room and thinks its the dog, however we then get a close up of the dog which is standing near her, this again adds to the creepy effect on the audience because we as the audience are now questioning who is behind the door.

All through this we hear music that gets louder but then all of sudden goes silent. We then hear a loud noise when the camera focuses on the ghost like figure behind Edith, the aim of this is to scare us and make us jump. We get a close up of Edith to show her reaction and it then goes back to a mid shot of the ghost figure. The music then starts again, more fast paced and the volume increases, as Edith starts running from the ghost, we get a tracking shot that follows her to show she is running away, as this is happening it is constantly cutting back to the ghost dragging itself across the floor. This part uses low angle shots to show she is more powerful and that the character is vulnerable, also we get long shots to show the ghosts whole body which shows us the gruesome details which is supposed to scare the audience because it seems more real.

Edith runs down the hall into a lift, we hear a loud diegetic noise as the lift slams shut, this noise is supposed to be startling and to put us on edge, the audience is already paranoid from the previous encounter with the ghost  so the aim of adding more loud noises is to scare us. The lifts leads her down to the basement, the room itself looks broken, the tiles are all broken, the wood is ruined and the floor is covered in a red substance which could resemble blood. It does not look clean and considering it is supposed to be a mansion, it does not look much like one. Everything is tainted and looks as if it murky and unkempt.

Overall this clip creates a dark, creepy effect because of the use of mise en scene and lighting, from this clip alone we get a real idea of what the film is about and the themes involved.