Past Production Review: Abandonment

This past production uses many conventions typical to the horror genre. For example the location is in the woods, an already unsettling setting that is conventionally used in scary films. Also the main character is a girl on her own, making her vulnerable which is a commonly used in horror films. Although there was both diegetic and non diegetic sound, the only diegetic was from her walking and calling her dog, emphasizing the fact she is alone. Her scream at the end also is a common diegetic sound of horror films. The non diegetic sound was low pitched, repetitive music, which created an even more eerie feel to the film. The use of a variety of camera shots and angles is very effective, especially the point of view shots from the killer's perspective, which built tension because the audience was able to see where the killer was, even though the character could not, creating dramatic irony. Also, the flashback shots of the rope hanging from a tree was effective because it foreshadowed the death of the girl and also added more background to the narrative, aswell as making the audience feel more uneasy and worry about the girls fate. One of the things that i believe worked against the film was the unrealistic aspect, as the girl seemed to give up after calling her dog back twice, and instead throws the lead to the ground and walks off into the woods, which is quite obviously not what would happen in real life. This in particular is what i will make sure doesn't happen in my film as personally, it took a lot of the fear out of the film and instead made it rather comical. The final shot was my favourite as it concluded the story well and evoked fear in the audience, as the loud, irritating sound of the phone was uncanny and made the viewer question why it is the girl can't answer the phone, fearing the worst. The shot of the hanging feet also proved to be terrifying as it was quite obvious what had happened to the girl, and acted as an effective finish to the film. We will take all of these aspects into account when creating our own film, as it showed us what was successful in scaring the audience, for example the point of view shot from the antagonist, and what was not as effective such as the fact a wider variation of camera shots and angles could of been used.