*Menacing music*
*Boy screams*
*Monster screams*
Welcome to Now You See It.
*screaming*
An effective moment in a scary movie requires extremely precise editing and camera direction
to actually be scary.
I found a cool case study to outline this idea in a movie currently out in theaters called 'Lights Out'.
The movie's based off of a short film with the same name, general concept, and director.
What's interesting is that the movie and the short film have a moment that's basically the same,
but I think one is much scarier than the other
But what do you think?
Let's look at both scary moments, and see which one is done better.
Let's start with the movie:
Now the short film:
So, which one's scarier?
My guess is you picked the short film, but why?
Let's take a look at how the short film perfectly uses many horror techniques,
while the movie, despite being so similar, doesn't.
I think the most important difference is the length of the clip.
The movie clip is actually from the trailer, because the movie's still in theaters.
The trailer cut makes the movie clip about four seconds shorter.
In those four seconds the short film has an extra flicker of the lights.
With each added second is a lot more suspense added to the scary moment,
so when the pattern suddenly changes, and the ghost moves, it's that much more startling.
Let's say you want to scare the audience with a clown attack. How do you do it?
Do you let the clown sit, motionless, for thirty long seconds,
while we have no choice but to uncomfortably stare at it?
And then all of a sudden, it's gone.
Or do you show the clown for a few seconds at a time, and throw in a couple random jump scares
with no build-up or continuity?
It's making the choice between one really big scare or a bunch of little ok scares;
which moment builds up the payoff better?
Another difference in the two moments is that the short film has a very powerful shot right here.
It's from the creature's point of view as it looks towards the woman, like a predator stalking it's prey.
This shot makes the woman look small and powerless.
This is a shot we're all familiar with in horror movies.
It adds suspense by showing a character being watched by the monster.
The problem with the movie clip is it just switches from her reaction to a shot of the monster,
and it's not as menacing as the point-of-view shot.
Finally, where are they in the movie? A warehouse?
It's never fully addressed in the movie, and it makes the moment less scary
because we're unfamiliar with the location.
A big component of many horror films is that these monsters, or serial killers, or supernatural beings
invade places where we thought we were safe.
That's what makes it scary.
*policeman on phone*: "We've traced the call, it's coming from inside the house!"
*cont.*: "Our squad cars are heading over there right now, just get out of that house!"
Home invasion is a real life fear, and when we're in our pajamas, heading to bed,
that's when we're at our most vulnerable.
The short film really capitalizes on this idea, and it's genuinely scary.
In the movie, we see an unfamiliar monster in a place we're already unfamiliar with,
so it's not as scary.
Those are the three main differences, I think, but you could go even deeper.
For one thing, in the short film, the lady is always bright in the shot,
so it seems more menacing when we can see her clearly while also seeing the ghost.
In the movie, when the ghost is visible, the lady can't really be seen,
so she seems more removed from the monster and the threat.
I also think the ambient hum in the background makes the short film scarier.
Also the fact that in the short film the lady has to walk through the hallway where the ghost already is.
That seems scarier than having the lady already at the light switch.
But what do you think? Are there any other aspects that make the short film scarier?
Am I overthinking something? Leave your comments below.
Getting a laugh requires a funny performance, or a well timed cut.
Getting people to cry maybe takes strong characters and a gorgeous film score.
Getting an amazing shot requires compelling cinematography.
But to get a scare? You need everything at once.
The music, the timing, the script, the actors: everything has to work together or else it's not scary.
So before you go to sleep tonight, ask yourself: what scares me the most?
Thanks for watching.
*screaming*
"Kitty!"
*Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince plays*