Opening Analysis - The Decent (Marshall, 2005)

Genre

The Genre of the film “The Descent” is Horror, however it doesn’t start off like a typical horror. It starts off with immediate suspicious activity and gory, dramatic, tragedy. These are two key conventions of horror movies, suspicion – to entice the consumer in to watching on to see the outcome of this. Also gore, it is a definite distinctive characteristic of a horror movie which will add to the consumers fright and “horror” of what they have seen, which is their desire as an audience of a horror movie.
I suspect that generally, the generic expectations of the text are challenged. I immediately found this when watching the opening. I found the movie on a website under the category of “horror”, but I had never heard of or seen the movie. The name of the movie sounded exciting so I decided that this would be the film I would study. However in the opening sequences of the movie, I wasn’t sure if I was watching a horror movie, or more of a thriller. This therefore, instead of me just watching the opening and analysing it for this piece of work, I found I had to watch on to see whether or not this was, as I had been informed, a horror movie. However there are certain characteristics which are fulfilled of this genre. Continually through the opening there are frequent times and moments where there could be a climatic feature or action which will make the audience jump or scream. However there when the moments arise nothing happens; then later on, when the audience expects, “it didn’t happen any of the other times, it wont happen here” it actually happens there and gives them a really big shock.
The text does confirm some of the characteristics of the genre; however some aren’t introduced until later. For example, there is clear evidence of gore, in the earlier scenes, when there is the car crash and the man and child are impaled with the spikes. There is also the build up of suspicion with use of sound, mainly non-diagetic, with the use of suspicious and eerie music. There is a slight bit of irony in the early scene in the car, where the man says “I’m fine” then is very suddenly impaled and killed…

Film Language

The women in the water raft are seen to be safe and sensible, as they are wearing the correct equipment and apparatus when doing their sport. They also seem like a very friendly bunch whose friendship has been existent for many years. We know this because once they have finished their run down the river; they can jokingly push each other into the water and take it as a joke instead of a harmful act. One of them is also a family sort of person, because as soon as she gets out of the raft, she rushes up to her daughter and gives her a big hug. One of the women however is acting very suspicious, the look in her eyes, and the fact she is wearing a different coloured outfit to the other two may suggest that she isn’t as “one of the group” as the other two are. Also, the woman who is wearing the other coloured outfit is greeted out of the water by what I can see as one of the other woman’s partner. Therefore in my mind, I can for see some sort of controversy happening later on in the movie. This all works to create early foundations to a plot, so the consumer is enticed into watching further to find answers to these actions and features which conjure up thoughts and suspicions.
There are a variety of camera shots and angles used in the opening sequence. The one which had the greatest effect on me was the pan, where it showed the women in the raft in a long shot, it then panned round to show the rocky, white water of the river ahead. This then conjured up ideas and connotations that this river wasn’t just a river; it was a representation of the time ahead for these three women, and the rocks and white water being tough thing which as a group they will have to overcome. As we watch on, there is the horrific crash at the start, where one of the women loses what may be her partner, and her daughter. In the river, at the very top of the river, the obstacle closest to them was a huge rock. This huge rock may represent this early, tragic event, which as a group, they will need to work as a team and over come it. There was also, the very first opening shot, an extreme long shot of one of the mountains around where they were rafting. There are regular close ups on the women’s faces to show their expression and excitement.
Sound, diagetic and non-diagetic, is used frequently to change moods and interpretations of the shots. At different points through the opening there is the same sort of slow, eerie music used which gives the consumer an idea that something may happen at this point. There is also the use of non-diagetic sound; in the hospital scene, where the woman wakes up, the heart rate beep is constant and slow, but as she wakes up, the rate of the beeping increases, showing a change in mood of the lady, and this then influences a mood in us, a feeling of panic and distress.
We learn very early on that the oriental looking lady has some secret or is hiding something from the group. On the raft down the river, the look on her face is very serious, where as the other two have expressions of excitement and elation. This continues through this sequence at the river, when the man retrieves her from the water, she looks at him in a funny, suspicious way. We also learn that the group in general are very friendly, as they push each other in the water and laugh and joke together.
There is evidence of slow motion used in the editing. When the group fly over the edge on their way down the river at the start, there is slow motion used there. Although we know the drop is the same, and the action is the same, whether in slow motion or not, it gives the impression that the raft is in the air for longer, even though it isn’t. This makes the action seem more spectacular and awe inspiring than if it was just cut regularly without this added effect.

Narrative

The oriental lady has been alienated by the use of clothing. In the scene with the raft, she can be seen to be wearing a different coloured outfit to the others in the raft. She is also alienated through the use of body language; the other two in the raft are having a great time, screaming and having fun, where as it seems that the oriental lady is taking things very seriously.
Using and maintaining tension is a very useful technique to use, and has to be used well to take have a great effect. Tension is usually created by putting the audience in a vulnerable position. This may be done by making the audience seem alone, where if they get into any trouble; there will be no one around to help them. This effect could either be achieved by using connotations (using a remote location to make the audience seem remote and alone), or using music, which has a lonely, remote feeling to it. an alternative method would be to keep information from the audience, using shadow and/or darkness to obscure or hide objects or parts of object, giving the audience a sense of unknowing and insecurity. These techniques should then be used frequently, so the audience then believes that the next time one of these instances arises, that nothing will happen like all the other times, but it actually does. In the movie, music has been used to create tension as mentioned previously, and there is the use of remote location to make the audience seem remote. This all build up to the climax in the car, when the man and daughter die.

Representation and Ideology

There aren’t many social groups in the opening, as it seems that is it set far away from anywhere inhabited. However there are a few social groups; firstly the small group of thrill seeking women who are rafting down the river. They are shown as a fun group of women, who are very close and are all about having fun. There is also the little girl who is spoken to about her up coming birthday party, and if she is going to invite and boys this time. This gives us, as consumers, the impression that she is quite girly and young, as she laughs at the mention of boys.

Media Audiences

I think the movie is generally targeted at 18-30 year olds as this is the age group of the people in the movie. I think this because I believe it would be easier for people of the same age group as those in the movie to relate to their feelings. Also, it is the sort of age group who are into horrors, as they are the people who are likely to be out all week working at (boring) jobs and want a bit of excitement and thrill to bring their lives alive.
There is the possibility of intended reading being that it is a horror movie, it’s meant to be really scary, I know nothing like this is very likely to happen in real life, but it is a movie and it’s meant to excite me and it serves its purpose. There is also the oppositional reading of nothing like this would ever happen in these circumstances, it is so improbable that someone would take their eyes off the road for that long knowing there is a child in the back of the car; or a white water rafter in real life may see the stance and attitude of the women in the raft while going down the rapids, and having a knowledge of the sport, may point out things which they are doing, and reject the idea. And then there is negotiated reading, where by the audience may accept some aspects of the movie and reject others. For example, they may disagree with the way the women are doing their white water rafting, but may accept other features of the movie, like the man taking his eyes of the road for a long time, he ay do this because he isn’t really concentrating and has things on his mind, like the lady suggests. I believe the probable audience reading will be mainly as intended, to be a horror movie which people view for thrills and excitement, instead of to gain actual representations of information or experiences.
I am not a great fan of horror movies, stop me sleeping and what not, I generally have to watch them in day light with curtains open, which kind of spoils the atmosphere. However I found this more bearable as it isn’t full or gore, blood and savage deaths etc. like some other horror movies (namely the Saw series). I found the sequence in the car quite alarming when the man has blatant disregard for safety and takes his eyes off the road for such a long time. Therefore my reading is negotiated, as I agree with some of the features and disagree with others. I think this may be because of my young age and not having experience in a car, I am probably not the best to comment on ones driving, however it just seemed odd to me that he would have his partner (supposedly) and a young girl in the back seat, and have such disregard for safety.

Institutional context

They seem to not have used any stars as far as I can see. I am not a great “movie buff” however I am interested in entertainment news and other related things and haven’t heard anything major about these actors and actresses. I did searches on the actors and actresses and didn’t find them to feature major parts in and major films. This may have been done because of trying to keep costs low, which I think is most likely, as the budget was (only) £3.5M.
Pinewood Studios produced the film, and are very acclaimed producers; producing great movie block busters such as “Casino Royale” and “The Dark Knight”.
I would expect it to be more likely an independent film than an industrial due to the low budget, and being English, therefore unlikely to have ties with Hollywood and other major film producers.
There were posters and advertisements on London buses and trains, including the underground. These advertisements were in circulation around the times of the London bombings in 2005, and feature the slogan “Outright terror... bold and brilliant”. After discussions, it was decided that all the posters and advertisement should be recalled and reworked to remove the word terror. This may be a reason why it didn’t receive the publicity and acclamation that it may deserve.