Horror Deconstruction - 'Hard to Concentrate'

I have chosen to deconstruct this film because it stood out to me when watching it for a number of reasons. Firstly I like the way that at the start it doesn't feel like a horror film at all. This is because the protagonist is just in a well-lit room by himself studying, and not suspecting that anything bad is happening. Also the calm music makes the viewer feel at ease. In this opening sequence I also like the variety of shots used, especially all of the close ups on the household items. The two that I have screenshot-ed below were the most effective for me because firstly the clock shows how it is late at night which sets the tone for the film, and also the timer could be a reference to a fact that the protagonist is running out of time.

 

It is not until the protagonist starts hearing banging sounds roughly a third of the way through the film that we start to find the conventions of a horror film. My favorite shot in the film is this close up of the protagonist. As well as the actual shot, I think that the RGB split effect (which splits up the red, green and blue colours) really adds a lot of panic to the shot and makes it more effective. After seeing how effective it is in this film I am definitely going to try to use it in mine.

Lighting is also used to great effects in this film. The second time that he goes back into the kitchen to try and find out what is happening, there is red lighting throughout the whole kitchen which creates much more of an eerie feel. This lighting works well both on the close up shots of the household items moving by themselves, and on the medium close up of the protagonist's face, as it only illuminates one side of it.

The last shot is really effective, as suddenly all we can see is the protagonist surrounded by darkness with a nosebleed, before suddenly he is snatched away into the darkness.Throughout the whole film we never see the antagonist, which adds to the mystery surrounding him.

Overall I enjoyed the film, however I think the use of sound could of been used more effectively to increase suspense at some points.