Lights Out

The opening scene portrayed a sense of mystery and suspense due to the interaction of the antagonist and a victim. This is portrayed through the use of mise-en-scène, cinematography, and sound. Mise-en-scène is used through costuming, makeup, hairstyle, and props/decor. The costuming of the man was casual workplace clothing and the makeup is set to a minimum along with the hair being natural and gelled back. The antagonist is all black which can be a costume along with deep shadows and messy hair with long claw like fingernails. The decor props include blood and the decor is set to be in a mannequin warehouse where the man is all alone dealing with the antagonist. The cinematography is shown through close up shots, over-the-shoulder shot, insert shot, tilt shot, tracking shot, and long shot. The close up shots are used to display the sheer terror the man has when he faces the antagonist and fear of the unknown as he doesn’t know what the antagonist looks like nor what does it want. The over-the-shoulder shot shows what the man sees in his perspective which is the antagonist is a crouched position then slowly standing up. Then again where the man looks back only to find the antagonist disappeared which creates the feeling of suspense. The insert shot was used to show the wound the antagonist inflicted on the man as he looked down after he was attacked which senses mystery to what the antagonist is up to play. The tilt shot was used to create a sense of mystery as the man looks down to see the antagonist not interfere with the dark and stay in the deep shadows of the dark. The tracking shot follows the man as he runs away from the antagonist into a room. Then the long shot showed the man in the room from a distance and showed the lights flickering inside along with the man looking out for the creature of the dark. Then again once the man is beaten and bloodied to death as blood pours from his darkened, black eyes. Sound is evident by the mauling of the body and once it’s dumped in the middle of the walkway and the creatures weird noises along with the man’sounds of pain which adds to the feeling of suspense.