30 Days of Night - Textual analysis
The film that I will be analysing is ’30 Days of Night’ and was released on November 1st 2007. The director of this movie is David Slade, who also takes the place of the producer and the writer as well as the director for many films and also music videos. The genre of this movie is a hybrid of a horror and thriller which relaters to our film as it share the same genre. The sub-genre of our film “Vamparactive” is gothic or vampire, and will relate to the zombie characters from the movie I am analysing.
The storyline is set in Barrow, Alaska, the small town inhabits a very small population and so the different events that happen, it is more likely that the whole town will know. I think that because all of the characters are aware of what is happening it makes it more thrilling as the audience will want to know what is going to happen to each character. The first series of events discovered by the sheriff was several burnt phone and slaughtered animals. Here I think that this is the equilibrium as the characters had concluded that the vandalism was caused by a “group of teenagers”. Due to this logical cause, I think that this could be suggested as normal, and the character of the sheriff considered this a normal job. The disruption is when the sheriff then finds the operator of the cell tower decapitated. The sudden change in atmosphere also gives this away, also the mise-en-scene in this scene for example, the use of fake blood, the thrilling use of background sounds. The new equilibrium is when the town’s sheriff Eben Olesen (Josh Hartnett) injects himself with the venom and kills the remaining vampires in order to save the life of his lover Stella Olesen (Melissa George). Due to the venom, the sheriff cannot take the sunlight and so he then dies a heroic death once the sun rises.
One main point that stood out throughout the movie was that Slade had placed the character of the sheriff as the leader and he had led the remaining villagers to safety. However, I think that because of his masculinity and his strength David Slade was clearly stereotyping men towards being strong. This is also proven at the end of the movie when he gives his life in order to keep everyone else safe. The character of Stella Olesen had broken the stereotype of women standing below men in terms of power and strength, this is shown whilst the remaining members of the town find shelter in the attic and she saves them from the creatures. The way Slade changed the way in which the female character went from a weak posture to a confident and powerful posture created a thrilling effect for the audience and made them want to keep watching. On the other hand, the other female survivors had shown frightened expressions throughout the movie, which instantly tells us that Stella is the main female character. I think that the main characters are typical for the genre of the film “30 Days of Night” because both sheriff and Stella proved their strength to survive the events that occurred. The main villain/vampire Marlow, played by Danny Huston is represented as strong and solid. This is shown throughout the film, as we see him going through with many violent acts, for example when he abducts each town member one by one and kills them.
I think the use of mise-en-scene was effectively used throughout the film. As said previously the location of the location of the movie is set in a small town, this immediately gives the audience the idea of confinement. Additionally I think that it gives the story line away to the audience as it demonstrates entrapment, and it tells us that it is going to be difficult for the characters to escape. The costume for all the characters represented the setting. As the film is set in Alaska, the low temperature was mainly shown by the use of big, puffy winter coats with warm hats. I think this greatly relates to the movie, additionally as the storyline states that the movie is set over a thirty day time-line, the characters were in the same costume throughout the movie. The use of lighting was very limited; this was because the storyline is during a period in winter when the sun will not be seen for thirty days. Most scenes used low key lighting; I think that this relates to the genre of a horror/thriller because the dark scenes made it feel more frightening.
One of the main props used in the film was the gun, this is mostly help by the sheriff; however when Stella uses the gun for the first time her facial expression shows us that she is frightened and inexperienced with this. Again we can see that the representation of gender is very stereotypical towards women, as it is symbolises that women aren’t capable of using guns. The sheriff’s brother Jake Olesen, played by Mark Rendell has a scene where he kills a vampire using a baseball bat. During this scene, Jake shows that he is very scared also his facial expression shows that he is disappointed after he murders this child. Here, Rendell is playing a character of a teenager; the representation of age makes the audience feel sympathetic towards Jake. Furthermore, as the vampire that was killed, was the age of approximately 4, this again made the audience feel pity towards her, however it makes them feel even more horrified because of the circumstances in which she was murdered. The body language between the Sheriff and Stella show a great deal of passion, especially at the end of the movie. This is when the sun rises and she watches him die, the audience can see that she is crying. Here, I think this represents age as it shows that they are young and in love.
The main diegetic sounds that were present in the movie were the sounds of the killing. I think that these sounds made the audience feel intensely anxious and it was very typical of the genre as it made the audience want to carry on watching. The first violent event that occurs is the slaying of the dogs; the music tends to get louder as the murder proceeds which emphasises on the terror of this incident. When focusing on the cinematography of the film, I noticed that when a important events arise in the movie there is a use of close-ups and mid-shots. The effect of this is to draw the audience into the film and it lets them know that an important part of the movie is taking place. For example, this occurs when the character of Stella gets into a car accident on the way to the airport, there is a close-up of her frightened facial expression which will alarm the audience.
Poster Analysis - 30 Days of Night
In the top left corner you can see a positive view made by the press. It tells us a quote written by James Dyer for the Empire magazine. The use of the positive descriptive adjectives helps to draw the viewers in. Also the four star rating is a good distribution technique.
The blood splatter effect is also similar to our poster draft. This effect tells the audience that the genre of the movie is a horror/thriller. Also the colour red connotes blood, this symbolisation will help frighten the viewers. The colour red also connotes death, which foreshadows the main parts of the movie.
The font used in the title is continuous throughout all of the posters and advertisements. This creates a sense of knowledgement of the movie and its other distribution and advertisement products.
The title of the film is bold and the audience are able to notice it as the title is written in the largest font size. The uneven font of the title is also eye catching and the effect of this is that it shows that it could have been written in blood. Also this gives the audience a good understanding of the genre. We can see the use of black and red is very high. This is one of the similarities of our film and the movie “30 days of night”
Here you can see that the preview is on Halloween. This has a great link of the horror/thriller genre, as the preview is placed on such a frightening date; it gives a great sense of realism. Also the preview date gives the audience a n idea of the films storyline, because of this the audience will want to go and watch the film.
Target audience of this film is 15 year olds and plus. However, this is barely visible; I think the reason for such a small font size is because they are trying to advertise as widely as possible. Whilst watching and analysing the movie I had noticed that there was a variety of different ages between all characters, and so making sure the age rating is quite small may be a benefit for the film and co.
Here the mise-en-scene of props really gives the audience a good understanding of the genre conventions of this movie. The use of the gun and axe represent the genre horror/thriller, also these props connote danger and death. Again this is foreshadowing the storyline and theme of the movie.
The production credits are helpful as they give the audience more information on the Production Company, cast and crew of the film. This can also be a disadvantage, if the cast is not well known it could decrease the success of the film.
The tag line “There coming” foreshadows what is going to happen in the movie. I think that this technique is a benefit for the film because it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Again the use of a short and simple tag line creates a sort of excitement for the audience.
The unique selling point of this film is shown by placing a large image of the main characters in the middle of the poster. Both Josh Hartnett and Melissa George are famous actors and have been nominated and won many awards in the film industry. E.g. MTV Movie Awards, best actor at Milan’s film awards and Golden Globe.
Here I am analysing the review of “30 Days of night, and so far I think that James Dyer gives a good overview of the different aspects of the film. In my opinion, I think that dyer gives a good justification on how David Slade has used different techniques to give an understanding of its horror/thriller genre.
Below, we can see how Dyer has placed the rating of the review directly below the title; this is done to immediately draw the readers in by using extremely positive rating. Also we can see how the font size of the title is quite large again; this attracts the audience and is a technique used to make the audience read on.
Review Analysis - 30 Days of Night
Empire Magazine
As we can see the information on the film is crucial, It is placed further down the page. This is a good strategy because the reader has to go through the article to find this information. Additionally, we can see that only the main cast is present as they are more likely to be well known actors/actresses. For example, Josh Hartnett who has been nominated for many awards, especially the well known teen choice awards for “30 Days of Night”.
Also before Dyer actually gets into the review, there is a plot which gives the audience a brief idea of what the film may be about. I think that this is a crucial area as the readers will read this first, however James Dyer has done well explaining the storyline without giving away the entire synopsis.
Firstly I like how Dyer uses an example of the Anne Rice novels to contrast from a “vainglorious swan” to “bloodsuckers with pointed teeth”. The humour used will help keep the audience interested, also
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=117822
Total Film Magazine
In this review I think that Total film uses sarcasm to create an understanding of the film that is being reviewed. My first impression of the review showed me that this technique was successful as I was immediately drawn into the review.
Above you can see the rating of the film which the Magazine has but in place, the just above average rating will attract readers. This has been placed at the top of the review next to the title, similar to the Empire magazine review this tell the audience that the movie is good or worth reading about.
Here we can see the information of the film has been placed directly under the film rating. This technique is very useful as it gives the readers a quick summary of what the film or review is about. Moreover, the film details usually consist of main actors/actresses in the movie. Again this is inviting as it appeals to the fans of the actor, bringing in a larger fan base for the film.
At the end of the review, Total film has placed a paragraph that consists of the critics and the magazines verdict on the film. This gives an outline on the final product and the views of the Magazine. However I think that this technique can be both an advantage and a disadvantage to the film because depending on the extent of whether it is a negative or positive statement, it can encourage the readers.
