Analysis of a Short Horror

The short horror film I have chosen to analyse was called 'The Moonlight Man', which is about a woman who is stalked in empty car park at night my an unknown, mysterious figure. The film is shot from the perspective of the victim so we, as the audience can only see what she sees and are forced to feel the same emotions of panic and stress that the woman feels. As we do not see the figure and its details upclose until the very end, the fear of the unknown and what is lurking amongst the shadows, is a massive key part of what makes this short, two and a half minute long video so heart pounding.

The genre of this film is supernatural, I chose this because it is the same genre as my short film and i wanted to be able to have deeper and more detailed look at a short supernatural horror.

The film opens with a close up of the woman's face, before any of the horror begins she already shows great amounts of stress and fear on her face due to it being so late at night and the car park being deserted, this plays with the viewers mind due to them being thrown into the perspective of the woman from the start. This is an effective opening as it established both the mood and the setting for the remainder of the film. The use of hand held camera which adds to the sense of ambiguity to the opening of the film. It also gives the indication that she is being watched which creates a suspense of what is possibly to come later in the film. It engages the target audience and the enigma codes are supported through editing to be relatable. The low key lightly also adds to the rise-en-scene and creates anticipation which is highly common in Horror films.

The use of a soundscape and unnatural sound effects when the shadow of the ‘moonlight man’ is shown, creates tension and is used a stereotypical convention of the horror genre to scare, or make their TA jump when they first see it.
By using a silhouette of the villain instead of seeing him clearly for the first time, again highlights the ambiguity and keeps the audience in the dark and guessing so they are intrigued to find out more. It uses close up and POV shots to allow to audience to identify the vulnerability of the women and to establish that she is being watched and followed. Which gives the sense of terror and they she’s a target, further highlighting the sense of danger and suspense inflicted on the audience. The costume choice to have the antagonist wearing a mask paralleled with that diegetic sound builds tension and the sense of the unknown as well as making the audience aware that something is about to happen, but no one is sure that is it. Typical convention of horror. The use of jump cuts suggests the disorientation and emotional pain and creates a blurry vision for the audience, allowing them to be able to relate with the vulnerability of the protagonist and create a connection to build sympathy.

Overall the plot is fairly simple using a straight forward linear narrative with a beginning, middle and end. It follows a conventional narrative with the end being one that leaves the audiences feeling lost and confused, yet terrified as the antagonist has won. The film is very conventionally horror and it is very clear to identify the genre of this film, I will use this as inspiration when producing my own final media product, however I want to challenge and develop conventions slightly more than this film does.