Crimson Peak Analysis

The scene begins with a medium close up on the main character, Edith, with the camera slowly zooming out to expose the mise-en-scene in the room, which instantly tells the audience that this film is set in the Victorian era as most of the mise-en-scene in the bedroom is wooden and older looking. The use of the medium close up to begin with really brought attention to the character and focused on what she was doing, which is important to the narrative as it gave a reason to her waking up. There is low key lighting used which also indicates that this scene is at nighttime, and is also an implication that something scary might happen soon, which is also a key convention or horror/thriller films. Also at the beginning of this scene, there is the diegetic sound of Edith clutching her stomach and gasping, and also of the dog barking - however after about 8 seconds, non diegetic orchestral music is included quite quietly but begins to build up as the scene goes on to give a creepy mood to the scene, this is also another convention of horror films as it creates intensity and suspense for the audience. As the character turns over in the bed, the camera pans around her to the empty side of the bed, putting the character in isolation and making her seem more vulnerable, adding to the suspense of the scene; at this point the non diegetic music also starts to build. This has purposefully been shown to emphasise the fact that this character is alone, and the use of the music suggests that something bad may happen and that she has no one to defend her.

The camera then cuts to Edith standing up and the camera tilts from a low angle to a mid close up, to reveal her holding a candelabra, which is currently the only light that is shown in the scene so far. The fact that the only new part of mise-en-scene that we are introduced to in this scene, the candles, is held by Edith could give some significance of the candles to the character and her surroundings. It could possibly suggest that in this dark and dreary house, she is the light and hope of everything that has happened so far in the film, and in this sequence. There is the diegetic sound of the dog barking which makes Edith walk over to the balcony door where she looks out, which is then directly followed by the non diegetic sound of another door creaking open. This creates suspense and a bit of thrill for the audience as the door appears to have opened by itself, and so the camera tracks Edith as she walks through the door into the hallway. Once she’s there, we hear the diegetic sound of the wind coming from the hole in the roof, and the orchestral music fades out. The camera tracks Edith as she walks down one of the corridors towards an archway in one of the walls where the lighting on the other side is red and flickering, which would connote with evil and demons perhaps. This single mid shot of Edith from the bedroom all the way to a corridor keeps the subject in focus, and makes sure that the audience is watching her and are not distracted by anything else on the screen. There is more non diegetic barking from the dog which is what lures Edith into the hallway, we see this from an over the shoulder tracking shot. Again, the low key lighting used within the hallways shows the eeriness of the whole building and how old and scary looking it is. There is one moment where the camera slightly zooms in on Ediths face as the camera pans around her, almost giving a reaction shot as more non diegetic creaking and barking is heard, showing the confusion and anxiety through her face.

Scratching and whining is heard from behind a door, and the camera zooms in on Edith’s hand as she opens the door, this is done to create emphasis the action she is doing, which is then followed by a close up of her face creating a reaction shot from a low angle as she hears the dog barking. This close up allows the audience to see the fear and confusion running through her face, which also builds the suspense and fear factor for the audience as they too wonder what is behind the door.