Annabelle

Annabelle

Annabelle is a psychological, supernatural thriller in which a doll is possessed. The whole film explores aspects of psychological thriller, aiming to scare the audience by exploiting their unstable emotional states.

Annabelle also utilises dramatic irony to create a sense of tension between the audience, as they are aware of something that the character don’t. This also give them a sense of power, as they know more than the character.

Motif

A motif is a reoccurring element that has a symbolic significance to the story. In Annabelle the motif is horror, in many senses there are mysterious things going on which makes the story unpredictable. There is also elements of mental anguish, the main character comes across as a very unstable person. This links to the objectification of women, as she is unstable and unable to look after herself on her own, having to rely on the man of the house.

In a horror film there has to be an obvious antagonist. In Annabelle, this is Annabelle, the doll who is embodied by an evil spirt.

Mise en Scene: Lighting

One of the things that effect how the film is perceived is lighting. Lighting can be used to create a wide, open space or can be used to create a mysterious atmosphere.

In Annabelle, the main lighting used is low key lighting. The use of low key lighting creates a greater sense of mystery, making the audience want to know more.

The uses of low key lighting can also be used on the characters. This can create depth, when used of the Annabelle doll, it makes a simple doll like much more scary and evil.

Camera Angles

Camera angles can be used in film to create atmosphere in the film. Camera angles can also be used to show power, for example a high angle shot makes the person in the frame seem a lot less powerful.

Here we have an example of the use of camera angles in Annabelle. Here we can see the use of a low angle shot. This shot helps to show the anger of the character. However we can also see that the doll Annabelle is being held above the woman, looking down at her. This suggests that Annabelle is the one who holds the power.