Examples for inspiration - The Orphanage

This 2007 Spanish psychological horror was written by Sergio.G Sanchez and directed by J.A Bayona. It is about a woman who lives in what used to be her home as a child when it was an orphanage for handicapped children. She lives there with her husband and adopted son. Her son begins seeing a boy called Tomas. Her son Simon soon goes missing and his Mother Laura is determined to find him. It becomes apparent that Tomas is the spirit of a boy who was drowned near the orphanage weeks after Laura's adoption. The social worker they have for Simon appears to been Tomas's Mother and used to work in the orphanage and was intact responsible for the death of all o these children as a consequence of her son's death. There appears to be supernatural things happening in the house, and it comes to Laura's knowledge that the children she grew up with are dead, after finding their remains in the woodshed. Six months later she is determined that her son is still alive, so she is left with no option but to try and communicate with the children she once knew in order to find her boy.

 Setting

This film is not one that is scary all through out, there is definitely some deliberate contrast shown which makes the darker parts of it that bit more memorable. The first scene is actually set on a sunny day in the garden at the orphanage showing Laura playing with her friends as a child, and the music over the top of it is quite peaceful. Similar to some of the other specific examples I have talked about, the actual environment the story is set in makes just as much of a contribution to the ambiance of it all. The Orphanage itself is very big and quite old fashioned, which is probarbly no surprise given the genre of the film, however the basement in particular has some extra significance, as well as the room that used to be the bedroom of the children. This is an interesting one when it comes to figuring out which characters are to be seen in a negative light, apart from Benigna the social worker. Not even the spirits around the house are given any specific identity apart from the fact they are the children who were murdered., they aren't portrayed as malicious or threatening. The main reason I have used this film as reference is first of all its title sequence, and use of audio, especially in one particular scene which I have below.

Audio

A lot of the music through out this film is actually the opposite to what you might think, it is quite gentle and emotional, because aside from the supernatural side to it it is still quite a sad story and I find it a very refreshing psychological film to watch because even though it is supposed to be scary, Sanchez has done a very good job of giving all of the themes of the film an even flow. I was unable to find a clip with just the opening title sequence, but in my opinion it is actually a very innovative opening. It consists of each name appearing on what appears to be wallpaper around the house, which is then ripped away by the hands of the orphans. The music used isn overly frightening but it does have more of a sense of mystery and urgency to it, and it gives the sense that onto of a horror this is also a mystery film. 

Regression Scene

I have picked out this particular scene because this is probably one of the most frightening, upsetting scenes throughout. The reason for this for me was not because it takes place in pitch black, but because of the audio used. When the psychic, Aurora tries to get into contact with the sprouts in the house she sees them in the bedroom, all in bed dying as they were years before when they are poisoned. Their screaming and crying can be heard through the transmitter, and even though they can't be seen, this scene has always stayed with me because the sounds that can be heard are so extreme and upsetting. Even though its quite a distressing scene, I think the use of audio here has been used brilliantly. 

How this has inspired me..

The main influence I have taken away from this example is the use of audio, weather it is the lack of it in some parts which creates more suspense, or the crackling transmitted sounds of the distressed ghosts. I think both samples are really effective, this has made me think about the possibility of having dialogue in my sequence, and if so possibly have it edited in some way to make it sound faded or static to make it sound more threading. Its also got me thinking about the possibility of having quite minimal sound in some parts.