Primevil Essay

The scene starts with an over the shoulder shot illustrating regardless of the man being shown to be much bigger than the woman he has no power over her when it comes to influencing her to stay. We hear calm non diegetic music in the background at the start of the clip, which foreshadows that all is not well and something will most likely change the mood of the scene sooner or later. We see the woman climb into a car that looks like a Toyota land cruiser which in most cases is a manly car; this goes again the stereotype idea of women driving small cars and men driving masculine fast, land type cars; giving the woman a more independent and man like. Continuity editing is used throughout the clip.

The tone of the non diegetic music changes into a darker sound, allowing the audience to speculate that something bad is going to happen to the main characters in the clip. A wide shot is used when we first see Abby in the digger; the wide shot act as an establishing shot for the specific scene to show the location of the wood and forest the characters are in. The digger used by Abby once again goes again the stereotype of men being the ones that use the larger, stronger machinery; connotating the women in the clip might be stronger than the men when it comes to combat.

We see a man placing down a large steak for bait, connotating the characters attempting to catch a very large animal. The audience starts to hypothesise the character are on a dangerous mission to capture something that could most likely kill them. We see one of the male characters standing by while Abbey does the digging; this illustrates role reversal and the woman taking charge. The close up shot of the end of the digger establishes the fact that Abbey is vastly experienced in using this type of large machine typically seen to be used by men; underlining  Abbey’s non stereotypical mannerisms, giving the impression that she’s somewhat of a tomboy. The mis-en-scene used also reinforces this point, she has a short almost boy like hair cut and wears a leather jacket that makes us think of male characters e.g. men on motorcycles; mainly men, strong motivated characters.

A reverse shot is used to show the man’s apprehensive facial expression as a close up shot of the buried arm is revealed; as the arm is revealed the non diegetic music quietens in order for the loud symbol non diegetic sound to portray the emotion of horror that the characters are feeling. A mid shot is used to demonstrate how Abbey is capable of taking over as the close us shot shows her stopping digger. 

Non diegetic sounds of the animal roaring are used to frighten the audience, allowing them to realise the main characters are in serious danger. A Low angle shot of the Saber tooth tiger emphasises the danger the man is in; the director deliberately does this to make the animal look larger than it already is, as a high shot of the man as the saber tooth tiger tries to attack him.

The non-diegetic sound of the ambient sound-track is used to suggest the apprehension and panic; also helps with creating the pace of the action into a faster speed, especially in the chase scene. The non diegetic sound of the ambient sound track together with the fast pace of the editing elevates the tension. The blurring and wipes between editing gives the action the impression that it is too fast to see and reinforces the fact that the creature is extremely fast. 

Abbey calls over the saber tooth when she sees that her male friend is struggling to chase of the animal; the audience can see clearly that Abbey isn’t afraid of anything and most certainly isn’t a damsel in distress like most of the stereotypes try to perceive women as. The fact that she also fights the Sabre-toothed, saving her friend illustrates her determination. Continuity editing is shown throughout that part of the clip.

A wide shot of Abbey is used to show her running after her friend who’s being chased by the Saber-tooth chased reinforces the role reversal as the man if stereotypically meant to be physically powerful and gutsy where as in this case the male character is in fact running and being chased. A contrast is shown as Abbey chases after the man with a gun coming to his rescue for a second time. The dark shape of the gun in her hands, recaps power, as a gun is in this extract, power.

The low angle shot is used as an establishing shot allowing the audience to notice the characters are still in the woods; the zip wire is made more prominent in this scene. 

The woman talking the farmer who breeds dogs is portrayed as a immaculate, more of a stereotypical view of a lady. This is conveyed through the sequence “My Best Coat”! This scene allows the audience to get a clear view of what the woman’s personality is like. She is confident and stern when talking and knows she can get what she wants as she flaunts chest. Her red lipstick suggests she’s perceives herself as powerful and lustful; she thinks she can get any male to do what she wants. Although in this case the man pulls out a gun a close up revealing her fear; she’s not as powerful as she acts. Even the colour of the woman’s “Best Coat” is white, which provides the thought of purity and pristine.

The over the shoulder shot and the cross cut editing exposes the farmer’s rising anger towards the woman threatening him. The music becomes slower, but is packed with tension as the sounds carry on through the scene with the farmer and his shotgun, creating a sense of fear and anticipation. This alongside with the wide shot and the farmer’s face, pierced with anger, suggests a tension filled shot. The farmer is weak when the women threatens him but has much more power when he picks up the gun; allowing him to take back control and throw the woman to the ground. The stance the woman takes on the ground makes her look almost vulnerable and incapable of escaping…she’s the stereotype woman you see in most movies as the male character is made out to look strong and daring while the woman sits there hopelessly waiting for her prince to come and save her ‘damsel in distress waiting for her knight in shining armor’.  The line “won’t be pushed around anymore” indicates his explosion of anger. The diegetic noise of the barking dogs also conveys a sense of threat and panic.