Saw II, Darren Lynn Bousman, 2005

The film ‘Saw II’ is clearly demonstrated to the audience of being a horror genre. The horror conventions used by ‘Bousman’ are the following; killing, twisted games, graphic violence and evil happenings. It is obvious the film is a horror from watching the opening sequence, as we see someone die at the very beginning, the film introduces us to the type of violence and murder expected throughout the rest of the film. The conventions we can expect in a horror film are some sort of twisted story, which has meaning behind it; the story is being revealed while people are being killed. The generic expectations of the audience are being entirely fulfilled by the opening sequence, as all the conventions you would expect from a horror genre are met, and shown to the audience clearly. Typically you would expect murder in a horror film; it is clear there has been a murder in the opening of ‘Saw II’; however it is slightly more complex as the killer did not actually kill the victim. The text completely conforms to the characteristics of the genre; this is through language used (dialogue), the plot of the narrative and the way the opening sequence has been shot through such things as Mise-en-scene, diegetic and non-diegetic sound. As a result of all these effects, it makes the audience fully aware of the goings on in the opening sequence.

It is vital in ‘Saw II’ that they use all the elements of mise-en-scene, this includes things such as; location, props, colour, lighting, costume and non-verbal language. Mise-en-scene conveys a lot of meaning to the audience; it helps explain the situation of narrative.

Firstly if we look at colour, from watching the first few seconds of the film, it is obvious to see that the colour is meant to be dull, dingy and dark as from this type of colour in the footage we can connote from this that the atmosphere is supposed to be scary and creepy, so we cant really tell the whereabouts of the location. The location of the opening sequence is shot in a dark, shady and sinister room, the room is not very big, although big enough to show the semiotics and other information which might be helpful to the viewer. The location is always important, as it helps to tell the narrative and create the feeling that ‘Bousman’ is looking for, although this is helped by using props aswell, another feature of mise-en-scene. Some props used in the opening sequence which become apparent to the audience are the following; death mask, chair, timer, scalpel and TV. The death mask is the most noticeable prop used in the opening sequence, as it is around Michael’s neck (victim); we presume he is the lead star in the opening sequence. It is clear that the mask is a negative prop this is because it is the tool used to kill him, the mask denotes an object to go over the head, however because it is called the ‘death mask’ the mask connotes death, evil, hate and as though something is being captured. The TV is an extremely important prop as it is what the Jigsaw uses to communicate with his victim. It also allows the audience to understand the narrative a lot more, as he starts to explain that Michael does not deserve his wife and kids, this shows to us that Jigsaw has a motive behind his twisted acts. Props are used to tell the story, they link to the characters and the narrative, piece the narrative together. The costume describes what the character is like, so the viewer can relate to the character better. In ‘Saw II’ Michaels costume consists of just his boxes, this is slightly confusing for the audience as we can not really imagine what type of person he is, although we know there is a reason for him being dressed like this, which will be revealed a bit later in the opening sequence. Then there is Jigsaw’s costume of which sets out to freak the audience and scare them, it has similarities of a clown, which is ironic as clowns play games and then Jigsaw says that he is just playing some games with Michael. The non-verbal language used is especially important in the opening sequence as there is more of this then dialogue itself. the visual expressions shown on Michaels face are pure fear, terror, frightened, and we can tell he has no idea what is going on, just wants everything to go back to normal. When he is look around the room to see where he is and if there is anyway to get out, we can see from his language that he just hopes and wishes there is a way out, fears for his life. Mise-en-scene tells us so much about the opening sequence and what we can expect for the rest of the film.

We must also look at what camera shots, movements and angles have been used as these can also convey a large amount of meaning to the audience, and show us who is powerful and who is weak/vulnerable. ‘Bousman’ uses lots of whip panning to convey Michaels eye movements of where he is looking; this shot shows him looking around so he can gather his bearings and become familiar with the setting. At the same time as conveying his eye movement, it shows the audience the location and what type of equipment is in the room. Then we are also given close-ups of the characters face and equipment, this permits the audience to see the visual expressions on characters faces and see the instruments Jigsaw is using, helps us understand what is going on e.g. shown clear images of the nails and mask. Another shot used is a birds eye view of Michael looking up to the ceiling shouting for help and scared for his life, as though he knows he doesn’t stand much of a chance. Michael looking up could connote to the viewer that he is looking up at God begging for his life. Another sign we see where Michael is begging but close to giving up is when he falls on his knees, could also connote him praying. This shot is done is slow motion to cause more of a dramatic effect for the audience, so we feel the pain he is going through. Furthermore we are shown a shot of his face in slow motion mid-shot, allows us to take in his expressions and view elements of mise-en-scene.

Sound is a powerful tool when anchoring images; it creates tension, pressure and makes the audience nervous. It is vital when creating a film, especially a horror film as it makes a scary image twice as strong. There is lots of music used in this film, using both diegetic and non-diegetic. Firstly looking at diegetic sound they use heavy breathing to demonstrate Michael being scared and panicking, also at the very beginning when turning the light on and off in the background you can hear the buzzing of the light, this just creates a bit more atmosphere. However there is much more non-diegetic sound used such as music. There is music played throughout most of the opening sequence adding more power to the film as it comes across to the audience. The first music played in the film sounds like a creaking gate, this is very eerie and emphasis’s a horror genre. When the timer is ticking and counting down to the time Michael has to get the key, the ticking is emphasised, it gets quicker and louder, this is used to make the audience feel nervous and on the edge to see what happens, makes us scared. Although when the time has run out and he doesn’t get the key, the music completely stops as the mask clamps together, this gives the film a scary silence, allows the audience to process what has just happened.

We learn a lot about characters through dialogue and non-verbal language. The dialogue helps the audience to understand the narrative, as there are clues given in the dialogue. For example Jigsaw talks to Michael through the TV telling him where the key is hidden and why Jigsaw has done this to him, audience involved in the narrative more. Furthermore we understand what the characters are like and how they feel through the dialogue, Jigsaw says to Michael “playing games” shows and tells us that Jigsaw thinks what he is doing is fun and that he is enjoying himself. Michael uses a lot of bad language this tells us that he is terrified of what is going to happen to him. Non-verbal language tells us how they are feeling and helps us to understand what might be going through their heads. The other visual techniques that I believe ‘Bousman’ uses are how he edits his work, he makes his work very jumpy, and cutting from shot to shot this creates tension, panic and anxiety.

The narrative of the film is linear as we are just shown what is happening to him there and then, there are no flashbacks shown. The narrative is quite simple for the audience to understand as it is clear to see a man is torturing another man. The audience are positioned in an observational view towards the narrative as we are just being shown what is going on and can make our own assumptions. Straight away we can see that Michael, the victim, has been isolated, this is established to us through camera techniques and lighting. We can see that he is alone and has no-one there to help him, all by himself in this dark room. The major themes in the narrative is to show us what Jigsaw is capable of and that he is not doing this to random people he has reason behind the people he has picked. Tension is created and maintained through camera techniques, sound and mise-en-scene. They are what keep the audience drawn into the film.

The social groups represented in this sequence are extremely basic as there is not much to say about any social groups, the opening sequence features 2 characters, one of which is shown as being a made up clown thing, the other character is middle aged. He is represented as being a normal family man type of person, who goes out to work and comes home to his family, also represented to us as not being the type of person you would think has done anything bad. In ‘Saw II’ looking at ideological discourse that the peoples set or values and beliefs are being reinforced because it is a horror film and all the characters are male, don’t normally expect many women in a horror film. Traditional gender traits are being shown; main evil character is a male and middle aged. This represents to us our usual horror film styles, in most horror films we see the main evil character is a male; therefore our beliefs are being reinforced not challenged.

I believe that the target audience for this film is for people ages between the ages 18-35, this is because of how graphic the film is and also how complex the narrative is, therefore you would need an older age group to understand and enjoy the film. The probable reading of this film would be preferred reading, this means that the audience understands that Michael is in trouble and is being tortured by another person who believes he has done something bad and deserves to be punished. However the negotiated reading and aberrant reading could also be taken. Negotiated meaning that they understand the narrative and what is happening, although they think it is disgusting and sick. Aberrant meaning that they think a real man is being tortured and that the entire documentary is real not made up. As a British teenager I believe that ‘Saw II’ is an extremely scary film, which is quite twisted, I do not like it as I feel the narrative is far too cruel, my opinion is defiantly influenced by my age and gender as I am only 16 and I am a female, meaning I would probably get more scared as opposed to males, and then because I am younger it would make me jump a lot more easily.