The first shot of the sequence is a fade to black which immediately indicates terror and peril. A jump cut into a close-up of the girl’s face emphasises the terror as we witness the woman’s reaction. The sound effect of a drill is conventional to the psychological horror genre as it connotes horror; it is used to scare the mother and daughter. A fast zoom away from a close-up of the daughter indicates the panic on the faces of both characters. The male villains wear stereotypically dark clothes, long coats, gloves, hats and bandanas to connote a villain. The daughter wears pyjamas to illustrate her innocence and youth and also to suggest that it is night- it is conventional for action in psychological horrors to take place in the dark. The mother- Jodie Foster- wears evening clothes but also wears a low-cut top to highlight her breasts and indicate sexual objectification. This is conventional as the woman is objectified to the camera and to the male gaze; men look at her as a sex object. This is further emphasised by her wearing an earring- this relates to Laura Mulvey’s media theory of visual pleasure.
The room is shown in ‘false colours’ and low-key lighting to indicate danger. There is a storm outside which is a stereotypical setting for the psychological horror genre, it provides a base for the rest of the film to be built on. The weather is miserable and lightning is menacing; this film continues into the film. A wide shot shows the prop of the daughter’s medicine. This indicates that she is ill and needs treatment, the fear of men in her home cannot be good for her. The audience begin to ask questions, “Why are the men in the house?”, “What are they after?”, “How will the mother and daughter escape?”, “Will the daughter be able to cope with the stress?” These questions are elements of the (Barthes) enigma code, one of his 5 narrative codes theory. A wide shot shows that glass has been smashed which indicates violence, fear and peril. The house is littered with cameras which film the ongoing action, the cameras are linked to the panic room. They are used to give the mother and her daughter ‘eyes’ to witness what is happening in their home. It is unconventional of the psychological horror genre for the victim to know what the villain is doing.
There is a running theme of good vs evil, male vs female and light vs dark through the film; this is a binary opposition as suggested by Levi-Strauss. The daughter is represented as being innocent, victimised and very scared. The mother has to act as the guardian, the hero. Richard Dyer suggested that they way that a character was represented suggests how they would be treated in the narrative. The daughter is innocent and frightened and is therefore treated as the victim throughout the narrative. The mother is loving and brave and is therefore represented as the hero. This complies with Propp’s theory of 8 character traits existing in a narrative; the daughter is depicted as the victimised princess with the mother being portrayed as the hero.
The room is being gassed by the villains. An Extreme Close-Up (ECU) zooms in on the hose, the camera tracks the movement of the gas inside the hose as it moves towards the room, this builds tension. The camera then moves inside the hose as the music becomes fast-paced to suggest a heightening of tensions. The camera shows the shadow of the air vent projected onto the floor, the image looks like prison bars. This is done intentionally to suggest that the mother and daughter are trapped. Shadows are conventional to the psychological horror genre as they demonstrate mystery and a build in suspense. A two-shot shows the mother higher in the frame than the daughter to demonstrate her dominance and that she is in control. An over-the-shoulder shot shows a gas fireball as the top of the picture. This is an indication of fear and peril, the bright colours are not usually associated with psychological horrors but victims fighting back is conventional of the genre. Smoke and rubble fill the room as a result of the attack; it is the calm after the action which is also conventional to the genre. There are further examples of binary oppositions here, light vs dark, good vs evil and male vs female are all emphasised further.
A two-shot close-up shows the mother and daughter embracing indicates togetherness but both terrified at what is happening. A fade to black followed by a fade from black into an establishing shot demonstrates the heavy, stormy weather conditions outside. The rain pours down on the building to emphasise misery, we hear it hitting the metal piping to illustrate loneliness. The camera then moves inside the pipe and we see the daughters face and a close-up of her hand. The flickering lights emphasises anguish fear and peril. The mother sits clutching her head to indicate fear, the roles are reversed as now the daughter is acting as the hero trying to find possible escape routes. The daughter uses a torch as a tool to signal for an SOS. There is a binary opposition of light and dark, the SOS indicates that the females are in danger and need help in this case from the man across the street in order to escape. It is conventional for a female to want the help of a male as men are usually portrayed as the heroes. The SOS is a stereotypical, recognised as a sign for help, however, the call for help fails and the characters are forced to battle on their own. This is conventional of the psychological horror genre.
The villains are gathered for a meeting at the foot of the stairs, the mother escapes from the room and heads towards the phone. The sounds of action, movement and dialogue vanish and are instead replaced with the slow-paced sound effect of the wind whistling, this has ghost-like connotations. The action is also edited in slow-motion. This demonstrates an increase in the mother’s heartbeat as both she and the audience fear for her, we know this is a dangerous move but her love for her daughter drives her into pursuing the idea. The audience ask questions, “Will she make it back to safety?” This complies with Barthes theory. The mother grabs the phone but knocks over the light in the process causing the villains to hear her movement. This raises tensions as the mother has to race back to the safety of the room, the music becomes fast-paced as a result. The door shuts and hegemonic sounds of dialogue and movement return. Barthes action code and cultural code help the audience understand the plot better. The mother gains access to the phone and is able to call for help, however, as expected in the plot of a psychological horror, the mother is unable to finish her conversation with the recipient of the phone call as the phone line is cut. A two-shot close-up shows the grief on the faces of both the mother and daughter.
The daughter is diabetic; she has dropped below her level of blood-sugar. This is dangerous as it can kill her as demonstrated with an over-the-shoulder shot of the daughter’s expression. This further heightens tension and adds to the plot as there is now another way that the family can perish, the audience ask “Will she survive?” (Barthes) The prop of a gun strikes fear in all the characters. Guns are conventional in psychological horrors as they are recognised as tools of death. Altman suggested that genre can control an audience’s reaction as it is predictable and has connotations, for example horror demonstrates fear. Props such as guns can emphasise this reaction. A mid-shot shows the mother and daughter embracing once more to illustrate a sense of family and love. The mother lets out a scream of anguish, it is conventional for emotions to be released through sound in psychological horrors. The daughter has a diabetic fit; an ECU of her toes scrunched up and of her tense face indicate that she is struggling. The beeping of her watch- which is a prop used to show her blood-sugar levels- emphasises the state of panic and fear that both mother and daughter are in. The audience once again ask questions as to whether the daughter will survive, the dialogue from the mother saying “strong girl, strong girl” further emphasises the panic of both characters and also the situation they are in. The composition of camerawork positions the mother higher in the frame than the daughter to suggest the mother’s dominance. The fit ends as breathing slows, an ECU of the toes uncurling indicates the end. The mother has to leave the room to collect the daughter’s medicine. An ECU of the medicine is paired with the music beginning to quicken as time begins to run out, instruments are played in low-key to further connote horror. The medicine is a macguffin (plot device) as it moves the plot along. The audience again ask questions, “Will the mother get back in time?” “Will she get caught?” (Barthes).
A close-up of the girls face shows that she is pale and sweating heavily. This indicates her illness which is further emphasised by her heavy breathing. The camera moves into a two-shot to show the man higher in the frame than the girl to suggest male dominance. One of the villains is forced to give the daughter a shot to keep her alive, he is the dispatcher as he is moving away from the conventional villainous mindset as suggested by Propp. It is conventional to the psychological horror genre for a ‘bad’ guy to ‘come good’. The black villain’s voice becomes distorted as the camera moves into a point-of-view shot (POV) of the daughter. This is done intentionally to further emphasise her illness and to also indicate that she is running out of time. The man stares down the camera which is unconventional as he should not be objectified to the gaze of the camera. A mid-shot of the mother moving away creates a shadow on the wall which adds mystery and builds suspense. The mother has a gun but has clearly never used one before, it is conventional for the hero to act in fear rather than strategically in psychological horrors.
A POV shot from the mother looking through the spy hole in the door shows two police officers; the officers are figures of authority and are therefore superior in society. Railings on either side of the shot look like a gateway to safety, however, the mother knows that she cannot escape and leave the daughter. The lights of the police car provide a binary opposition between light and dark. The white of the police car illustrates a sense of safety, by reaching it a hegemonic society can be restored once more. The red lights of the police car indicate danger. It is conventional of psychological horrors for the hero to reject outside help for whatever reason. Heavy breathing and slow-paced organ music implement a sense of horror and terror. Organ music is conventional to psychological horrors as it connotes fear.
A CU of the daughter shows her hands covering her ears as the drill moves through metal. A fast zoom from the daughter into a two-shot of the drill and the daughter to display the action. The sound of the drill is conventional to a psychological horror as it connotes fear. A two-shot shows a white man higher in the frame than a black man which illustrates white superiority. The black man has done all the work while the white man sits and gives orders. This is conventional as historically black men were slaves and were commanded by white men. This is emphasised by the black man wearing work overhauls.
A mid-shot shows the father sitting in a chair. He is holding a gun and a lamp as protection. There are binary oppositions of light vs dark and good vs evil. The lighting makes the father look almost ghost-like as if he has appeared from the dead, this is emphasised through his blood-spattered clothing and blood running from his cuts and nose etc. Suddenly he is in control; he is the dominant character which is a role-reversal of before. A CU of the mothers lower body and the tracking of her movement show that she is carrying a weapon. The music begins to speed up as the mother moves closer to the villain, this heightens tension, before organ music is used to signify the mother hitting the villain with the weapon. The organ music is intentional as it suggests that the villain is dead as the music is similar to funeral music. The sound effect of a window smashing is conventional to the psychological horror genre, it illustrates panic and the need for movement. The sound of a police siren emphasises terror and suggests that help will arrive soon. A CU of the black villain’s feet slipping on the slippery wall indicate his struggle to leave. A CU of his face shows that he has heard the gun shots inside the house, he goes back in to save the family as he is the dispatcher, the hero as suggested by Propp. The swirling wind blows the leafs around to illustrate the confusion and panic. Tracking is used to show the villain using the hammer as crutches to ‘worm’ his way across the floor towards the helpless mother. The sound of the hammer hitting the wooden floor indicates the mother’s raising heartbeat which is emphasised by fast-paced organ music which is conventional to the psychological horror genre.
Shot-reverse-shot editing into CU illustrates the struggle between the mother and the villain. The male villain is on top of the female victim, this is conventional as males are dominant over females and he is therefore higher in the frame. This also has sexual connotations of rape etc which is emphasises the males role as the villain. One light illuminates the room to indicate terror and the fact that the mother is fighting for her life. The audience ask “Will she survive?” “Will she escape from the villain?” There are also binary oppositions of light vs dark, man vs woman and good vs evil. The fact that the villain’s face is hidden by his hair further emphasises his position as the villain. Tension is heightened as the music builds pace, a mid-shot shows the mother being slammed to the ground before the daughter tries to rescue the mother but fails. The roles are reversed as the daughter becomes the hero (Propp). Shadows are used to suggest mystery, “What is going to happen?” (Barthes). A low-angled POV show shows the villain with the hammer preparing to kill the mother before the black man kills the fellow villain. The black man emphasises his position as the dispatcher- Propp- this is demonstrated through his dialogue “You’ll be safe now.” The black man is positioned lower in the frame than the white man to suggest he is subordinate. A low-angled shot shows the villain getting shot through the back of the head, blood spews from him- this is conventional to the psychological horror genre- as he falls to the floor. The music slows to silence to demonstrate a significant point in the film and also to indicate the end of the villain’s life. Low-key lighting adds to the atmosphere, the danger has now gone. The SWAT Team enter the building after the conclusion of the attack, it is conventional for help to arrive after the conclusion of the action.
An over-the-shoulder shot shows the black man on his knees after being caught by the SWAT Team. There is a binary opposition of light vs dark. The black man is lower in the frame than the authority figures to illustrate he is subordinate. He is told to open his hands and as a result he releases the $20 million that he has just collected into the air. A low-angle shot shows the black man looking dominant but also under pressure as the light beams down on his face. The money swirls around him in the storm to anguish him and illustrate his loss, it mocks him. He is arrested even though he is the dispatcher and the hero- it is conventional of psychological horrors to implement a ‘no rewards’ ending for those that do ‘come good’. A fade to black indicates horror, the music fades to silence to further emphasise this, the audience ask “What is going to happen to everyone?” (Barthes). A long shot of the daughter lying on the mother’s lap at the end of the film demonstrates that they have recovered and their relationship is stronger than ever before. The daughter is the most precious thing in the mother’s life, a sense of family and life exists as they are restored to a hegemonic society.
Perkins indicated that stereotypes reinforce peoples places in society. Stereotypically, women are subordinate or inferior characters to males. ‘Panic Room’ emphasises this as for the majority of the film the male villains dominate over the female victims. However, the conclusion of the film is conventional as the victims are saved but it is also unconventional as the gender roles change and the female victims dominate over the male villains. Furthermore, the ultimate hero is the male dispatcher who comes good at the end to save the family, as indicated by Propp. Throughout the film there are running binary oppositions of light vs dark, good vs evil and male vs female as indicated by Levi-Strauss.
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