R9: Textual analysis of short horror film

Textual analysis of short horror film

Short Film: Night Night Nancy (2015)

The very first scene of this short horror film began unconventionally, because the first scene was a mobile text message that red “Night night Nancy”, which happens to be the name of the horror film. This was followed be a notification tone, indicating the arrival of a new message. This I believe was a smart way of beginning a horror film, because it establishes the importance of a smartphone in the narrative. The following scene, began with a wide shot of a woman sleeping, with ambient sound in the background, such as the sound of friction off a pillow. Immediately, Todorovs narrative theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium can be applied, because the scene of woman sleeping connotes the idea of peace and tranquility, thus emphasizing a sense of equilibrium. Moreover, the mis en scene of this very scene supports the theory of the male gaze by Laura Mulvey, because the costume of female protagonist (Nancy, appears to outline her figure and thus women are represented as being promiscuous, because her costume could encourage voyeurism (Sigmund Freud). However, it could be argued that, the female character is in her own personal space, thus she does not have any need to be promiscuous, therefore she may be represented as dominant in her own personal space (her bedroom in other words). Furthermore, the editing in this scene is very slow, with the long duration of a wide shot, which may also contribute to the tranquility and the equilibrium of the beginning scene. Moreover, in the same scene, words are overlaid over the image, which I think is an efficient way of connoting the text message conversation without using a camera shot of the mobile phone screen. In the beginning seen, it seems that the victim is the female protagonist, which is a conventional element of horror films.