devil Textual analysis
The location
The five characters are trapped in an elevator. This relates to the Codes and Conventions of a horror film as this small space filled with five people leaves barely any room making it feel claustrophobic. There is no escape for the characters leaving them in mortal danger. The audience will see no survival for any of the characters.
The location
The narrow mirror in the elevator emphasizes the claustrophobia as from that small reflection you can see the end of the space.
This track down of the elevator root intensifies how hard it will be to escape as it shows that they only have one way out. The low angle tilt on the building in which the elevator is in makes it seem as if there is mortal danger for the characters. The dark clouds foreshadow that something bad is going to happen, and the extreme size of the building further increases the claustrophobic space of the elevator.
Narrative Codes conventions
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PSYCHOLOGICAL THESE HORROR FILMS USUALLY RELY ON CHARACTERS FEAR, GUILT, EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY AND SOMETIMES THE SUPERNATURAL
Devil reflects on a psychological horror as the film doesn’t evolve around making the audience jump. It relies on creating fear by not allowing the audience to know who the antagonist is until the near end, they have to work it out. It is difficult to work out who the antagonist is as each character seems to be protagonist’s. The film plays with your mind making it feel much more tense and dangerous.
FORESHADOWING
The CCTV used within the film used by the building security and police foreshadows the film. In this split second CCTV image of the characters are dead. This builds tension as it appears that the characters have no hope of survival.
The location The fact that the main location for the events that occur is set within an office building in an elevator makes intensifies fear and danger as it seems to be an ordinary location. It relates to the audience that the fact that this could happen within a normal work place. It creates a deep sense of fear as the audience could feel as this is a possibility to happen within ordinary life, it is a situation they could be in.
Narrative Codes conventions
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1. THE VICTIM – This character is weak and is at mercy of the villain 2. THE HERO – This character seems as if he will save everyone 3. THE VILLAIN – This character is mostly disliked by the audience and they assume she is the antagonist 4. THE HELPER – This character appears as if he will help the hero with saving the day 5. THE DONER – this character has a responsible and reliable appearance and seems as if he would have something special to help with saving the day.
CHARACTERS THE VICTIM
THE HERO
THE HELPER
This character is furthest at the back, she is far from the escape point which connotes that she is more vulnerable to being killed of first.
This character first seems to give off the impression that he will not save any of the other characters, and although it is a twist that all the characters die, he still manages to create some means of escape for all of them.
This character gives off an impression that he will help the hero. The audience gets this impression as this character is the body guard of the building and he appears rather strong.
She looks to others for comfort/safety, this character also seems the most concerned/worried about the elevator not working.
THE VILLIAN This character gives off the impression that she is the bad guy by the way she acts towards all the other characters. Her back story is that she is having an affair with the boss of the building which already sets her up to have a bad image.
THE DONER This character appears as if he has something to offer which will help the hero to get all the characters to safety. The audience is given this impression as he is carrying a briefcase which could mean he has an item in there to help but also shows intelligence.