Jennifer’s Body Film Opening Analysis

Jennifer’s Body and our piece

Jennifer's Body is a film I would say in a way is similar to our piece. It has themes such as blood, envy, beauty and the teenage lifestyle. In the opening of the film brings on the genre of the film which horror by using lighting to create the setting, similar to how we did in our piece.

Poster Analysis

High school baseball font – shows it’s in a high school – teen horrorBold red – shows danger, anger and blood.

Desk – typical American High School Desk – emphasis’s on the setting and theme

Image – protagonist (Megan Fox)Costume – red high hells, low cut red top and short grey skirt – emphasis’s on the sexual desire of the film, the influence of teenagers girl and their desire to look like Megan Fox and the male gaze.

Lighting - dark however, there is a spotlight over the protagonist. It’s similar to the way the spot light is always on the star of something, showing how important they are.

‘Hell yes!’ – plays on words. Has dominance as it’s on a blackboard.

Opening of Jennifer’s Body

The film opens with a tracking shot through someone's garden. The tracking shot makes it seem as if someone is walking through the garden, showing that there maybe a stalker theme to it, making the scene seem creepy. It is also set in the night like most horror films are, so the use of shadows and not being able to see around you has the audience fearful of what might jump out from the shadows. The music here has a kind of spiritual feeling to it. You can here the sound of a violin playing on a low string, and a low humming sound, like a male choir, which you here often in a church. You can also hear the sound of owls, showing how the setting maybe near a forest, as you don't get many owls in big cities.

While tracking through the garden, the camera cuts to a close up of a girls face, showing her nose and lips. The way in which she is chewing some kind of rope, seems like it is trying to come across as sexy, showing one theme of the piece which is beauty. At this point the music has become a lot softer in tone as the violins have become higher in pitch, however, an eerie atmosphere is still kept. We can also hear the sound of someone talking in the background about exercising, this also links with the theme of beauty and wanting to look good.

It then cuts back to the tracking shot, and we see the camera approach the house, this makes it look as if someone is looking into the house, and there focus is on this main girl we just saw the lips of, this also continues the idea of someone stalking someone, and what makes it interesting is that we are unable to see the persons face. The framed shot, also shows the focus on the inside of the house, and how there something about this girl that interests whoever may be approaching the house.

Here the camera tilts up from the bottom of the bed to reveal a long shot of a girl lying on her bed. At the same time we are given a shot of her surrounds and can see what type of girl she is by looking at the colour theme of her bedroom, and her posters, showing she might be a feminine girl (colour theme is pink) and her posters are of rock bands, showing she might have a darker side.

At this point, the sound of a piano is added to the music. This maybe hinting at the fact the girl is actually evil, as the sinister tone of the piano kicks in when she is revealed.

We then cut to a medium close up of the girl lying on the bed side ways, but a long shot of a girl looking in through the window. This reveals that the person outside was the girl in the window, and she’s not to happy, as you can see from the look on her face. This shot also shows that the girl lying down is oblivious to the fact the girl is outside her window, giving a creepy feel to piece as it seems like she’s a stalker

We then have a shot of the girl turning to face the window, but the other girl outside of the window is no longer there. At this same time, the wind kicks in and seems quite ghostly. This is effective because it gives it a sort of supernatural feel, as the girl just suddenly disappeared, or is she invisible?

We then have an voiceover of a girl speaking. She says “Hell is a teenage girl”, at this point in time, we don’t know who exactly is speaking, however, they give hints to the two major themes of the film, hell and teenage girls and links them together.

We then cut to a mid shot of a girl, we assume it’s the girl from the window as they have similar hair styles. The way she is dressed and the bars on the window suggest that she is in prison, this allows the audience to think maybe it has something to do with the girl she was looking at through the window.

The over voice continues, and the girl says “I guess, I'm not exactly perfect myself. But at least I have my fans. I mean, I get letters every day. Mostly from perverts and chesters, but still...”While she says this the camera then tilts down to a pill of gifts on the floor, the ones she is referring to in her monologue. This shows that she may have done something bad previously or maybe something good as she calls the people her “fans”. At the end of her speech she says “I’m kinda the shit”, showing that she must have done something bad.

The camera then cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a man entering the room, over the shot of the girl. The man tells her that break time started 5 minutes ago, yet she's not gone out yet. This could show how she may be an outcast and socially rejected and maybe prefers to be alone, showing how she is very different to most people, and maybe that’s why she's in there, along with the fact she comes across as a stalker.

The camera then cuts to a shot of the girl changing from behind. The shot pans left across the screen revealing that the girl has scares on her back. This could hint at two things; either she is a self harmer because she seems depressed, or she has been in a fight.

The camera then cuts to a shot of the girl changing from behind. The shot pans across the screen revealing that the girl has scares on her back. This could hint at two things; either she is a self harmer because she seems depressed, or she has been in a fight.

The camera then cross dissolves into the camera panning right across the girl again, but instead revealing that she had a scare on her arm, showing that she’s been a hard time. At the same time she says “Sometimes the letters are from people who say they are praying for me. They say everything will be okay if I just except Jesus Christ into my heart” showing how there may be a theme of religion in the piece, and that what ever the problem is, she needs help

The camera then pans down to reveals a picture on the window ledge of a boy, showing his significance to the film. When the picture is revealed she says “I say the words but nothing ever happens, no one ever comes back, nobody gets off the cross” showing that the boy could have been someone she’s lost and show she is starting to not believe in Jesus Christ how nothing is actually happening to change what happened.

When then have a mid shot of the girl wondering across a place dressed in orange clothing and the people around her also wearing orange clothing, showing that she is probably in prison. Her voice over then says “Welcome to the Mental Olympics” explaining that she isn't in a prison, she's in a mental institution and by referring it to the Olympics, she shows how she doesn’t take it seriously as she is using sarcasm.

We then have a high angle shot of the girl crossing the feel and we can see all the other inmates, showing that she is on a playing court, and that’s what she meant when saying “Welcome to the Mental Olympics”. At this point the voice over says “Supposedly it helps Venter our aggressions showing that she might be in there because she’s got an uncontrollable rage that may cause people harm.