Essay on creep for Mrs Raji

How do performance, mise-en scene and sound construct meaning and provoke response in a sequence from ‘Creep’?

The scene I will be analysing is a sequence from the middle of 'Creep'.
A film about a women called 'Kate' who heads for the underground after being unable to find a taxi, she takes a seat away from the crowd of late night revellers to wait for the last train however drifts of to sleep, Kate wakes to find everyone gone. She momentarily panics until another train pulls in of which she aboard; unnerved that she’s the only passenger. Halfway through the tunnel, train jerks to a halt violently. The lights shut off and the train is plunged into darkness. She is not alone and for her, her nightmare has begun.

The micro features that I will be analysing are performance, mise-en-scene and sound.

The first thing we see at the start of the sequence is the killer, his appearance is also clear and 'extreme', he has loads of cuts all over him which could inform the audience that he may have been tortured or injured somehow, however his facial expression says to differ as his expression is plain and just looks like he is starring at something or someone as in the background we can hear crying. Adding to the point, when you look at his skin, we can tell he has been underground for ages as he is filthy and dirty. His posture suggests that he has had to adapt naturally to the surroundings. Just from the start of this shot, the audience is made feeling uncomfortable jus by this look and their thoughts on it.

We can also see that he has blood around one eye which could indicate injury to the audience. while the framework is on a close-up of the killer and we cans till hear crying saying 'please' and 'no' in the background which gives the audience an idea of whom or what they might see next.

In the next shot we see the other character that is crying, named Mandy, tied to an operating chair petrified. Mandy's appearance is not pleasant either, this gives the audience an indication of what may have happened previously to this scene as she has blood all over her and she looks like she has been through hell.
We can tell that Mandy is not suppose to be there and is there against her will as she is crying and begging the killer to 'stop'. Using the operating chair could give the audience and hint of the location, they mat be in a surgery room but also what may appear next. On top of Mandy, there is a dirty bloody sheet laid over her, that is yet again, used in surgery's however the sheet looks as if it has been used frequently but not cleaned because of the blood stains.

In the background we can clearly see that there are some sort of jars in a row of dead or undeveloped babies in liquid on a shelf, this could be disturbing, especially to a female audience because most women have a maternal instinct. These jars could also be called 'specimens'.

Next the killer is standing to Mandy's right just starring at her, which may be intimidating; this gives the audience an impression that he might find her intreging. Then he pulls down the operating light quite violently, shinning straight into Mandy's face.
The frame goes onto a close-up of the side of the killers face and the audience can manage to see that there is blood coming out of his ear and eye, this could be a sock to the audience because in real life that would be very serious and may even be excruciating for the individual.

The interaction between both characters here is a little confusing for the audience as we can gather that the killer has or is going to hurt Mandy however now he is trying to comfort her by stroking her hair/head and leaning his head on hers, while this frightens Mandy as she knows she may not survive, also Mandy is crying 'jimmy' which is her boyfriend, to maybe gain some hope that he will come and help her, however she does not know he is dead.

The next shots are weird and unexpected as the killer walks over to the sink, turns the tap and washes his hands, yet no water has came out. Although he may not be aware of this as he may be pre-octipied with his thoughts, so he still flicks his hands as if they were wet; Mandy can see and has a clear view of this as she is watching him whilst he does this and automatically panics more and carries on crying for 'jimmy', also many thoughts must be going through her mind for example 'why is he doing this?' as same for the audience. This also shows his level insanity.

There is no dialogue from the killer through this whole scene which makes him seem caulis, evil and unfeeling which heightens the worry of the audience and the tension that is created.

Next the audience is made to feel sorry for Mandy as she is sobbing to the killer saying 'if you let me go, I wont tell anyone, I promise, please don’t hurt me' however the killer has no emotion or second thoughts, we can just see his plain face looking up at the roof while he puts on his dirty apron, this indicates to the audience that the killer may do something to Mandy with all the operating equipment.

There is a close-up of a tray full of theatre equipment usually used in hospitals for an operation, the killer picks up the rubber gloves that is dirty and, yet again, bloods stains with holes and puts them on, emotion is shown here as he blows into them first which give an indication that he must have seen someone do that before; however he doesn't put them on properly as his fingers are not in the finger placements, which might make it difficult to do anything, this is clear that he doesn’t know what he’s doing, then stands there for a few seconds starring at Mandy, this not only makes Mandy panic but also the audience as they might be wondering ‘what is he going to do?’ or ‘why has he just put gloves on like that?’; while the killer is just standing there with his hands up, this comes across that he might be implying that he is ready to do something and is foreshadowing what may come next with the knife. In the background there is a non-diagetic sound/music that connotes danger and helps creates the tension and atmosphere more.

When one looks at the killer, the killer looks like an undeveloped fetus; this could not only be a comparison of his undeveloped human behavior but also could relate to the jars behind the operating chair mentioned previously.

The camera has moved from the killer facing onto Mandy, but at another different point of view of her, looking towards her upper body from her feet, in this shot the audience can see that Mandy legs and feet are tied apart, this makes the audience feel disgusted and uncomfortable, as the lags are tied apart that could connote pregnancies and relates to the speciums behind on the shelf.

The killer then gets a gas mask to put on Mandy, which is used to try and ease the pain, however there is a shot that informs the audience that the mask is not plugged in, as a result it is not going to work; during this shot we can also see that the floor has not been cleaned in quite a while and there is blood everywhere, this shows the level of blood and that a lot of torture has token place, this also make the audience wonder ‘What else could this man do?’, Mandy tries and struggles to get the killer of her face with the mask, which creates tension between both characters and the setting in one shot, whilst the killer is looking at the roof as if counting how long Mandy has to have the mask on. The music get louder at this point that sounds ‘heavenly’ with woodwind instruments connoting a feeling of souls going up to heaven, this could explain Mandy and what may happen to her and that her soul may leave this place too.

The killer’s actions create tension when washing his hands in no water and using the gas mask as if it’s clear he is mental. And this is added too by the slow actions as he does it.
The lighting being dark and ‘creepy’ in slightly sepia tones makes it more dangerous as if it represents his ‘state of mind’. This all creates tension and makes the audience feel uneasy.

After this the killer walks back over to the tray full of the operating equipment and drags off a ‘machete’ knife, this is not a normal surgical instrument however would do more damage, as the audience can hear the scrapping noise created by the metal tray and the knife, this also a clear slow shot so that the audience gets a good view of what the knife looks like. The underscore of the sequence is low however when the knife is touched the tone of the music changes which gives the audience a warning.
The killer looks up at the knife in the air then at Mandy, maybe checking the size, this makes the audience, especially a female audience uncomfortable as they can gather more of what may happen.

The music during these shots is like a ‘banging’ sound that is quite fast and almost sounds like heart beats of which could connote the characters heart and emotion as it builds up Mandy’s panic but same with the audience too.

The killer changes position to standing beside Mandy lifts up the knife towards the right and put it up Mandy’s vagina, the screen goes onto a blackout as we hear a cream.
The non diagetic sound of the knife and the connotations of doing so will provoke discomfort for a female viewer.
Women can relate to it and so feel shocked and uneasy and disturbed at it.

There is many connotations to do with a surgery and can give the viewers a clue of why he is how he is, some conclusions could be that his father may have been a surgeon or the killer may have been before turning mental.

Overall, I think this sequence provokes a reaction from its viewers greatly and mainly with females, the three micro features all connect throughout to create this discomfort and an intensely tension and atmosphere.