Short Film Research: This Is Our Home

Camera Angles/Movements: Camera movements in horror short films are usually static or slow. A gentle pan heightens the suspense as Dina slowly looks around the apartment and the camera being fixed in the same position at the end created a feeling of helplessness as Dina was stuck to the giant glue trap on the ground. As for angles, the camera remained mostly at medium-wide shots and close ups to show characters interacting with their surroundings and the emotions (mostly fear) on their faces.  

Sound: For horror movies, sound is essential to create a creepy and terrifying atmosphere, which is exactly what this short film accomplished. The score always matched the tone of the scene, whether it was quiet and tense to drive the tension between Ruya and Dina or loud and intense to multiply the fear Dina felt for and of the rats in her apartment. The score fluctuated between sharp and droning in these scenes. There were also consistent sound motifs, such as the rats squeaking.  

Mis-en-scene: Costumes and make-up in horror short films, similar to comedies, typically fall into two categories: very average and very scary. In this film, Dina is very average in her work outfit and pajamas, both completely normal outfits bring the audience to connect with the character and see themselves in their shoes. On the other hand, very scary costumes are made for the villains in horror movies like killers and demons. These costumes and make up are also used in death scenes, like Ruya toward the end of the film. Make up and props are heavily used in displaying character death, blood, and wounds. Props are also used as weapons like knives or hatchets. Lighting is another big proponent in horror films, having dark or low lighting creates a mystery and lack of information that can absolutely scare the audience. A great lighting trick used in this film was the scene with Dina in bed turning her lamp on and off when she heard the squeaking of mice. Keeping the audience in the dark with only sound is perfect for driving tension and fear. Unlike comedies, acting in horror films doesn’t have to be perfect to sell well. If a character can act reasonably scared, like Dina throughout the film, the threat of the film can give the audience chills alone. Sets for horror films can fall into common tropes (the woods, creepy house, haunted hotel, etc.), and this film is only slightly different, using a creepy apartment instead of a creepy house. Horror films also try to keep the number of sets to a minimum both to make the audience feel trapped and give the characters a reason to be scared, because they can’t escape the danger. 

Editing: Horror movies use editing techniques like shot/reverse shots to flip from the present danger to the victim, zooms to exemplify the horror of an object or person, and action match shots during the action scenes to properly show the tension of everyone in the scene. In this film, the shot/reverse shot was used several times, but most notably at the end when Dina was stuck to the giant glue trap looking at the rat in the hole in the wall. The film also zoomed in on the field mouse stuck on the glue trap, showing specifically its fearful and fruitless struggle to escape and the injuries it sustained in the attempt. 

Film Examples: 

• The Blue Door 

• We Want Faces So Bad 

• Poor Glenna 

• Hair Wolf 

 

The best elements of Horror: A great horror film, much like this one, creates an enticing atmosphere of creepy and fear inducing elements. The scares add to the thrill factor and make for a fun ride through the film. We especially appreciate the careful sound design and score of horror films. Proper sound motifs and stabs add to consistent terror and tension in the film, something not done in many other genres. The costumes and makeup are also a masterpiece of horror as the replication of real wounds and massacred bodies. 

The worst elements of Horror: Unfortunate downfalls of horror fall in the possibly unrealistic nature of them if not done properly. If the main threat or antagonist does not feel or present a clear and significant threat to the cast, the audience will never believe it and feel bored through the film. It’s also true when horror films try to overplay elements to build fear, they can go too far and the scene or film itself can become too cheesy and easily take the audience out of the experience.