Sixth Sense suspenseful scene-3

Another suspenseful scene in the film would be immediately after the dinner conversation, the scene calls into question Cole’s perception as compared to that of the audiences. The scene shows Cole in the hallway, his line of sight concentrated on Sebastian, the family dog, as the dog flees his room; ambient music creeps onto the soundtrack. The quick rise and fall of the music accompanies the fleeting appearance of a teenager in Cole’s room. The camera is positioned so that the spectator sees the ghost before Cole does. By the time Cole turns around to see the ghost, the teenage boy comes out from Cole’s room, Cole’s own private space, and whispers to Cole “I’ll show you where my Dad keeps his gun.” As the boy turns we see a bloodied hole in the back of his head. Immediately after this encounter Cole asks his mother, “If you are not very mad, can I sleep in your bed tonight.” She replies that she is not mad. The reality is that she is as confused, frightened, and helpless as Cole because she is out of options.

A few scenes later, Malcolm tells Cole that he can no longer help him and will be leaving him. Cole tries to convince him not to leave, asking, “How can you help me if you don’t believe me?” This leads Malcolm back to the ten-year-old Vincent Grey session tapes, where on close inspection he hears a third voice, a ghost, saying the words, “I don’t want to die” (in Spanish). From this, Malcolm deduces that the ghosts Cole is seeing are not monstrous threats, but lost souls seeking help. The result of this choice brings the spectator to the film’s true monster, Kyra’s mother. Of all the acts and suggestions of violence seen in the film, Kyra’s videotape, the physical proof that a mother would wilfully murder her own child, is considered by modern standards the vilest act. The spectator is positioned with the father, sympathising with him as the video enlightens him to the truth behind Kyra’s death. The whispered comments as Malcolm and Cole make their way through the mourning house, hint at a long-term illness. Even so, for a parent to see their own child as a burden and then murder them is unfathomable. Questions arise as to why Kyra’s mother would give up and resent her daughter to the point of killing her. These remain questions unanswered.  

Gone Girl opening analysis

The first twenty seconds of the movie opening consists of the logos of the production companies. The screen then fades to black, and the credits begin to appear. On the 24th second, as the director’s name appears on screen, a sound bridge/voiceover begins with the protagonist Nick Dunne speaking about his wife. The first image which appears is a close-up shot of the antagonist, Amy Dunne. As the second half of the first minute progresses, there is a slow fade to a black screen, and the names of the two main actors (Ben Affleck and Rosamund Puke) appear on screen. In the last few seconds of the first minute, an establishing shot of the sea appears. The title of the movie then appears above the shot. As the sequence progresses into the second minute, there is a montage filled with establishing shots of different parts of the city, along with the credits running at the bottom of the screen. It is not until the 37th second into the second minute until we finally see Ben Affleck’s character, with amid shot of him standing outside his residence. The second minute of the movie ends with a long pan/track of the protagonist going back into his house. Throughout the sequence so far the lighting has remained quite low key connoting that something very dark and mysterious may occur. The third minute of the movie is quite ordinary; we see Nick Dunne in his car approaching a bar. The non-diegetic music which plays in the background is quite daunting and formidable. 

There is then a close of shot of Nick as he gets out of his car and looks upon the neighborhood. The lighting is noticeably brighter in the third minute, maybe showing nothing is wrong just yet. As he enters the bar and sits down, there is an over the shoulder shot as the dialogue begins, which then turns into a shot-reverse-shot of him and the bartender, who seems to be a friend speaking. As the movie moves into its fourth minute, it is revealed that the bartender is in fact the protagonist’s sister. After another shot reverse shot of them speaking, the screen then fades to black and a voiceover of Amy Dunne’s character speaking begins playing. There is an extreme close-up of a diary as she writes in an entry. The scene then fades to a short track of Amy as she is walking. The voiceover eventually ends and dialogue begins between her and the main protagonist. There is a mid-two shot of them speaking, which then leads into a close-up two shot. The final minute of the opening of the movie continues from the previous minute, with a mid-two shot of the two protagonists speaking. Throughout this sequence there is diegetic sound of people speaking in the background, this fits in with what we are seeing on screen as it is obvious they are at some sort of party/gathering. The whole minute focuses on the two characters flirting and getting to know each other better. I think this is a good way to end the opening of the movie because it raises many questions such as what happens between the two characters and the questions raised by Nick in the voice over, which the audience now need answers to.