The Grudge Opening Scene Mise-en-scene

The Grudge Opening Mise-en-scene

The Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Ju-on. The film was released in North America on October 22, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and it is directed by Takashi Shimizu. The Grudge describes a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow, the curse then gathers in the place where that person died.

The scene starts with a camera tracking down a thin alley way, there is a fuzzy sound in the background which gives the audience a sense of unease about what is to come, Also the sound of a bird crowing is heard which further adds to this. The camera continues to track towards a house, the fuzz continues and footsteps are heard this denotes that someone is about to enter the house. The door to the house opens with an eerie squeak the camera is at a high angle looking down at the door making the person entering appear small and timid. The camera tracks around the room exposing to the audience a disheveled house, with things strewn over the floor; this makes the audience question what has happened here? The lighting is hard, with lots of dark shadows making the house appear all the more hostile.

The camera flicks to the taps of a bath a loud dripping sound is heard, the camera then moves down to reveal a mass of black hair submerged in the water, this strikes the audience with fear. The camera then zooms in quickly on the figure of a woman, the room is dimly lit by a window so the character is covered in shadows, and the darkness of the figure connotes death and danger. The use of loud, fast extra digetic sound at this point adds to the fear the audience feel. There is a loud crash of utensils and the figure is shown walking away from the window. The heavy breathing of a man is heard and then a loud bang which further adds to the suspense of the scene. The camera tracks and footsteps are heard of someone running to see what the noise was; the tracking of the character with the camera makes the audience feel more involved in the scene which makes it all the more terrifying. As the camera tracks upwards the womens figure is revealed at a window and a shrill laugh consumes the audience. The figure is lit from the left, the lighting is naturalistic, it is daylight and the house is being lit from the windows.

As the figure moves away from the window, there is a loud bang of the door next to the window slamming, this is unexpected so therefore shocks the audience which adds to the horror of the scene. The heavy breathing and footsteps return and the camera tracks up the stairs this denotes the character running up the stairs, the shot is very unclear and a lot of Dutch angles are used making the audience unaware of what is happening. A high pitched creepy extra digetic sound is then used which impacts the audience because it makes it all the more scary. A grunting begins and continues to get louder as the camera does a 180 degree spin to exposes the women figure in the plain light for the first time. The figure is wearing a flowing white dress which usually connotes innocence and purity but the female character is very sinister and mysterious so this is going against the normal horror conventions.

There is then a montage of clips faded and cross cut together very quickly, it ends with a close up of the characters haunting eye. During the montage the grunting and high pitched extra digetic sound continue to get louder and louder only adding to the terror of the clip. The montage ends suddenly when the screen goes black and the sound abruptly stops.

The darkness fades out and the camera shows the outside of the house again, and then fades to show the female character sitting at a dressing table, surrounded by pictures drawn by a child, the echoing laugh of a small child is heard. This is going against most horror conventions because it is portraying innocence of the perpetrator in the film, which is not normally done. This makes the film more appealing to young tribe wired and early adaptors audiences because it is fresh and different. The camera then zooms in on a cats face; it is a black cat which usually connotes bad luck and evilness so it is therefore adding to the scariness of the clip. The laughing of the young child continues as the camera zooms in on a child’s face, there are dark shadows surrounding the child which makes the whole thing all the more sinister.

The camera then shows a blood stained hand and a man with blood splattered over his face which connotes murder and death. The lighting remains dark and harsh creating a harrowing atmosphere. A woman’s scream is then heard which only adds to the realism of the film. The camera fades in and out and becomes blurry; this makes the audience feel more involved in the scene as it is like they are watching through characters eyes. The extra digetic sound at this point is very harsh and dark sounding and this has been used to make the scene more frightening.

There is another montage of clips which include the male character covered in blood and the body of the female character. The montage was used to show the audience what had happened in a short time and it is done really effectively, because it only adds to the horror of the scene. A lot of effects and transitions are used in the opening scene of the Grudge and they have been used to add to the overall impact of the film on the audience. The male character is then shown putting a noose around his neck so this denotes that he is killing himself and without being graphic it gives the audience an understanding.

There is a bang and the camera zooms in on the stair case to reveal the female figure struggling down the stairs, she is covered in blood. The grunting and gasping noise that she is making is bone chillingly scary and very hard hitting so therefore affects the audience deeply. The scene ends dramatically after this with an extreme close up of the male characters smile, as his distressing laugh echoes. It is a very disturbing end to a terrifying opening scene. The opening scene of the grudge is made very well and it uses such a diverse range of techniques in it, and although it goes against several horror conventions it is clear that this film is a horror.