Textual Analysis of 'The Shallows' (2016)

Textual analysis of 'The Shallows':

During the opening scene of 'The Shallows' the stock setting is the sea and the beach. Throughout the opening we see used of many different camera shots. The very first shot is an extreme long shot, in the shot we can see a tropical beach and a bright blue sea. By doing this the audience start to feel a state of equilibrium, because the sun, sea and sand have very positive connotations. Then the screen goes black and another tropical landscape, but this time it's from inside the jungle and you can see the sunlight shining through the layers of leaves. By using these shots the produces have created a sense of safety and a state of equilibrium. This is a very common effect in the horror film genre, because it builds suspense as the audience know there is going to be some sort of disruption, but they don't know when the disruption is going to take place. In the opening we are introduced to one Character, who we, the audience, assume is the main Character. She is a stereotypical horror film character, a young attractive girl. In horror films there is a common stereotype that is found, this is that the attractive girl has something bad happen to her and the audience pity her. Throughout the opening we see the girl isolated and on her own, this connotes to the audience that something is going to happen to her and no one is around to help her.

Themes:
Narrative:
Iconography:
Creation of enigma:
Introduction to characters:
Setting up Plot:
Editing-Mise en Scene-Camera shot:
Mood and Tone: