Horror as a genre, when done well, can evoke intense emotions that you can’t find when

watching any other genre of film, sure some genres can include a little jump every now and
then but it's never that effective, as in horror films they spend time building up to a jump
scare however sometimes the build to a jump scare through cinematography is so well done
they don’t ever do a jump scare so your stuck with that gross horrible feeling. A notable
example of this technique is the from the film
Cinematography is especially important in horror films, not only to tell a story but to also
create tense, suspenseful feelings even in the most pleasant of places. As quoted by Jordan
Peele the creator of "get out, Us, and nope" says "I like when horror movies take place in
idyllic places, something like the overlook hotel, it's welcoming, its extravagant. That is what
really scares me." when pairing an environment like this with creative cinematography it can
really help to tell the story visually through the audiences and characters feelings and
emotions. Cinematography can also be used to show valuable information without someone
blandly explaining that information. Cinematography is a key piece for storytelling and a key
piece to make a film interesting and fit within a genre.

Cinematography in horror films is a key component to showing how a character feels while
creating suspense and making the audience feel the ill or make the audience feel fear even
when nothing disgusting or scary is happening. Camera movement in horror films is a key
component to creating different emotions in film for example in the 2022 film Nope by
Jordan Peele the camera is always in a constant state of motion, sometimes the camera
movement is so slight that you might not notice it. This constant state of motion adds an
uneasy feeling that feels like motion sickness when this type of cinematography is paired
with gruesome scenes such as the 'Gordy home massacre' scene it really creates an amazing
tense and suspenseful feeling. Cinematography in horror can also be used to create power
dynamics and the feelings of characters, this is especially important to do in horror as if
these dynamics and emotions are not established it can lead the fear to be very minimal or
not exist at all and can lead the jump scares to fall flat. The first horror movie ever was a
silent film created in 1896 named “Le manoir du Diable” created by Georges Melies, the
cinematography in this film is extremely dated as its mostly just one just jittery shot of the
main character making things disappear and reappear, the next shot is of the same place
just slightly more zoomed in showing that it is a new scene. When two new characters are
introduced and are toyed with whenever it cuts the characters spend a couple seconds
standing still before doing anything, this is the same whenever something disappears its
very clear that it cut as everything suddenly freezes, whether this is due to the unavailable
technology or practical effects not being advanced enough it shows how much
cinematography in film and horror especially has a evolved. Before I compare this film to a
modern one, I would like to point out that cinematography in horror, especially has evolved
so much that now cinematography in horror a lot of the films released in this genre follow a
formula to create an effective horror film. Comparing this films cinematography to modern
such as works in the horror is vastly different as in modern horror films the camera is nearly
always moving to create tension rather than a still shot, this was talked about earlier when I
referred to the constant camera motion in the film NOPE by director Jordan Peele.
One intriguing example of how the cinematography in the horror genre has improved so
much is with an Australian film from 2023 called “talk to me” created by directors Danny
and Michael Philippou with their cinematographer Aaron Mclisky. The cinematography in
“talk to me” keeps the film interesting and unique as the opening scene is one long shot
following an older brother looking for his brother at a party, the camera never cuts and
stays in the perspective of the older brother. The camera constantly moves until the end of
scene where the camera stays in one spot when the little brother suddenly kills his brother
then himself. This scene is heightened by the cinematography as if was not shot all in one
shot but rather split up into multiple shots it would not be nearly as thrilling as the
choppiness of the cuts would make the scene feel less vivid and realistic. When the little
brother grabs the knife all we hear is the sound of him grabbing the knife as he is off screen
so when he suddenly comes onto the screen, the slow-moving camera, and the sudden
movement it does well to shock the viewer while keeping them on edge.
During the possession scenes in “talk to me” as quoted by one of the directors Danny
Philippou “all the possessions in the film are all told in Mias perspective.” Doing this really
makes you feel like you are in the scene as the camera movements are extremely gripping
because they decide to follow this character and because they decide to not linger on things
such as the spirits so when Mia looks away the camera looks away.

Although the cinematography makes you feel part of the scene it also makes you feel the
dread and sadness when something critical happens for example when Riley is possessed
the camera movements are slow and uncomfortably close and in your face which makes you
feel uneasy. When the tension is built up after a slow long shot of Riley making choking
noises while looking at the ceiling, he suddenly slams his head on the table and the camera
jolts following his head then cuts to a reaction shot, so you can process what is happening
and how to feel for the characters. The sudden switch in pace with the camera shots is so
important to make this scene tense and it makes you feel vulnerable, and it makes you
scared for the characters as well as feeling fear yourself when you are immersed in the film.
When comparing a film like “talk to me” to something like “Le manoir du Diable” or
“Psycho” by Director Alfred Hitchcock a classic film in the horror genre although for its time
the cinematography in “psycho” is very well done it does not compare with newer films and
the technological advancements. During the infamous shower scene in psycho the
cinematography is framed very well, everything is on purpose, and it flows well and does
not feel stiff but comparing this scene to “Le manoir du Diable” you can see how
cinematography in the horror genre has evolved to tell a compelling story for example
during the same scene the camera cuts to a shot of the shower curtain with the protagonist
in the corner of the screen, out of focus in the background you can see a figure walking
towards the shower curtain, as the camera moves forward almost tracking the blurred out
individual. When the protagonist comes out of frame you watch the figure pull back the
curtain revealing a man holding a knife shrouded in shadow. The camera cuts to a close up
shot of the protagonist screaming in the shower then an extreme close up shot of her
mouth screaming.

This sequence is a terrific way to push the story forward with their emotions, the man
feeling no emotions and the protagonist feeling extremely terrified along with this the shot
where the character is blurred out in the background definitely influenced shots like this
one from “talk to me” once again where Mia is talking to her father and her father is blurred
out in the background to show that she is grieving and is struggling to talk to her father
(explicitly shown when she ignores his calls), this also shows how their relationship is
crumbling and cold, all this information is told to us by the camera in just a few camera
shots.

When comparing these shots from “talk to me,” “psycho” and “Le manoir du Diable” it really
shows the progression that has been made when it comes to storytelling through
cinematography and quality of the shots as well as the vast improvements the cameras have
had when producing a coloured film as when "Le manoir du Diable” they didn’t have access
to coloured film cameras and or digital cameras and when psycho was being created
Director Alfred Hitchcock wanted to film in black and white to prevent the film from being
to gory and to keep the budget under 1 million dollars which nowadays when creating a film
is considered a low budget film. Along with this you can tell how “talk to me” has taken
shots like the shower curtain scene and morphed into something new and refreshing.