Essay about Terror in Spielbergs Jaws - 1429 Words

Terror in Spielbergs Jaws The film ‘Jaws’ exemplifies the statement ‘Sublime terror rests in the unseen- the ultimate horror’. Some people would say that dismemberment and gore is needed to terrorise an audience, but this only shocks and disgusts viewers. A horror film should therefore make the audience imagine the terror in order to maximise the fear factor. Many horror films nowadays use similar techniques to those used by Spielberg in the film ‘Jaws’. They use techniques such as framing and mise-en-scene in order to create something called safe space and unsafe space. Safe space is the space that the camera is looking at. It is where there is no danger and nothing dreadful would be expected†¦show more content†¦The shower scene only lasts about a minute, but is made of about eighty shots. This effect has made this scene a very famous one because of the way it creates tension and frightens the audience. In the film ‘Jaws’, the vast ocean is the unsafe space with the shark moving around it. The use of safe and unsafe space helps create and build up tension. At the beginning of the film ‘Jaws’, the shark’s attacks are close by to the shore, which shows us that the shallow water cannot stop it from attacking people. But as the film persists, the shark attacks are out in the middle of the ocean and from the moment the characters leave the beach to go hunting, they are cut off from the rest of the characters. This is where the mise-en-scene technique is most used in the film. The shark cannot be seen as it is a vast ocean and it could jump out unexpectedly of at any time from any direction at the characters, which would destroy the safe space. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, a well-known director in Hollywood and a splendid director throughout his filming career. The film was produced by David Brown and Richard D. Zanuck in 1975. The film lasts 93 minutes and is rated as a 12. The idea of creating this film came from the book ‘Jaws’ written by Peter Benchley. Like many of Spielberg’s films, the film ‘Jaws’ can be classified as Action,Show MoreRelatedSteven Spielberg : Postmodern Auteur And Constructor1812 Words   |  8 PagesConstructor In a 1977 interview with Steven Spielberg, the young filmmaker mused, â€Å"I think in a way I’m two different people; my instincts always commandeer my sensibilities, or my intellect is always beaten down by my instincts† (36). Spielberg’s prognosis is accurate – Spielberg’s creative instincts and business sensibilities balance each other, laying the foreground for his present prominence as both a postmodern constructor and postmodern auteur. 40 years later, today, Steven Spielberg remains one of theRead MoreEssay Horror Films: The Haunted Castle by George Melies1616 Words   |  7 Pagesbeen more frightening and influential than that of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. 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