Dog Soldiers Analysis

The film opens on an establishing shot of a forest and a caption in the corner that reads ‘Scotland’ tells us the setting for the film. It then cross-dissolves to a long shot of man collecting water from a lake, this shot creates a picturesque and tells the audience that the character is very secluded, which due to the typical horror genre, suggests to the audience that the character is in danger. But calm opening to the film also lulls the audience into a false sense of security that the danger will arise later on in the film; this is used to make the scene where the werewolf attacks the man and the woman 2 minutes later more shocking. Another cross-dissolve is then used to show that this is the same man walking back to the camp set up in the woods with his girlfriend. In this scene it is made clear that this is a British film through the typical ‘British’ phrases used such as “big girl’s blouse” and expletives used such as “bloody”. These are typical of British film, as the British way of speaking is a main feature of conveying that a film is British. There are a series of medium close ups used, the couple are shown sitting close to each other with the camp fire flames rising between them, this foreshadows danger coming in the next minute, as fire often symbolizes danger. The girl hands the man a silver knife in a box, and the close-up used to show this tells the audience this is an important prop for later in the film. This then cuts to the couple kissing in the tent. Just as the audience begins to think that this is a love scene, the sound of the zip of the tent being pulled up slowly can be heard, the slow pace creates tension as to what could be outside and the camera zooming in on the zip creates suspense in the audience. The man and woman's scared breathing can also be heard to convey their fright to the audience. Creating tension and suspense is very important for a horror/thriller film, as the audience should feel scared and be kept on the edge of their seat. The girl’s foot is then grabbed quickly by an unknown hand. This is done to make the audience wonder what could have done this and draw them into the film as there is mystery surrounding this. The fact that there is no suspense music used suggests that it is done to shock the audience and not give them the feeling that something is coming, as the suspense music is a trait of the horror/thriller genre. The pace of the cuts speeds up dramatically and shots range from close-ups to high angle shots. This is used to show the struggle between the girl and what is pulling her out and also the man, as it is quick and almost hard to follow, which creates tension as the audience wonder if the girl will live. As it is the girl who is attacked it does conform to many horror/thriller films where the girl is the victim. Blood splatters, which shows the struggle is over as the girl has been wounded and the mystery creature has won. The girl is then dragged out of the tent quickly, this conveys the power of the creature, which tells the confirms the creatures power and status as the killer in the film. The silver knife is shown again in a close-up, which conveys to the audience a sense that they could have protected themselves and the hand slowly attempting to grab it shows the character's attempting to fight, which as the audience has seen the power of this mysterious creature they don't feel this is likely. The man is now sitting at the back of the tent is shown from a high angle with the camera looking down at him, this shows the audience he is vulnerable and powerless, also shown in the scared expression on his face which suggests that he is frozen from fright, he camera then closes in on him, suggesting that the camera's actions mimic that of the creatures and that it is coming for him to, this is also shown in the growling noises that can be heard. The growling that can be heard throughout this struggle drops hints to the audience that this killer is an animal and lets the audience decide what they think the animal is without explicitly showing it. There is then a shot of a full moon and howling can be heard this coupled with the growling and the deaths of both characters suggests to the audience that the creature is a werewolf, as the myth is that they transform during a full moon and are monsters that kill. For the target audience of this film it is likely they will get this reference, as they are likely to be horror fans, and this is common in werewolf films, to see a full moon and hear the wolf howl.
After this there is a cut to black and the title of the film is shown. The font used for this looks like the typical army writing, which suggests the main characters are in the army before the characters are even met which sets the tone for the characters, that they will most likely be men and will be tough. After this we see that the film has gone back to '2 hours earlier', this is a flashback from the action we have just seen, and tells the audience there is plot to unravel and mystery, this engages the audience, as they will be keen to unravel the mystery and find out what happened.
We have used a flashback in our film and hope it will have the same affect.

Sarah