Cujo Movie Analysis Key Elements of Mise-en-scene ( starts 4:08 - 5:51)

In the scene of Cujo the setting of the old house could be significant to the scene as it entails a mysterious opening to the scene. The darkness surrounding the house in the opening could connote the theme of evil in the upcoming event of the movie. The darkness can also suggest the mood of the story and relate to the genre of the movie. The internal opening scene could connote this horror will take place mainly in this house as the narrator decides to begin in the child’s bedroom The props in the subject’s room signify the age of the character in the scene. The producer may do this to build suspense in foreshadowing an upcoming event in the scene. This can also tell the audience about how the killer in the story targets his/her victims in the movie. The outfit worn by the little boy could highlight the time the scene takes place as he is in his pajamas's in the sequence. This could lead to the audience wondering what the little boy is doing up at this time at night. The body language of the little boy goes from happy and vibrant to anxious when he enters the room. The producer is conveying there is going to be a turn of emotions through the characters body language in the room. The facial   expression on the close up of the boy as he enters the room shows the fear the little boy is feeling in the room compared to how exhilarated he just was in the hall way. This effect gives the audience a sense of wonder to what had shifted his emotion. The lighting in the scene shows just a back light being the subjects room well lit in the hall way but as he enters his room it changes to being very well lit. The darkness in the hallway could foreshadow the sudden, peculiar turn of events in the sequence. Also the hall way is filled with the colour black which could connote the theme of evil in the rising event of the movie. On the contrary, the lighting in the room is bright giving a happier feeling. However when he turns off the bedroom light (the main light) the back light is the only light coming from the bedroom window giving an atmospheric feeling in the room. The colours in the room when the light goes off go dole and creates a sense of mystery in the little boy’s bedroom through the narrator’s use of colour and lighting. When the boy discovers ‘the monster’ in the cupboard his body language show him as a weak character in the movie through the use of character positioning in the sequence furthermore he is seen clenching the blanket looking trembled clearly displaying he is uncomfortable in his own bedroom leading the audience to believe the monster has just came as he was vibrant until he had discovered the monster in the cupboard. 

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