Analysis of a thriller, The Silence of the Lambs interpetation

Chas Farthing

Analysis of a thriller

The silence of the lamb interpretation

 

The opening of The Silence of the Lambs interpretation by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is very eerie. It is set in a forest, a very desolate place, with only birds chirping to signify how un-inhabited it is. This creates tension because it plunges the audience into the unknown intrigueing the audience. The non-diagetic backing track is very calm and also eerie, again to intrigue the audience and to not give away too much of the film. It helps set the mood of the film and gives the general idea that the film isn’t going to be a comedy.

 

The editing between the scenes are faded in to keep the mystery of the film, frame by frame.  The mise en scene of the film is also slowly introduced by the clever editing. The opening scene consists of green plants and living things. Slowly, the things start to change in the next few scenes: The leaves start to die; trees that have fallen are rotting on the ground. It then gradually dissolves into the scene of chrysalises surrounded by dead leaves and cockroaches. It’s as if the film is saying, what was once green is now rotting and all the evil is coming out of their shells and consuming the world, spreading the rot.

The scene consisting of the rot and 'creeps' disgusts the audience and puts them more on edge. The non-diagetic music emphasises the horrible mood already being portrayed through the mise en scene. It also gives another hint as to the main plot of the film by having many of the bugs dead on the white canvas. This is because the film is about the life and methods serial killer. The moths are also a running theme throught the film to disturb the audience because moths are generally seen as a pest without a place in our 'perfect' world. The white background which I previously called a canvas is also to imply the normal/clean society and the bugs are an impurity or an infestation. This is a referral to the story of the film because it is about a serial killer, whom are generally seen as a stain on the canvas of society. There is also a jar filled with dying leaves and cockroaches on the white background. This could be to imply the serial killer in society because it looks normal on the outside of the jar but on the inside everything is dying and filled with dirt and grime, all undesirable avoided ammenities.

In a few scenes after that, many dead moths are thrown onto a desk. This is to symbolise the aloofness on the subject of how many people have been brutally killed. All the victims have the same insignificance to the murderer. They are then shown to be placed in a perfect line which shows the prcision of the killer and the order of the killings.

Overall the title sequnce of The Silence of the Lambs interpretation doesn't give away anything about the film to the naked eye. After a closer inspection however, it is clear that it shows alot about what to expect in this horror, especially if you have already watched the film so you can spot the key features.

 

Overall I believe that the opening that was made by the university of Hong Kong is better than the original in my opinion. The one from the actual film is good at setting the scene and introducing the main character. It isn't an opening of as much thought however in my opinion though because it doesn't set the mood as well as the interpretation.