The Thing in the Apartment- Short Film Analysis.

The Thing in the Apartment Analysis 

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2015/10/28/the-thing-in-the-apartment/

The film starts with a close up shot of a mobile phone with an incoming call from ‘Lindsay’ – the audience can immediately imply that the shot is at night time, connoting that something is wrong due to it being unusual to receive a phone call at such a late time at night - this implies the horror genre. 

The camera then cuts to a close up of Sam who answers the phone. This shot is also combined with low key lighting further implying that the scene is set at night, and also connoting the genre of the film, which is horror. We then here diegetic sound of Lindsay saying “there is something in my apartment” in a worried, concerned voice – further implying the horror genre as she seems panicked. 

The phone call then dissolves into an establishing shot of Lindsay’s apartment with Sam’s car driving from the left hand corner to the centre of the shot, signifying the importance of the character and what action she is doing. 

We then see Lindsay sat in an empty apartment via a close up shot of her face using low key lighting to symbolise that something bad is about to occur, connecting  to the genre of the film. The temperature of the shot is also very cold, implying the mood of the scene and the character, allowing the audience to see her emotions without looking directly at her facial expressions.

We then hear a diegetic creaking noise coming from outside of the room Lindsay is sitting in. Lindsay looks away from her phone as it cuts to a POV shot of Lindsay looking into her hallway. We then here a loud diegetic scream as we are introduced to the ‘thing’.

As Lindsay runs out of her apartment she meets Sam in her car and is shot via a close up, with lowkey lighting making the audience focus on Lindsay’s face and her emotions. The lowkey lighting signifies the time of day and genre as it matches the codes and conventions of the horror genre. 

Sam is then seen walking into the apartment via a medium shot as loud diegetic music starts to play, making the audience feel tense. However, they have focused on Sam’s footsteps as she walks up the stairs to imply how quite it is and to build further tension to the audience. 

Lindsay then later follows Sam into her apartment and shouts “Sam?” With no other noise other than diegetic sounds coming from the ‘thing’ in another room. Lindsay is first seen in a medium shot, but tracks in to a close up so make the audience focus on her emotions as her weeping becomes louder. This is also matched with a shallow focus, focusing on Lindsay’s face making her the prominent character and signifies importance within this shot.

Lindsay runs back into Sam’s car and is shot via a close up. This connotes that her facial expressions are important to the story. This then cuts to a bucket rolling along the floor with a loud diegetic bang – implying that the ‘thing’ is after her. The camera then pans right to see Lindsay’s face again shot by close up with loud diegetic breathing, implying that Lindsay is panicked. The Camera then beings to pan left revealing the ‘thing’ sat next to her in the passenger seat as the audience hears a loud diegetic ‘roar’ coming from the ‘thing’ as it beings to attack Lindsay, before quickly cutting to a black screen with credits.