Semiotic Analysis

Throughout the production a lot of non digetic sound has been used to add effect in the scene and build tension. An example of the non digetic sound used include the music played while Emily is walking to her house, this builds tension and denotes that the scene is building up to a climax. The music which is quite slow paced and creepy could also signify that film will be slow paced but also very scary. As the music is quite powerful the audience could get the feeling that Emily is quite a powerful figure in the film. The use of non digetic sound is also applied when Emily is walking up the stairs and there is a POV shot of her, the eerie music played reinforces the belief that she is being watched. The gate swinging shut as Emily walks up the steps to her house is a common convention of horror film and adds to the mounting tension.

When Emily is in her bedroom and she walks over to the window to put her jacket on the chair there is a narrative enigma; a mysterious non-digetic sound is played and we can see the hooded figure on the street then Emily steps in the frame of the shot and when she moves away the figure is gone.

The second shot is a long shot of Emily and behind her you can see a hooded figure dressed in black which signifies that she is being followed. The dark clothes and hood up connote villainy and this is anchored through the use of the menacing, non-digetic music. The next shot is an over the shoulder shot of Emily from behind the stalker this reinforces the idea that he is a villian and that he is following her.

There is then a high angle shot of Emily which signifies she could be in danger and shows her vulnerability. As Emily walks up the steps to her house the high angle of the shot lessens until it is almost a normal mid shot. This could show that now that Emily has reached the safety of her home she is more control and is not as vulnerable as before. This theme continues in the next shot which is a low angle shot of Emily climbing the stairs. The shot also seems to be a POV shot, this and the shaky camera work signifies that although Emily is less vulnerable she is still being watched and is far from safe.

There is another low angle shot of Emily as she heads down into the cellar to try and fix the fuses. This is an example that Emily is a binary opposition as typical girls would have no idea how to fix fuses and would leave it to a man. The low angle shot also reinforces the belief that Emily is quite a strong masculine character. There is a POV shot as Emily fixes the problem and turns the lights back on and they start to flicker. There is then a visual bridge as in the next shot which is also a point of few shot the light can also be seen flickering. This denotes that somebody else is in the same room as Emily.

There is also a two shot of Emily and Mark unfortunatly the lighting is not very good and we can not see Marks face at all. When Mark explains that he hasn't touched the lights there is a close up of Emilys face and we can see the confusion on her face as she realises somebody else has been in the house.

The preferred reading which the producers would prefer the audience to believe is that the person who was stalking Emily at the start of the production was not Mark and was an actual stalker who was responsible for cutting the fuses and is out to get Emily. This view could be contested as some viewers may believe that Mark was the one person stalking Emily and the threat is over. This reading however would not explain why the fuse wires had been cut.

When Emily walks down the stairs into the cellar she walks into the shot which shows that she is a dominant character. The clothes she wears also denote to the audience that she is an intelligent working woman. She does however have quite a low cut top revealing some cleavage which connotes that she is sexually available and will appeal to male audiences.