Mise en Scene

    Recently, I watched a horror movie called 'Pearl', which is a prequel to another movie called "X". As I watched, though, I tried to pay attention to the Mise En Scene of the film, which is going to be my topic for today!

   

 Setting: 

    

    Since this movie is a PREquel, it takes place way before X, approximately 60 years, making its setting very old timey and western. A great portion of the movie is set on the main character, Pearl's, farm. Pearl and her family live in a pretty isolated area, her primary source of interaction being with the farm animals in the barn. There were other locations throughout the film though, such as a movie theater, a church, and a corn field, but they were not featured as much as the farm.

Lighting:

    Although this is a horror movie, many of the scenes were shot with lots of light surrounding the shot, with most of the character deaths also being outside in the sun. I feel the kills being shot in a bright environment actually made them a lot more off putting since its opposite to what you usually see in horror movies. with the killer doing their stuff in darker, more secluded areas.

Costume: 

    Since 'Pearl' takes place in 1918, the clothes are very old-fashioned and is probably unusual compared to what is normally worn today. Alot of the characters, mainly Pearl, are seen wearing long, fancy dresses, bows, suspenders, neckties, etc. Having the characters wear items like this helps with the immersion and makes you feel like you are in that time period as you watch. 

Staging: 

    For staging, I want to comment on this specific scene, which features Mia Goth's character, Pearl, "smiling" at the screen while the end credits roll. Watching it was disturbing to say the least, her smile clearly being forced and her eyes filling with tears as the almost 2-minute scene drags on, Pearl looking more and more wary as it progresses. The music of this scene also changes as the scene progresses, going from a joyous, monumental theme to an ominous, unpleasant violin sound. Near the end of the scene, there is a gradual iris effect closing in on Pearl's face, blocking everything else out of the frame, demanding you only look at the terrible expression on her face. The iris transition used to be common in older films and is hardly ever used anymore, but I feel that here it really helps capture the feelings Pearl had.