BW Film Opening Research

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998, Danny Cannon)

Overview:

'I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' is a horror film, and the sub genre is Slasher Horror, the sequel to the 1997 film 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.

The film seems to conform to the generic expectations of a horror film, with orchestral music with background sounds of screaming, and iconography such as churches and candles which are often associated with horror films. The first main character the audience sees is a young woman, who are often central in modern horror fi

lms as women are stereotypically portrayed as being more vulnerable. In these respects, the text fulfills the expectations an audience may have for a horror film opening.

Film Language:

Mise-en-scene is particularly relevant in this opening sequence, as it conforms to many of the norms of a horror film.

The opening shots reveal a church, with the camera behind a character walking through the aisle. Lighting in the scene is limited, com

ing through the church window, and some lighting from candles, making the scene feel dark and uncomfortable. Churches are generally conveyed in horror films to represent the struggle of good against evil, or the associated with s

piritualism such as ghosts.

Camera techniques reinforce the horror theme, with a wide angle shot from a

high angle which reveals most of the church and the woman in it. The camera slowly moves down towards her. This wide angle high shot makes the woman look very vulnerable and alone, which helps build suspense and make the audience believe something bad will soon happen.

Over the opening titles, a discordant soundtrack is played, with echoed screams and people talking. Not only does this reinforce the fact that this is a sequel, the talking possibly taken from the first film, but it makes the audience feel uncomfortable and scared from the very start of the sequence. The discordant sound continues in the church, anchoring the visuals and making the woman look vulnerable.

Danny Cannon also uses other visual techniques to convey ideas, such as filming the woman through the confession bars. This helps with character exposition, as it makes her look trapped and guilty, suggesting to the audience that she has done something wrong. Furthermore, the fact that she is taking confession suggests she is either religious, or is using it as a very last resort.

Narrative:

• The opening sequence starts the film in the traditional linear narrative structure, although the opening sequence is actually a dream, so is more about character exposition and summing up the events of the last film.
• The audience is positioned with the woman, which is made clear as she is the only character we see the full face of in the church, and the shot from behind her which also positions the audience with her. However, the use of filming through the confession bars somewhat alienates her as a character, as there is a physical barrier between the audience and her, connoting the audience not knowing everything about her.
• The major themes in the narrative are fear and confession, conveyed through the wide shots making the woman look vulnerable and the fact that she feels guilty about what she did. The other theme is Christianity, as the whole opening sequence is shot in a church.
• Tension is created and maintained by the use of the discordant music track played, as well as the fact that the wide shots and dark church make it obvious to the audience that something will happen to her, so tension is maintained throughout the sequence as the audience waits for something to go wrong.

Institutional Context:

• Jennifer Love-Hewitt was the main star of the film, although in 1998 she was only really famous for her role in the previous film, 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'. Jack Black also made a cameo in the film, which could have also been a selling point.
• The film was distributed as an industrial film by the distribution company 'Columbia Pictures', so it had a big studio backing.
• The main marketing strategy was the reliance on the first film in the trilogy, which was a success, grossing $125, 586, 134 worldwide.
• The institutional context is only evident in the opening sequence to those who have seen the first film, as they will understand the inter-textual references. To those who haven't, the institutional context is not evident.