Resident Evil

Resident Evil

-Characters

Colin Salmon as James Shade

Milla Jovovich as Alice

Michelle Rodriguez as Rain Ocampo

Eric Mabius as Matt Addison

-Setting

The setting is in an underground lab beneath infected city, known as “Raccoon City”. The underground labyrinth is mainly filled with laboratories, man of which are white and grey, showing how sterile it is, and inspiring fear in the audience by contrasting the light colours with the dark idea’s. Many parts of it are poorly lit, and as such this helps to give us an idea of the unknown.

-Mise en Scene

Throughout the film Alice is wearing a long flowing red dress, and at different parts this apparent clothing reveals parts of her past. Because she is wearing such unusual clothing in this kind of situation, it connotes that she is an unusual person, and that although she may look normal, she most certainly isn’t. As well as this, the use of mixed lighting, from harsh lights that glare the scene, or very low key lighting, the contrast between the two shows that she has uncertainty within herself, helping the audience relate more to her, and helping her to become more of a main character.

-Sound

Throughout the film, non-diegetic sound is present, at many points adding a rhythm to the film, causing the audience to respond in kind when something is happening. The film’s non-diegetic backing speeds up and becomes more intense when something is about to happen, to “prepare” the audience for it, and to build tension to that moment. As well as this, diegetic sounds like gunshots and talking help to anchor the film, providing verisimilitude and helping to make the action scenes more thrilling.

-Camera shot/movement

The film builds suspense by trying to show what could be there. So many of the shots are aimed at either showing empty areas and letting you think something could be there, or showing characters reactions to these ideas. To create a sense of closeness, and claustrophobia, they also use a lot of mid-to-close range shots. In terms of movement, they use many handheld shots, to help the audience members feel like they are there with them, and thus make them relate.

-Edits

The main edit used, as is very common, is the straight cut. This edit is used to provide anchorage for the film, and make it scarier by adding verisimilitude. As well as this, the speed of the edits used helps to add to the sounds tempo, which helps to show the audience when something is about to happen and thus makes them feel more scared at the event. Also, when Alice remembers something, a fade through white is used, and the scene is all blurry and distorted. The use of these effects shows just how foggy her mind is, and helps the audience to see that she is remembering something, as it is sudden.