Micro-Analysis for The Stepfather

Camera: Low angle makes house seem scarier, fluid camera movements, canted angle - dead boy at table, bodies out of frame, lots of close ups edited to create fast pace, blood foreshadows, crane shot of living room, P.O.V. shot. 


Mise-en-Scene: Calm, normal suburban town, pale faces - death, bloodied weapons, shaving equipment all laid out precisely/deliberate,  think he is a family man until all the death of all family, contrast from pristine bathroom to the chaotic living room with the death everywhere.


Editing: Title sequence and idents, fades into first shot, location establishing shots, P.O.V. shot, fast editing when getting ready, lots of match cuts, slow fluid movement when he gets downstairs, lots of straight cuts, flashback - sped up - whoosh noise, edit from perspective, closing door follows into another location.



Sound: lots of minor keys used, base drones incorporated with ambient sound. Silent Night plays, contrapuntal sound - contrasting audio and images, screams is a sound bridge and foreshadows, alarms of barking dog and the phone is off the hook.