Sunday, September 7, 2008
Thailand Horror films have always had a greater grip of fear on us, for the matter of fact, most Asian horror films all have the same degree of familiarity and intensity of fear for us.
4bia is one such movie, but the interesting change in this production which sets it apart from other Asian Horror films is that 4bia has four different stories, 4 different directors, 4 different plots and 4 times the SHOCK! I shall not do a review of the movie and spoil the thrill for my readers who have yet to catch it. But what i shall do, is bring to attention one particular story, "Loneliness", A young woman, stuck in her apartment thanks to the cast on her leg, communicates with the outside world via cell phone and text messages. She begins receiving text messages from a stranger, who seems friendly enough, and there’s no reason for her to read between the lines when he mentions that he’s currently dwelling somewhere “cramped.” After sending the mysterious stranger her picture, things become spooky.
The use of non-verbal communication in this story astounded me. I felt it not only heightened the fear for me it also lengthened the suspense. In the clip below you will notice the communication between the girl and the ghost.The ghost will be telling her, his location via the messages. This linear form of communication takes its pinnacle when the ghost walks from the front of her flat, up the stairs and into her home. Instead of actually filming the physical ghost's journey into her home,the director very cunningly used lighting. Thats right, he literally used the lighting tubes on the ceiling. As the ghost walked up, each of the passed light tube went off depiciting the movement of the ghost. This interactive model of communication, left everyone in the cinema grounded to their seats.
Watch the clip below and start paying closer attention from 1min 35secs.
Wouldn't you agree with me that the use of lighting instead of actually showing the ghost heightened the fear level? A beautiful exploitation of Non-verbal and Linear communication by the Director.
So the next time you get a message from a unknown number asking to make friends..be more discreet~!
Whirled Through 10:08 PM
9 Comments:
I agree that the use of lighting rather than showing the ghost heightened the fear! The lights which flashed off in turn indicated that the ghost was slowly getting closer, and that was really, really scary. I like how there wasn't a need for dialogue in the film, and it's amazing how all it took was some lights, text messages, and loud messages to leave everyone huddled in fear on their seats. Very good use of non-verbal communication indeed!
hmm.. lights going off one by one, fresh idea.. i guess whatever that's new to us actually arouse fear in us as we do not know what to expect.
Also, apart from just seeing the lights going off, i guess the silence and the sound off the light tubes extinguishing actually adds to the eeriness.
Well we all see the extent to which non verbal communication has taken effect in each of our lives. From a simple gesture, to hand signs and many more. This clipping was a good example in the sense that it portrayed exactly what the director wanted to portray and gave the viewers a good scare as well. Fear, suspense were the twon main emotions brought about without the need of verbal communication. A well analysed scene, i will try and catch this one.
non verbal communication has the ability to allow the receiver to decode the message in his/her own perspective and that is the reason why it can be used to build up fear/suspense as in this case.
instead of directly telling the audience, 'the ghost is coming', the switching off of the lights allow the audience's imagination to run wild, and that increases the fear factor.
Anthology of 4 short ghost stories designed to scare you outta ur wits. Won’t u second that Theebhan? That extremely lonely female has only her mobile phone –(sms) to keep her in contact with the outside world.Things seems to be on the up when a mysterious stranger starts texting her. Ewww..The unique quietness of it makes everything seem scary, even a simple phone vibration.
Paralanguage cues were gr8 in formin impression!!I was freakin out, by the time the lights at the stairway were shutting off at a speed, I had my eyes covered and was peeking thru ! Ewww. Whether you watch this movie on DVD or in the Cinema. I guarantee that YOU'RE gonna jump too!
i have not personally seen this film myself, but it seems like the Thais are the new Japs when it comes to horror films. the Japanese horrow flick ' The Ring' has spun sequels, and even an english version of it.
having been in sales for over a year, i definitely agree that unspoken actions speak louder than spoken words. may times i have observed words contradictory to ones actions, and it is often such unconscious actions that give them away.
Hey Theebiz
i too just watch this show and i thought i was a killer! it was defintely one of the better shows ive watch this year. it was really scary and all the non verbal cues used for this movie was fantastic. the movie and the pounding bass at times made the scene so much more instense. sometimes the lack of music also helps set the mood. the wonders of non verbal is amazing!
I personally feel that in this kind of horror stories, it is the fear of the unknown than the fear of the ghost which affects me more. Like what Lucas said, the scary part is often the suspenseful part when your imagination runs wild. An example of horror film of the exact opposite would be those Western slasher flicks. In those, they tend to use blood, gore and violence to create the sense of horror, which is quite different from the horror caused by suspense.
...no need for dialogue...reminds me of... wall-e.
I enjoyed Wall-e better because of its lack of dialogue but rich content &storyline which spoke so so so much more.
Nevermind that its a story for kids... I say the film spoke twice as much as it would have with dialogue.
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