How does Kenneth Branagh create an atmosphere of horror and suspense in the wedding night scene?

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How does Kenneth Branagh create an atmosphere of horror and suspense in the wedding night scene?

In Kenneth Branagh’s movie version of Frankenstein, Branagh tries to create an atmosphere of horror and suspense.  I am going to try and discover how Branagh creates the atmosphere of horror and suspense in the wedding night scene.  I will do this by analysing four to six scenes or sequences by focusing on what the audience sees and hears.

The first scene I chose to analyse was the scene when, straight after the wedding, Elizabeth and Victor are in bed kissing.  The lighting is soft and romantic.  After a short while, the sound a recorder being played is heard.  The monster played the recorder to let Victor know that he was there like he had said.  Both Victor and the audience realise that the monster played the recorder but Elizabeth does not know this and therefore doesn’t realize that the monster is nearby.  From the soft and romantic lushness in the atmosphere, comes an atmosphere of suspense where the audience eagerly await the appearance of the monster.  Branagh uses the lighting and the sound of the recorder to make us feel calm and romantic because of the recorder, although this does give us a strange feeling inside as when the recorder stops playing, there is a silence where we become eager to find out what happens next.  The scene is a medium close-up.  This is effective because it shows us the interplay between Victor and Elizabeth

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The second sequence I chose to analyse was when Elizabeth lies back on her bed and we see s shot of the monster at the skylight.  As the first scene begins, there is a silence in which Elizabeth is confused about what is happening.  We see a medium shot of Elizabeth at this point.  Elizabeth look around the room, then lies down with her facial expression changed as if Victor will control his matters.  As she lies down with her head on her pillow, we see a close-up of Elizabeth’s face which seems slightly relaxed but still confused.  We ...

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