Textual Analysis Blade

How is the genre constructed in the opening of Blade?

The media en rez of Blade starts with a close up of a women character that has Red hair and a dark lipstick that is also very pale. This introduces her as quite an inhuman character as the sickly pale skin gives us the suspicion that she barely has any sunlight, bearing in mind that scene is shot in night, much like a vampire isn’t allowed in sunlight or else they die. Also there is the fact that she’s wearing dark lipstick and red hair which suggests the theme of death surrounds her which makes the character more suspicious. However this shot puts her in power as it’s shot at quite a low angle which makes her feel dominant.

The camera then very quickly switches to the second character who is almost the opposite of the other character. He is a tanned male who doesn’t seem to know what’s going on. They’re trying to further prove the point that the women is in power. The match-on-action also helps the audience realise that quicker. The fact he doesn’t know what’s going on constructs the horror/vampire genre by showing us a stupid character who is always the victims in horror films. There are also the opening credits in the right third of the frame which is a bulky red font which suggests death and gives the audience even more suspicion about the two characters. This also gives the audience the impression that there will almost certainly be a murder in the scene and goes along with the convention that there will be lots of blood and gore.

The next shot is a tracking shot which is used to try and make the audience feel like they’re not supposed to be there, which gives it a more sinister feel. This also shows that they’re the main concern to the audience by being in the middle third of the frame. The mis en scene of a slaughter house and what looks like butchered animals makes it feel more sinister and it foreshadows that someone will get butchered or hurt much like the bodies hanging up.

This mid shot shows the body in the bags which mean the setting isn’t just a slaughter factory for animals, it murders people as well. The female character is clearly not phased by it however shown in this mid shot which expresses her body language and facial expressions as emotionless. This adds more mystery but contradicts the stereotype that women are damsels in distressed that need to be saved by a man when the man is terrified whereas she’s shown as clearly being calm.

This mid shot where they enter the club signifies the last chance that the male protagonist has of getting out of there or else he will almost certainly die. This is shown by the darkness when the door opens. 

This montage of shots introduces the room the two characters go into. This montage represents the time period that the film is set in, 1990’s, by using strobe lighting effects in a party scene accompanied by the heavy loud continuous music. The credits are still on to represent that this place even though all the characters seem to be dancing this is certainly not a safe place to be in. Also they move at a suspicious speeds this is another suspicion that they are vampires

This is the final hint that the fact that they’re all vampires because they are pouring the blood from the ceiling. Mid shot reveal of the sheet that says ‘BLOODBATH’ in the background gives the audience they’re final warning that the climax is about to occur. The previous shots show the audience the protagonist seem more confused and makes the audience feel sympathy for him as he doesn’t know he’s about to get killed by a group of blood-sucking vampires. The pan up shot from the blood landing on his hand to him trying to guess what the mysterious red substance is backs up the fact that he‘s confused. The close up on his hand gives the audience a close look at what colour the substance is so that they can take an educated guess themselves.  

When the blood finally sprays from the ceiling, the montage of close up shots of the protagonist and the high angle shots of the all the others clearly enjoying the blood is useful to show how the protagonist is in peril which flips the stereotype that it has to be a female who is the damsel in distress. The lighting also becomes brighter to really bring out the colour red in that scene which is a connotation for murder, death and danger, all main conventions of a horror genre. Then camera angle switches to a P.O.V shot to make the audience as frightened as the main character by putting them in his position.

Finally, when the antagonist is on the floor covered in blood looking up to a mysterious figure, who the audience don’t know, the shot is a low angle shot to still show even after the introduction of a new character he’s still the powerless one in the conflict. The blood then stops dripping from the ceiling to signify the character that’s just appeared to stop the things inferred by the blood. He is then shown to be wearing special armour which could mean he is boss.