How does Thompson create an atmosphere of threat in the school yard scene in cape fear?

 

In the classic thriller movie Cape fear, Thompson uses the school yard scene to create an atmosphere of threat and tension. The atmosphere created overhangs throughout the rest of the movie and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. This is a typical style of scene with a film of the thriller genre. The setting of the scene plays an important role in creating a sense of threat. This particular scene takes place as the female is leaving school. Throughout the scene there are metal bars in shot that are surrounding the school yard. The bars remind the audience of a prison and imply the feeling of being trapped. This suggests that the female is trapped and can not escape the scenes villain. The atmosphere of threat is created as the audience realise something bad is going to happen to this young female character and there is no way she can escape.

 

The sense of threat is also suggested right at the beginning of the scene. As the scene begins, there is a shot of a working water fountain. The fountain is making some sort of hissing sound. This Non – diegetic use of sound is similar to the hiss of a snake. Because the snake is a predator, this noise suggests to the audience that the man involved in the scene also shares the same instincts. The snake is also the Christian religious symbol for the devil. This creates a larger sense of threat because he is like a predator himself looking for the little girl.

 

The costumes also help to suggest a different attitude of threat between the two characters. Although both characters are wearing mainly white, the colour has different meanings between the two. For the girl, the white school uniform suggests innocence and purity within the character. This shows her to be the typical sweet young daughter figure of the time. The sense of threat is added as the man begins to follow her. This suggests that the man is trying to attack her and wipe away her innocence. On the other hand, the use of the same colour on the males costume suggests a hidden identity and sense of mystery within the character. Although the colour white is a symbol of peace and harmony, the man is clearly shown as a villain as he stalks the young girl. This shows how the male character is not what he appears to be and will likely cause trouble throughout the course of the scene. This continues to expand on the atmosphere of threat as the audience knows that the man will do something to the young female. The man hat also helps to build tension within the scene. Throughout the scene the hat is covering part of the man’s face. This once again suggests a lack of identity with this particular character. The bright clothing is also important as it links to the lighting of the scene. The white clothing is easily visible in the dark room that the girl hides in.  This implies that there is no way of the little girl hiding and there is no escape from the man chasing her. This is another one of Thompson’s ways of creating tension and threat throughout the course of the scene.

 

Another way of creating tension in this scene is Thompson’s use of music and chromatic sound. At the beginning of the scene when the man walks towards the girl, the backing music begins to play. The most effective piece of music is the chromatic sound as the man gets closer and closer. As the distance between them decreases, the music gains volume and it becomes much more jumpy. This makes the audience feel more on edge as the scene becomes increasingly alarming. This also makes the audience feel more involved in the scene as they share a sense of threat just as the girl does.

 

Throughout the clip there are also different shots that are used to emphasise the threatening nature of the scene. For example, after Nancy has entered the class room and hidden away, there is a shot of the man’s pelvis as he comes down the stairs. This is a phallic symbol within the scene that suggests some kind of sexual threat towards the female character. The use of this phallic symbol suggests to the audience the kind of things he may do if he caught the girl. This creates a new style of threat as it gets even clearer to the audience, the horror of what the man will do. This also helps to create a clear contrast between innocence and the evil that is shown throughout the scene.