The Stepfather is a Slasher-Horror released in January 1987. It was loosely based upon the mass-murderer John List, however it is known as being more associated with other slasher films of the same era, rather than a true story. It was written by Donald E. Westlake, Carolyn Lefcourt and Brian Garfield, and it was directed by Joseph Ruben.
Analysis:
The opening scene starts with non-diegetic upbeat woodwind music. The camera starts with a long short of a street that has tree's spotted all the way down the road. The leaves on the trees are brown, red and orange. This implies that the film in set in autumn. The Camera doesn't move, as a young boy rides a bike down the road. The boy steers towards the path, and the camera then pans to follow his as he gets closer.
The young boy then throws a newspaper on the lawn of a big white house, situated on the road he is riding down. The non-diegetic music then increases in volume, and deepens creating an eerie feel. The camera then zooms in towards the house, increasing in volume creating tension as the house becomes closer.
The camera continues to zoom in towards the house, it pans upwards slightly, and then continues to zoom in towards the middle upstairs window. As the camera zooms in to a close up of the window and it becomes the full frame, there is a non-diegetic rustling sound. The camera then jumps to a medium close up inside the house, where a man is standing in a bathroom, and places a small brown case on the lid of the toilet. The camera pans to follow the man, as he walks towards the sink, and zooms out to a medium shot of him looking in the mirror covered in blood. This gives us a sense of dread, and mystery. It makes up wonder if he is a killer, or if he has been injured. The woodwind part of the music then stops, however the bass slows down, and begins to screech. This creates a sense of tension.
The camera then jumps to a close up of the man washing his hand. The hands are covered in blood. This gives us the impression that he is a killer. The non-diegetic music becomes deeper, and faster. This adds to the tension created in the previous scene. The camera then flicks to a medium close up of the mans face. The mans face has blood dripping from it.
The camera then continues to zoom in to a close up of the mans face, creating further tension. The scene then jumps to a close up of the brown case opening, within the case is a suit, in a clothes bag. This creates a sense of mystery and makes us wonder what the man is up to. The camera then zooms out to a long shot and shows the man undressing. The camera then pans, to show the man get into the shower. The scene then jumps to a medium shot of the man cleaning steam of the mirror and looking at himself.
The music then stops, and only continues in small, fast bursts. He then gets a pair of scissors and starts cutting his hair, and beard. The camera then jumps to a close us of the hair he has cut off in the sink. It then jumps back to a close up of him shaving his beard off completely. This creates a sense of mystery and makes us wonder why he is changing the way he looks. It gives the impression that he is more likely to be a killer, than to have been injured. The scene then jumps to an extreme close up of his eye, as he puts a contact lens in.
The camera then jumps back to a medium shot showing him clean, and shaven, putting a crisp white shirt on. It them flicks to a close up of a pair of mens black shoes, before he puts them on. The scene then jumps to a close of of him tightening a red tie. It then zooms back out, and shows him standing in the mirror putting on a suit jacket. This makes us wonder where he is going, because he has completely changed the way he looks from the very first scene he was in. It then pans slightly to the left, and zooms in towards the mirror as he checks himself out, until it reaches a medium close up. He then smiles to himself in the mirror. This gives the impression that he has two identities, leading two very different lives.
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