Insidious: Characters

Characters

A long shot tilts downwards to show a young boy asleep in his bed. This establishes that not only will this movie chiefly involve the young boy but that the house belongs to a family who will also be involved with the events that unfold. The duvet consists of dark colours which have connotations of masculinity, giving the audience a reading that the boy typically subscribes to the male stereotype (for young boys). There are also toys present suggesting that the film is constructed on the 'regular' child. What's more his his hair is inconspicuous, having been cut quite ordinarily for young boys which provides greater relation to the realism of young boys in society.

We are also given a close up shot of an old woman. A candle acts as the prop for the woman which she holds to illuminate her face only. Candles are supposed to present love and dispel darkness, usually used religiously for weddings, baptisms, funerals etc. This juxtaposes with the woman herself who on the other hand, reflects demonism through her make-up and costume. Her skin is uncharacteristically pale suggesting she's ill and/or dead; the shadows across her face give the impression she is surreptitious but has evil motives . The veil over her head is constitutes the structure of a wedding veil yet it is black rather than white suggesting she wears funeral attire. This provides connotations of mourning and impurity as well as a lack of innocence suggesting that the woman has committed unspeakable crimes. Due to the nature of the film being a horror we can only assume that she is a murderer.


Finally we are provided with a close up shot (which fades in from black) of a woman sleeping on a sofa which slowly zooms out. The woman has make-up on suggesting she has values on looking good which shows she is subscribing to the archetype of women. She wears pyjamas on which monkeys and bananas are printed which has connotations of simplicity and innocence, therefore showing the woman has is targeted to look like the 'stereotypical' woman.