Use horror and thriller methods to add color to family ethics themes

The classification of the movie is quite interesting, and it is labelled as comedy/drama! Obviously, from the first shot, the director deliberately created a sense of horror. A close-up face of an old woman reminds people of a witch or an evil character. The first scene also continued this weird feeling. The old woman who got off the car dragged the suitcase and rang the doorbell from door to door, like an unexpected guest, clearly the opening method of a suspenseful horror film. Especially when she accidentally stepped on the puddle and screamed, it also reflected the hidden malice of the character (this predictive scene was echoed when the conflict broke out at the end). The welcoming scene when the old woman enters the room, and the awkwardness and cautious greetings between the characters are all revealed in the dialogue and actions. When she embraces the conversation with the last man who enters the room, it makes people feel like they are The relationship is both familiar and unfamiliar (the relationship between the two will be revealed in a later scene).

This kind of opening method of creating a suspenseful atmosphere is clearly a common tactic in horror and thrillers. Used in this family ethics drama, it shows an unbalanced sense of comedy. I think it was because the film was classified as a comedy. And this grotesqueness that challenges traditional family themes has been continuously upgraded and deepened in later imaging techniques such as soundtracks, photography, editing, and frame distortion.

The heroine is cooking in the kitchen, and inexplicably strong drums sound in the background, gradually strengthening to cover up the noise of the dialogue, set off the emotional ups and downs of the heroine, and exaggerate the atmosphere of oppression, tension, and the desire to come. This kind of soundtrack commonly found in horror and thrillers reveals a weird meaning here, constantly hinting that the heroine will bring a devastating disaster to the family (this is finally confirmed).

And the director seamlessly juxtaposes various scenes that disrupt linear time (wrist-wapping, playing on the grass, watching AV in the bedroom, and dialogue on the terrace) through unpredictable jumping editing. I always feel that the upper and lower shots are irrelevant, constantly adjusting the focus of the audience. This approach, which is different from traditional themes, brings a lot of subversion to this Thanksgiving party story.

The stylized photography, such as slow motion and rotating lens, distorted the frame at the beginning and the end, accurately analyzes the emotional evolution of the heroine and reveals the most hateful aspects of her character. Undoubtedly, this is an extremely sad character. She returned to the big family on Thanksgiving. On the surface, it seemed that the family love made up and reconciled, but the more she looked at it, the more she felt the tears and the inability to reconcile the family love under the undercurrent, especially when her son had a conversation with her in the bedroom. The scene was depressing and disturbing. In the end, the scene where the heroine and her sister were torn apart and scolded and pushed the family gathering to the climax of a nightmare.

In essence, the core of this story is no different from traditional family themes. An "intruder" exposes the unspeakable contradictions and irreparable rifts hidden in this seemingly harmonious and warm family. And the reason why this debut work makes people's eyes shine is nothing more than the realism that blows on the face. The director chose his family to play the role, and the whole film was completed in his mother's home, presenting a rare sense of reality. The second is to use horror and thriller methods to add color to family ethics themes. Although there are many suspicions of dazzling skills, but from these experimental video skills, people have to admire the talent of the young director Schalz.

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