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Film Opening Analysis 3

​Clinical (2017)

Introduction:

Clinical (2017) is a psychological horror film revolving around mental trauma and the fragile boundary between reality and illusion. The main character, Dr. Jane Mathis, is a talented psychotherapist but is deeply traumatized after a patient of hers suddenly attacks. In addition, this event also causes her to fall into a state of panic, insomnia and obsession to the point of having to stop working for a long time. When trying to return to normal life, Jane receives a new patient Alex, a man whose face is disfigured after a mysterious accident. The therapy process with Alex becomes increasingly tense when Jane begins to have delusions and hallucinations, seeing old patients and feeling like the past is repeating itself. She can no longer distinguish between what is real and what is created by her mind, causing her fear to grow. In addition, the film does not focus on the usual scare scenes but digs deep into the character's psychology, creating a suffocating, tense atmosphere through dark images, cold colors and haunting sounds. Later, when the character Jane realizes that what she thought was imagination and hallucination may actually be the truth, and a terrifying conspiracy is gradually revealed. With unexpected twists, Clinical brings a story full of tension and obsession, making the audience constantly skeptical about reality and the character's own mind.

​First scene:

From the very first moment, the film creates a sense of unease through dark tones, slow transitions, and an eerie silence that pervades each frame. The use of slow fade in, fade out with dark backgrounds and dim lighting is not simply a visual trick, but also represents the theme of psychological instability, the boundary between reality and obsession with the core elements that the film will deeply explore. The color scheme is established from the beginning with cold, slightly blue and gray tones, creating a sense of isolation and distance, which also shows a direct reflection of the main character's psychology. When the cast and director list appears the frames maintain a minimalist yet haunting and mysterious composition, without exaggeration but instead a tense silence. The background music does not follow a grand or dramatic style, but chooses a very gentle but gradually overwhelming style, like a silent wave pushing the viewer into a stuffy, uncertain space, signaling the upcoming instability.The official scene opens in a dimly lit therapy room, where Dr. Jane Mathis, the main character of the film is conducting a psychological counseling session for a young female patient. The therapy room space does not have too many elaborate details but this simplicity brings a feeling of isolation and disconnection. The light in the room mainly comes from a small table lamp and a little dim light from the window but most of the space is still covered in darkness, creating an invisible insecurity. This reflects the psychology of both characters: Dr. Jane, a person who appears calm on the outside but carries an inner instability, and the young girl who is trapped in her own mind, with the fear of not being able to escape. The director used a medium shot to establish the space and relationship between the two characters, then gradually moved to a close up shot as the conversation turned to sensitive topics, especially when the girl began to show anxiety and fear. This was a very clever approach because it forced the audience to focus on the facial expressions and eyes where the most subtle psychological changes were revealed. When the girl began to talk about her fear, the frame changed to an over the shoulder shot, placing the audience in the perspective of Dr. Jane, making the viewer feel like they were part of this conversation, while also creating a sense of empathy and curiosity.The tension gradually increased as the young girl began to show panic, her face clearly changed with unstable, desperate expressions. At this point, the director used a handheld shot causing the frame to shake slightly, simulating the character's feeling of losing control. This way of shooting is very effective in increasing the authenticity, making the audience no longer feel like this is just a movie but actually witnessing a real moment of horror. The cold blue tone is still maintained, but the girl's pale skin combined with her wide open, panic filled eyes further highlight the fragility and vulnerability of this character. The girl gradually loses control, her voice becomes intermittent, her breathing becomes rapid, while Dr. Jane although she always smiles and tries to stay calm, also begins to show signs of anxiety and stress. At this point, the camera switches from medium close up to extreme close up, focusing entirely on Jane's expression, emphasizing that she is not just a doctor observing the patient but is also deeply affected by the situation before her. The climax occurs when the girl suddenly screams violently and acts to self-harm, creating a great shock not only for the character Jane but also for the audience. The sudden appearance of blood, contrasting sharply with the previously overwhelming cold tones, makes the red color an extremely haunting visual highlight. The previously silent sound is suddenly broken by a piercing scream, combined with the slow motion effect when the girl begins to harm herself, prolonging this terrifying moment so that the audience can feel the full horror of Dr. Jane. The camera shakes more strongly, emphasizing the feeling of complete loss of control of the scene. An important detail is the sudden tilt of the Dutch Angle, a technique often used to create a sense of imbalance implying that both Jane and the viewer are no longer in control of the situation.

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​Sound:

The background music now becomes intense, extremely tense, increasing the feeling of suffocation. As Dr. Jane tries to stay calm, her eyes are full of fear but also carry helplessness. Here, we can see that she is not just a doctor trying to help a patient, but also a woman who is haunted by her own memories and pain. This shows that, right from the first minutes, the film clearly establishes the theme of psychological trauma and its effects on those around her. More than just a shocking gore scene, this scene carries a deeper meaning about pain, helplessness and the serious consequences that psychological trauma can cause.

​Colour grading:

The film uses color grading with cold tones such as blue-gray and pale white. Right from the first seconds, the audience can feel the coldness through the use of color. Pale blue and gray appear on the walls, furniture and even the lighting, creating a feeling of isolation and separation. These colors are also often used in psychological horror films to emphasize the distance between the character and the surrounding world. The contrast between white light and darkness. In the first scenes, white light from fluorescent lamps is used to create the feeling of a professional space, but at the same time it also makes the scene lifeless and lacking in warmth. When the tense situation occurs around the 4th minute, darkness begins to cover more, showing the character's loss of control. In addition, the director also uses the red tone of blood to stand out against the pale background. In addition, the director uses a common technique in horror films to make the overall color cold and pale, but to make the red of the blood more vivid. This makes the blood a strong visual highlight, immediately attracting the audience's attention and increasing the tension of the scene.

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​Props:

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The director used several important props to highlight the characters' psychology and create a tense atmosphere. One of the most important props is Dr. Jane's desk. Initially, it shows her professionalism and neat personality, with documents and items arranged in an orderly manner. However, it is worth noting that there are no personal items on the desk such as family photos or decorations, implying that Jane lives in isolation and lacks connection with the outside world. The light from the desk creates a cold feeling, emphasizing the distance and loneliness she is experiencing. The space seems neat but is too perfect, as if Jane is trying to control everything in her life, including her unresolved psychological wounds. Next to the desk, the fish tank that appears at around 02:30 also has many layers of deep meaning. The fish swimming silently in the tank symbolize Jane’s patients who are trapped in their own psyches, as well as how Jane feels confined in her life. The pale blue light from the fish tank makes it stand out from the overall color scheme of the room, but instead of being relaxing, it evokes coldness and distance. The water in the tank reflects the light in a distorted way, as a metaphor for the unclear reality that Jane is about to face. This signals that the film will not only focus on simple psychological issues, but also delve into more complex aspects of perception and memory.

​Characters:

Dr. Jane Mathis's professional appearance helps her hide her inner turmoil. Her outfit consists of an white shirt combined with a gray or beige blazer, creating a serious appearance, befitting a psychologist. However, this neutral tone also implicitly shows rigidity, distance, and emotional control. In the context of a story revolving around psychological trauma, Jane's choice of safe colors can also symbolize the desire to stay calm and avoid too intense emotions. In addition, Jane's makeup is almost bare, only a very light foundation, pale lips, showing naturalness, but also a bit tired and stressed. This is consistent with the image of a doctor working with severely mentally ill patients. The dark circles under her eyes may have been an intentional effort by the director to emphasize that Jane is also suffering from her own trauma. In the first scene, Jane appears calm and professional, but also somewhat cold. She does not show much emotion, keeping her distance from the patient instead of showing too much empathy. This suggests that she is used to difficult cases or is trying to control her own emotions. However, as the girl loses control, Jane's expression gradually changes from calm to panic, and when the bloody event occurs, a flash of obsession and panic appears in her eyes. This reveals that Jane also has deep unresolved trauma, and this event will play an important role in her psychological development in the rest of the film.

The girl is wearing a loose white blouse or long dress, almost like what a psychiatric patient or inpatient would wear. White usually symbolizes purity or weakness, but in this case, it contrasts with the red blood that appears later, creating a strong contrast between life and death, between innocence and violence. Her blouse is slightly wrinkled and loose, which could symbolize psychological laxity, vulnerability and loss of control. It also reflects that she may have not cared for herself for a long time, which is common in people with severe mental disorders. In addition, her makeup has pale, almost white skin, with dark circles under her eyes. The director deliberately darkened her eye circles and blurred her lips, making her look like someone who has suffered from insomnia, tired and exhausted. This not only shows her poor mental health but also makes her look ghostly, more like a ghost than a real person. As the girl begins to panic, her forehead is covered in sweat, her eyes are wide open, her breathing is rapid, and her face is covered in blood, creating a terrifying and painful image, reflecting the fear she has endured. At the beginning of the film, the girl appears weak and reserved, but still has a little hope when she goes to Dr. Jane for help. However, during the conversation, she gradually loses control, her voice is broken, her eyes are full of confusion. This shows that she is haunted by the horrible memories she has experienced. When she completely loses control, the look in her eyes changes from panic to madness, which implies that she is no longer herself but has been overwhelmed by psychological trauma. The sudden act of self-harm not only shocks the audience but also emphasizes an important theme of the film that psychological trauma can push people into a dangerous state where they no longer have control over their actions. In this scene, Todorov’s Narrative Theory can be applied to highlight the change in the character’s state. Initially, the girl appears weak and confused but still has a bit of hope, this is Equilibrium, when she is still able to control herself despite her mental instability. However, as the conversation continues, the terrifying memories arise, causing her to gradually lose control, her voice trembles, her eyes are filled with fear, marking Disruption, where the equilibrium is broken. The climax of this disruption is when she completely loses herself and starts to harm herself, showing that the psychological pain has completely dominated her. This is the moment when she reaches Recognition of the disruption, when the chaos is clearly revealed. In Todorov's Narrative Theory, the next stage is usually Attempt to repair the disruption, but the scene does not show the girl regaining control, implying that she is still stuck in the spiral of pain.

Media student

Year 12 student at BVIS

​Question

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