A Mother's Touch is a film entered into a horror film competition 'The Fear' by Studio Lambert for BBC3, by an amateur filmmaker. It inspired me mostly because of the lighting - the black and white contrast created an eerie atmosphere from the background almost being like 'nothingness', whilst the focus on the character was highly exaggerated. The blue filter made it look cold and quite spooky, which added to the dark tone of the film. This really fit with my initial idea of contrast, as well as the idea of control and restraint being made into something beautifully visual (where in this film they have the use of a cage in their production design).
Black Swan
Black Swan, a 2010 film directed by Darren Aronofsky, is a psychological thriller about a ballet dancer's struggles to control her psyche, with a constant metaphorical battle between her id and superego. Again it is about restraint, which is why it inspired me, but it is the restraint of her superego (in this case her mother), keeping her from giving in to her temptations which turns her insane. I think the idea of personal restraint makes the theme more powerful because it makes the character more vulnerable and the film more emotive, which could be a useful thought for my own film.
I was most inspired by the opening sequence due to its light and dark imagery. The characters are in a black room - the only light is a spotlight on the dancers. This shows how the world doesn't really exist, it is more dreamlike. Nina wears a white dress - she is innocent, but the character in black is tempting her to the dark side. This is similar to my idea in that she is struggling to get away from a form of oppression from the individual path she follows. Therefore again, I was inspired by these visuals for the light and dark contrast and also the blank dark space as a background to make the world less real and more metaphorical.
Under the Skin
Under the skin (directed by Jonathan Glazer) inspired me in a narrative way in the sense that 'female' is different from everyone else, however it was more the visuals in one scene that inspired me. In the surreal part where she lures a man into a surreal place, the space is black and blank, to show how it isn't the real world, which is an effect I want to create as a metaphor. The male character walks essentially 'through the floor', submerging as if in water. I thought this might be an interesting effect to create as it could show how the feeling of 'drowning' could be almost like the feeling of being 'drowned in society' in the way you have no room to be free (due to laws and norms and morals etc). Using the elements in this way could be interesting to experiment with.
Hellraiser
Hellraiser the film itself (directed by Clive Barker) didn't inspire me as much - I didn't want to create a horror film. However I was inspired by one particular scene: Frank gets torn apart by hooks which are attached to chains. I thought this could be an interesting way to portray the idea of restraint if I am wanting a particularly visual piece, where hooks in flesh could be a graphic representation of what it feels like to be oppressed by society: chained up like a prisoner to society's norms and laws, but it is painful to break away and be individual because you will be condemned. If I was to stick to the marionette idea, the strings or chains could be in the flesh via hooks to have more of a shock impact on the audience.
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