Does James Wan's use of isolated children in his horror films make him an auteur?
Projector - image of James Wan with The Conjuring theme tune playing over it (10seconds) (Item 1)
Presenter - James Wan is a notorious horror film director who has created such pieces you may recognise like The Conjuring and the Insidious franchises. It is franchises such as these that really show off the quality that Wan has the ability to make. His horror features all share certain traits that it is debated that he could be considered an auteur. The auteur theory is an interesting one as it claims that although directors can create their own film interpretations, it is only a select few who can brag about this unofficial title. Wan's usage of isolated children is common within the horror genre, however fans of his work are able to distinguish between features he has made or not depending on the usage of said children.
Projector - Play clip from Insidious (Dalton's dream sequence) (Item 2)
Presenter - As you can see, our main character Dalton is complete isolated in his significant events and is portrayed as being 'different'. It is this element of 'different' which Wan plays upon.
Projector - Play clip from The Conjuring 2 (On the swings) (Item 1)
Presenter - Although both of these films are not connected they're shot very similarly and are simply identifiable as Wan's work. The Conjuring 2 has much more dialogue from Janet, the main isolated child character, than Dalton from Insidious however both play off of the child's isolation in different ways. In the swing scene I have just shown you it was clear from how Janet acted and spoke she felt very alone and was reserved in how she talked to Lorraine, the other character in the scene. It is because of her isolation that she is preyed upon by the supernatural force around which the feature is in fact based.
Projector – Play clip from Annabelle (Young girl awoken) (Item 3)
Presenter – You have now seen clips from all 3 of my main Wan-made films and you may have noticed similarities in not only the character’s portrayal but also the cinematographic itself. Low-key lighting can be discarded as a similarity as it is a standard horror convention and is therefore present in in 99% of horror films. Wan particularly enjoys playing on the human senses in his pieces as he rarely shows what you should be scared of until the end of the scene, by which point you’re question yourself…Are you scared of the monster or the anticipation of the possible jumpscare? Wan’s high frequency use of mid-shots on his isolated characters is interesting as they show space around them where nothing is lurking which should make the scene less scary for the audience when in fact it somehow manages to add to the effect. Wan is one of the only more recent horror directors to be able to achieve this.
Projector – Play Slash Film interview clip (Item 7)
Presenter - In the interview you have just seen, Wan makes it clear that he is a fan of long takes in his horror films as they build suspense. Does this make him an auteur? Perhaps not. But it is undeniable to say that even if you only watch Insidious and The Conjuring 2 you can tell that they have a sense of familiarity to them that you can’t quite put your finger on until you in fact realise they’re both directed by James Wan. A combination of lighting, tracking shots and building eerie music are all standard Wan conventions.
Projector – Play “James Wan: Sound and Suspense” (Item 10)
Projector - Play “How Wan conjures up a scare” (Item 11)
Presenter- As previously mentioned, Wans signature style is clear here. Specific music cues using the same waterphone sounds to build tension and heighten suspense within the audience. These particular noises are most commonly used by him when showing the isolation of the child characters in the creepier scenes. This link with child isolation and the music is important to note as when we later hear the waterphone sounds our brains picks out Wan’s horror movie franchises like some sort of pop up ad.
Projector – Play waterphone video (Item 12) (10 seconds)
Projector – Play interview “Director James Wan discusses Insidious”
Presenter - The main point you may or may not have picked up on was that Wan said he shoots films as if they were from his perspective. They've got to scare him in order for him to see them as effective to any degree. By putting himself into the eyes of his characters he connects with his work and truly makes it his own creation. Wan's use of isolated children could possibly be attributed to his strange upbringing. He was born in Malaysia and is of Malaysian-Chinese descent, later in life he moved to Perth in Australia and gained Australian citizenship. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he plans the majority of his films. Due to this erratic movement early on in life it could be said that he felt/feels isolated as a child because of moving to such different communities in a relatively short time frame. Wan portrays himself through his films by using isolated children to depict the fear and loneliness of his youth. In the that interview he also mentions Saw, a franchise that has not been included in this debate thus far as Wan himself calls it a thriller, not a horror. The differences between Saw and Wan’s horror flicks are evident in every possible way, from characters to lighting to setting…the list goes on.
Projector – Play clip from Insidious (Dalton at the hospital) (Item 2)
Presenter – Even in the scenes where there are no particular horror factors like in this clip, Dalton’s isolation from not only his family but everyone is evident as a) he is in a coma, obviously, and b) the literal glass wall separating him from the rest of humanity it seems. The initial separation from people sets a precedent for the rest of the film as it is not until the towards the end Dalton is seen not only with his family but in the same shot as him therefore showing a sense of connection between them. This elaborate kind of isolation really supports my motion of James Wan being an auteur as no other critically-acclaimed, original idea based horror films from other directors perform in this manner.
Projector - Play clip from The Conjuring 2 (The Wilkins’ interview) (Item 1)
Presenter- As seen in a previous interview you have been shown, this particular clip is extraordinary in its shooting as although Janet is in a relatively small room with several other people, when she is shown on camera she looks distant from the rest of the characters. This incredibly long take shows Janet partly in the background behind Ed throughout the interview using a shallow depth of field to show the physical and mental separation between them. This scene has a cinematographic charm to it as it is so simple yet so effective. Nowhere else in the horror film industry will you find a sequence that this is based until, as an individual piece it is impressive but as part of a feature length film it is extraordinary! Wan really takes the time to connect with his actors in order to pull of a piece like this without it looking cheap and tacky. A book by the name of The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead: A Mortal's Guide to Making Horror Movies (Item 4) contains a short interview with Wan where he explains how he believes that in order to truly connect with the story and the camera he speaks to the actors as though they were their characters, as if he were method acting but...method directing.
Speakers - Play waterphone music (audio only) (5 seconds) (Item 12)
Presenter - I bet you all thought about Insidious just then right?! Point proven. Ignoring the obvious observes paradox by the fact I only told you minutes ago that you would think of Wan’s movies upon hearing that sound, you should now understand what I mean about the brain’s easy association. As this presentation now draws to a close I hope you all now appreciate James Wan’s use of isolated children in his horror films and will notice the trends throughout his works that rightly award him the unofficial title of auteur. Thank you for listening.
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