Sinisters use of Negative Space

*possible spoilers below*

I watched Sinister the other day and was quite impressed with its use of Negative Space. I always love when horror movies use cinematic tricks to scare, rather than just cheap gore.

In this scene, the main character is trying to rush out of town. You get a sense that there's a time limit to get out and being pulled over by a cop for speeding is the LAST thing you want. The blockage of escape by the officer ramps up the tension, but shooting it wide with black negative space surrounding the middle of frame puts the viewer on the edge of their seat. Look at how many directions the monsters can come from! The little bit of light from the police car is completely enveloped by the darkness. There's no question which is more powerful in frame, the unknown or the safety of the police lights.

Another spot in the film I found interesting was how they played with conventions. For example, we start by moving the character into a large area of Negative Space, which is creepy but expected.

Then at this point, I felt this was going to be a bit Cliche, since I know something will pop out of the Black Negative Space.

And someone did...

 

However, instead of the usual flashy quick-cutting methods, the film-maker chose to defy conventions and kept the girl there for a long time. Enough to get past the original cheap scare and then into a creepiness level that elevated this into one of my favorite scenes. And then went wide as the main character moved back into the Negative Space, not seeing her behind him the whole time.