Sound in Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Sound in New Nightmare

Wes Craven's continuiation of the Nightmare in Elm Street series with the title 'New Nightmare', effectively uses sound that is both non-diegetic and diegetic to the scene in it's opening.

The scene begins with the production logos, with the sound of children playing in the distance. This of course for the fans who watch this film for the original, will know that this links to the accident occurring in a school, which has playgrounds. This is almost a homage to the originals, and builds tension to what the fans will see next of their franchise as the production logos end.

Non-diegetic sound is used in the opening scene too, with movements of a robotic hand that seems sentient, and a hammer being smacked against an anvil like a blacksmith. There is also fire crackling in a furnace, which relates to the anvil as that is how blacksmiths make their things. The sound clearly indicates this, and they are very loud with the hammer banging against the anvil, and the robotic hand now on it's own, banging against a surface. There is also steam seeping into a room, the noises clearly audible as paying attention to the sound can build or create tension, but because the lack of sounds in a dark setting makes the audience scared and prepared for a jump scare or anything related to horror.

One use of effective sound in the opening scene is the classic horror theme that is used in all of the previous films. This creepy nursery rhyme musical notes are diegetic, and they welcome the audience back to the characters that were in the franchise and absent for a while. This is effective because it creates an effect of nostalgia, a good example of this is Star Wars, hearing the main theme is nostalgic and magical for some people; so if fans of Nightmare on Elm Street return to the franchise with the chilling theme playing, they will like it more for the nostalgia that they remember. The music is made up of a piano playing high notes that drone for a short while, and it almost sounds as if a child is humming to it. This of course, makes the sound a lot more chilling and effective, because there is something awfully eerie about children singing nursery rhymes in horror films, and is also a conform for a horror to have such a thing. The notes for the piece of music become louder and more audible as the scene progresses, which fits with the scene on hand because at the beginning where it is faint you can only see tools and a normal hand, but as the scene progresses you recognise the character for his signature appeal, such as his red and green jumper, and his 3rd degree burns on his hands. The reason for the music picking up at this point is because the theme relates to your brain, as you slowly recognise who those hands are, you remember the eeriness of the character and what he does, and the special theme that he is remembered for, just like the character Darth Vader and the Imperial March theme, the two are connected, and play a big part for the character and who you want to see him as depending on what music they play when the character is on screen. The presence of this character is scary, and creepy, for the nostalgic presence of him and the theme for him that follows. Near to the end of the scene where he sets down the robot hand, things become calm, and then there is an unsteady musical note as the cleaver comes into shot, and then it picks up as he aims at his other hand, and just as he is about to strike it the scene cuts.

Sound is a very effective element within a horror, and using non-diegetic is usually more scary than using diegetic, because if the characters can hear the sounds too, then you feel like you are truly with them. They can hear the haunting music, and the chilling screams too, and tension builds as it either becomes louder or quieter depending on where they are.