Outcomes and Skills
This unit treats the two films as constructed experiences. Students learn to notice how a shot, a sound, a silence or a cut positions them, and to explain that positioning with precise film vocabulary.
The skill map
| Focus | Skill | Formative evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Identify horror conventions and explain how the films use or revise them. | A genre map with examples from the films. |
| Sound | Distinguish diegetic and non-diegetic sound, and analyse silence. | A sound map of a short sequence. |
| Image | Read shot size, framing, colour, design and editing. | An annotated shot list. |
| Character | Build a family map of wants, fears and communication. | A relationship map and a short explanation. |
| Representation | Discuss deafness, ASL and casting with care and evidence. | A representation analysis table. |
| Survival | Explain how the family plans, adapts and takes risks. | A survival rules chart. |
| Sequel | Compare scope, character and world-building across the two films. | A comparison table and one analytical paragraph. |
| Composition | Write analytically or design a short sequence. | A paragraph, storyboard or sound plan. |
What success looks like
- Students explain how a choice affects the audience, not just what happens.
- They use film terms accurately: shot, frame, cut, diegetic, non-diegetic, mise-en-scène.
- They notice silence as a designed choice rather than an absence.
- They discuss disability representation without reducing a character to a symbol.
- They compare the films by asking what the sequel adds, changes or loses.
- They handle violent and emotional content with care for themselves and others.
Prior knowledge
Students should know the difference between a story and a film, and between sound that belongs to the world and music added for the audience. They do not need prior study of horror. The first week supplies the genre vocabulary; the rest of the unit keeps returning to it.
Viewing plan
View the first film in full before analysing it closely. For the second film, select sequences rather than relying on a full screening if time is short. Pause for observation, but do not pause so often that the tension is destroyed. A first viewing is for experience; a second viewing is for analysis.
View before you analyse. Students need to feel the film's tension before they can explain how it is made. Protect the first viewing from too much commentary.