Death of a Vlogger is a low-budget found footage horror movie about, well, a vlogger who may or may not be haunted. Operating in a similar space to Lake Mungo, it constructs a documentary framework around the investigation of what, precisely, happened to Graham Hughes, the titular vlogger.
I specifically want to look at one sequence near the end of the movie, so spoilers ahead.
Pattern Recognition
Like we discussed last week, repetition and patterns are a great way to manage your audience. It trains them to look for and expect certain things – giving you the opportunity to surprise and scare them. Watching Death of a Vlogger provided an example of exactly that.
Near the end of the movie, Graham has reached his breaking point and wants to get out of his apartment. He goes to leave the living room, but the door drops him back in the kitchen. He tries to leave again – and again he’s dropped in the kitchen. His panic is rising, and so is our anticipation. He goes to open the door a third time –
And instead of being taken to the kitchen the ghost pops out! It’s pretty much a textbook example of how to construct this kind of scare. The first incident sets the framework of what’s happening. The second repeats, establishing the pattern. And then the third subverts what you’re expecting.
They could have had the ghost pop out the first time he went through the door – that would have been a standard jump scare, where something unexpected happens without any forewarning. But by taking the time to craft this sequence, they escalate the spookiness of what’s happening while also misdirecting the audience’s focus, letting the scare land that much harder.
The Take-Away
This is just one basic example of how you can use patterns to manage audience expectations. The viewer is constantly assessing what’s happening and what they should expect next – we can’t help it as humans. But by controlling, directing and anticipating that expectation, you can heighten the impact of your storytelling.