Then the creature is dropped down into a box shaped as a coffin, which gives us the idea of death, he uses a coffin shaped box because the connotations of coffins are death, and when the experiment starts he is dead. Victor then thrusts through small holes long pins that look like swords. As he puts the pins in we see quick edits of the creatures body moving under the pain of the pins even though he is not alive, this creates sympathy for the creature, also as the pins are thrust into the creature Branagh ups the sound and sound effects to a more scary and critical sound.
Then we see the tank fill up with amniotic fluid and the eels are put in and then we see Victor run to the mains supply and connect it to the box. We then see quick shots of the creature’s body as it is going through immense pain which are very good at creating suspense and sympathy for the audience and creature as the audience are keen to know the outcome of the creation, and whether it has worked or not.
Victor jumps up onto the box and looks through the porthole and this is the first time we see the creature’s face, but still when we see the face it is distorted because of the amniotic fluid so again we are still being held in suspense. The creature’s eyes open and Victor becomes ecstatic at this and quickly runs to close off the electricity going into the creature’s body and when he runs back to the box as this is happening the build up of suspense becomes bigger as we wait to see if the creature is still alive.
As he looks over the porthole he sees the eyes of the creature have closed and his head drops and he walks away, at this point all the suspense that was in this scene has gone, the music has quietened and has left us with a solitary room with one person walking away. The next scene is very interesting as Branagh uses hands as a sign of life. As Victor walks away there is a loud bang which creates suspense and tension. He looks around and we see the hand moving in the porthole. He uses a hand because we normally associate the movement of hands with life.
So Branagh is symbolising the birth of this creature by using its hands. After this the creature starts to move wildly in the box Victor rushes over to the box to open the top, as he open the top the top flies way on the other side of the laboratory leaving amniotic fluid sprayed everywhere. The creature is still inside the box and we see Victor creeping up to the box; this creates suspense for the audience because we want to know what is going to happen. As Victor looks over the edge of the box the creature springs up at him and they both fall to the floor.
We then see the close up shot of when they are holding hands trying to stand up in the amniotic fluid. We see a close up of the hands clenched together; this creates sympathy for both Victor and the creature. The hands clasped together gives the impression of love and care and respect for each other. Whereas in the Whale version we see the creature wrapped up in clothes when the experiment is about to commence, around the laboratory we see a lot of electrical equipment which makes the experiment seem more real this is the director using the mis-en-scene to its best ability again.
Also to add to the amount of horror in the film the sound effects used are thunder and lightning, this helps also create suspense, because when we hear thunder and lightning it creates suspense because we always wait for the bang and in the birth scene we are waiting for something to happen. And also by the clothes Henry is wearing suggests that the experiment is very serious, as he is wearing a white lab coat and he is clean, shaven beard, his hair is gelled back unlike Victors scruffy look.
The creature is strapped into the stretcher chair and is slowly raised up through the hole in the roof where the lightning is, when the creature gets to the top it is held suspended out of sight and is hit by lightning. The creature is then gently lowered down and is laying there; the camera then zooms in onto the creature’s hand, and as it moves Henry begins to say, “it’s alive! ” This again tells us about the hand being used as a symbol to show life. We then see Henry drop onto his knees and the scene closes.
