Film Clip Analysis of FearDotCom (dir. William Malone, 2002)

Part One: Brief Description of Film Clip

Total Length: One minue and thirty two seconds

Total number of shots: 51

Part Two: Shot by Shot Description

Part Three

Film Clip Analysis

FearDotCom plays on the idea that there is more to technology than its mechanical properties. Something lives within the machines-one could even be inclined to say that machines, as with humans, have a soul. The series of shots in the beginning of the movie try to introduce the notion that there is a connection between the little girl and the electricity used to operate machines. She represents the "Other" part of the machine.
When the audience is first introduced to Jeannine, she is picking up her ball on the train tracks. Many things seem odd about the girl. It seems strange that she could have thrown the ball from the direction of the man since she does not come from that direction, but this lends to the eeriness of the situation. Peculiar non-diagetic music comes on in the background when she appears and it seems to be associated with her throughout the movie. She looks up at the man, lightning strikes, and the shot cuts from a medium shot of her to a medium close-up that is very jarring for the viewer. This camera movement is very unnatural and gives the shot a creepy quality; it may also exemplify Jeannine as being unnatural or supernatural.
The lightning striking is our first indication in the sequence that Jeannine is somehow connected to electricity/technology in some way. It is raining outside, but the lightning shines on her in such a way that it does not seem to be coming from the outside. This happens while she looks at the man and it seems more than coincidence. This is slightly similar to the Mothman Prophecies and The Ring because those antagonists also seem to have control over electrical things. The difference between Jeannine and the others is that she can be seen more often by her victims. This shows that you are always connected to the "Other."
The next sign that Jeannine has a relationship with electricity is when she hops over the subway tracks. As she hops, you can see a spark come from the tracks. This may also be shown to indicate that the subway lines are "live," but it was an extreme close-up shot with her foot in the frame. This definitely ties her to the electricity. It is almost as if she controls it.
In the last part of the sequence, after the train has hit the man, he is seen looking at the train as it goes by and the little girl's image quickly fades in and out right in the middle of the train. It is at this point the man realizes that this little girl is not human. She is more of an apparition. There is then a cut to an extreme close-up of the man's bulging bloody eye as he looks at her and then the shot cuts to the train again, but this time an image of the more mature Jeannine fades in and out quickly.
By focusing on the man's eye, the film seems to be saying a few things. The most obvious aspect of this shot is that what the man is looking at is important and the viewer should pay attention. Both of the images fade in and out quickly and the viewer may already expect to see the little girl, but not the image of Jeannie as a woman. The next reason for this shot could be to show a realization in the man's mind. He is now aware that Jeannine is not human and she led him to his death. Another purpose would be to show Jeannine's perversity. There is something so horrible about her that his eyes bulged out and bled.
This sequence does not try to explain the movie, but is an introduction for things to come. It establishes a Jeannine as a mysterious creature who is somehow connected to the internet, electricity, and other machines. The book the man is holding when he dies is titled The Secret Soul of the Internet and it is the underlying theme throughout the movie. There is more to technology than its mechanical quality.