We tried to engage with our audiences by linking to narrative theory. Horror movies often use concealed identity as a part of Barthes’ enigma code to keep the audience guessing until the end who the killer could be. Concealed identity as a part of Barthes’ enigma code is used in The Steps to keep the audience interested in the film so they’ll get answers to their question – just who exactly is targeting these girls? Why? What just cut Kelly? Who is going to be next to get hurt?
Todorov: The girls began in a state of equilibrium, normally just having a camping trip all together in the woods. This is disrupted by Kelly getting cut, then the first death and the bloody game which they are all forced to play. They’re all camping more or less peacefully, when something or someone starts killing them off when they fail the steps of a dangerous game. The killer is dealt with in a fight to the death, and everyone who has survived is now safe and able to go back to life as best as they can.
Strauss: the innocent peaceful schoolgirls versus the depraved vengeful killer, the vulnerable young women versus the strong and predatory murderer – we see whether the innocent shall manage to persevere and win out over the evil of Johnny Angel, or whether his game will defeat them showing and vice is stronger.
The soundtrack was all instrumental music and so although none of the tracks used were popular songs that would be recognized by the audience, the style of the music was very typical of horror film score and therefore its familiarity helped to build up the audience’s expectations that something was about to go terribly wrong, and helped in getting across that meaning to the viewer.
The costume was typical of the age group of the characters which was also close to the age of the target audience, striking a chord in them as they recognize the kind of clothes that they and their peers wear: skinny jeans, boots, wellingtons, denim jackets, pea coats, leggings with blazers. The costumes in this way also helped the audience to understand what each character was like as they could guess that by looking at what they were wearing, as the costumes were suited to each particular character.
Shy Anna hid in her hair, headphones, and pea coat where the more flamboyant Kelly showed she wasn’t afraid to be noticed in a colourful blazer and form fitting tank top and leggings.
The scenario choice was a mixture of keeping true to the story as well as pulling into traditional fairytale and folklore; the set up is well known, a lonely girl in the middle of the woods who’s in danger. Since Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel, the woods have always held a sense of danger especially for the young so the setting would play on a common childhood fear of the woods and what could be in them which is often developed in children from an early age.
Isolation is a common theme in horror films and often one of the reasons why people become victims – they are cut off from other people, which also cuts them off from help. Being in the woods you may not necessarily get a good signal on a mobile phone so it’s not so easy as to just call an ambulance or the police when you’re in the middle of them – there is an obvious lack of technological devices so it’s harder to get a hold of anybody to help. Nowadays, people fear even their phone dying without any battery let alone being without any technology at all. The stark natural setting highlights their complete cut off from anybody else, and any help that they could have gotten.
We used different camera angles to further engage with our audience. For example, in The Steps a long shot from a low angle is taken with foliage obscuring the viewfinder as the killer watches the group from a hidden point. None of them look in the camera’s direction and are all completely unaware that they are being watched – in addition to this, the foliage is covering them, creeping and looming over them almost as if it is entrapping them just as the killer is preparing to do.
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