How Denis Villeneuve Created a Constant Sense of Dread in His 2013 Film ‘Enemy’
Creating a Constant Sense of Dread is a difficult thing to do in cinema. Dread is a somewhat more abstract feeling than fear or even suspense. It’s that intangible anxious feeling that a film can give you by just inhabiting its world. It makes you uncomfortable in your own skin and keeps you on edge even when nothing directly unnerving is happening.
Moments of dread aren’t uncommon but Creating a constant sense of dread that envelopes an entire film is a thing few directors have accomplished successfully. David Lynch is a master of it, Darren Aronofsky accomplished it beautifully in his first feature Pi and his latest film Mother!, and for my money Denis Villeneuve crafted and sustained an all-encompassing sense of dread for the duration of his 2013 film Enemy.
The first element that contributes to this constant sense of dread is the framing. Enemy is beautifully shot but it is also intentionally… off. Enemy disregards the typical framing that you would see in a conventional film. Instead the film uses framings and camera movements that audiences aren’t accustomed to seeing. This works to give a subconscious feeling…
