What does the soundtrack add to the film and is the film more shocking than the novel?

What does the soundtrack add to the film?

One of the key differences between a novel and a film adaptation is the soundtrack. Without even knowing it our mood and feelings are changed by the type of music being played while we are watching. It helps add to the scene sometimes by giving an indication that something is going to happen. This tense music is shown in the ‘Human Larder’ scene where there is a long period time of tense music leading up to the horrific findings. Another example of how the soundtrack adds to the film is when the father has his gun pressed the boy’s head. While this is happening, the soundtrack steadily gets faster and louder, similar to a heartbeat, and at this point we too are engrossed by what is going to happen. Then when they escape, there is a sudden relief in the music and it turns extremely chaotic, in keeping with the pictures that we watch. Without a soundtrack the film would become dull and less gripping.

Is the film more shocking than the novel?

Personally, I believe that the film is much more shocking than the novel. Although it is mostly the same material (there are key differences), the film allows us to truly visualise the horrific scenes which are in the novel, for instance ‘The Human Larder’. As mentioned above, having a soundtrack in the film certainly makes it more exciting and gripping than the novel, which in turn also makes it more shocking as we feel as though we are more involved. However, the thing that makes the film more shocking than the novel is due to a scene which is not mentioned in the novel. The man is pointing a gun to his son’s head and seeing the fear in the boy’s face, and his simple question ‘will I ever see you again?’, shocks me more than all the cannibalism in the book. Perhaps this may be because this seems like a more real and shocking situation than cannibalism, a taboo which is unthinkable and almost unimaginable.