ABSTRACT
One of the most flamboyant shots that exploit a lens’ ability to alter the viewers’ expectations and perception of space is the dolly zoom. The dollying of the camera makes it necessary to pull focus to keep the subject sharp, which can prove challenging in situations where the depth of field is shallow and the camera to subject distance is more than just a few feet. Neil Marshall, director of The Descent, the story of six women who get lost while exploring a cave system and fall prey to humanoid cannibals, makes clever use of the dolly zoom technique in a scene where Sarah wakes up in a hospital after surviving a horrific car accident that unbeknown to her killed her daughter. The extreme visual stylization of the dolly zoom is narratively justified both as a physical and a psychological manifestation of the apprehension she feels at this moment, and not merely a visual flourish, inorganic to the story.
