Chaos Cinema- A sensory Overload

Chaos Cinema according to Stork can be broken down into the loss of spatial coherence through excessive editing and frantic cinematography whether that’s the angle or the shot type (POV or  Handheld). 

Matthias stork- “Chaos Cinema…consists of a barrage of high-voltage scenes…Directors who work in this mode aren’t interested in spatial clarity. It doesn’t matter where you are, and it barely matters if you know what’s happening on screen.” 

Contemporary blockbusters such as horror and action films have swapped visual intelligence with a this new film style of overindulgence, exaggeration and excess, what we define as chaos cinema. 

Chaos Cinema has become the default in contemporary media as an easy form of entertainment, where it highlights disorder, panic and hysteria. Contemporary Hollywood  blockbusters push a sensory overload of audio and visual chaos, a clash of cinema where narrative is replaced by carnage for audience stimulant. 

Excess in cinema tends to come under question with film certification, with every film certificate there are requirements to be met, but with the highest certificate there is a question of what is too much. Chaos cinema highlights the questions of Cinema excess, is the fast paced action, the violence and sensory stimulant onscreen push boundaries and the audiences reaction. 

Kill Bill-Crazy 88 Scene: Kill Bill: Volume 1 | The Bride vs The Crazy 88 – YouTube

Quentin Tarantino explores chaos cinema throughout a large portion of his films. In Kill Bill Tarantino combines the excess and chaos with beautifully shot scenes where the narrative is developed rather than the fragmented action shots you see with new Hollywood blockbusters. 

Supermarket Shoot-out | Hot Fuzz | Scene Screen – YouTube

Hot Fuzz by Edgar Wright is a action comedy film that features chaos cinema in its basic form, frantic shots and quick editing. Above is a link to a montage from the film, where the clash of editing style, audio and conventions create a  sensory overload for the audience.

Audio in cinema is key to any scene regarding sensation and the audience perspective.  In Tarantinos Reservoir Dogs, he uses contrapuntal sound in the torture scene. The camera pans away from the actual scene, where the audience are left to assume what is onscreen from the audio. 

Stuck In The Middle With You | Reservoir Dogs – YouTube

Flynn Shields  33574788