[post_page_title]Irreversible used a bass note to make viewers feel sick[/post_page_title]
Inserting frames into a movie is not the only way directors can affect the viewers and manipulate their minds. Take Gaspar Noe’s 2002 film Irreversible, for example. The movie, which analyzes the deconstruction of a relationship, is filled with brutality and graphic violence, making it extremely hard to watch at times.
But viewers couldn’t figure out why they felt nauseated in scenes that weren’t violent at all, like when Vincent Cassel is in the nightclub. Noe actually inserted a sub-sonic bass note that rumbles below the audible threshold of 28Hz in some scenes. While it was almost imperceptible to the audience, it built tension and a sense of dread that they couldn’t explain, because the brain knows something is up.
