Reverse acting

Reverse acting is the process by which an actor is filmed performing actions in reverse order. When the film is reversed, actions are seen in the correct order but individual movements are perceived as being subtly (or obviously) "off."
Film of an actor falling backwards into a coffin will, when reversed, make it seem as if the actor is springing from the coffin in a supernatural way.
A number of scenes in David Lynch's Twin Peaks were filmed using reverse acting, including having characters speak approximate phonetic reversals of their lines, so that they come out (somewhat) intelligible when the film is reversed.
A scene in ' was filmed in reverse for comedic effect.
Bruce Campbell is a noted "reverse actor", with several scenes from requiring action sequences performed backwards to achieve the desired look when viewed forwards.
In the final scene of Carrie, Sue Snell's walk to Carrie's grave was filmed in reverse, giving it an eerily unnatural look. A similar effect was created in Sin City in which Mickey_Rourke's character, Marv, is shown emerging from a man hole following his escape from police, moving with an otherworldly feel. It was also seen in a dream sequence from the Nicholas Cage film Bringing Out the Dead.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu