This concept will be reinstated in the second half of the movie when the three protagonists set out to kill the shark, and, in the climax especially, which features one man against one shark. The setting is the most obvious element of the genre. The scene is set at night, the setting where the majority of most horror movies takes place, severely limiting both the character's and the audiences' visibility. In Western culture, outside of the cinematic world, people wear black, or other dark colours, at funerals. Ideologically black is not a sign of well-being, and this last example indicates that it's a signifier of death, the fate that Chrissie will soon encounter.
Darkness is an excellent device for directors to use to frighten the audience.
We fear not knowing what's going on around us, and our visibility is severely limited at night. In this instance there are only two light sources, the bonfire and the moon. Both of these are quite weak, and the fire source disappears completely when two of the young people, Chrissie and Cassidy, run from the group. The bonfire being the initial dominant light source is interesting. Fire is another primal component, and has a number of differentiating signifiers.