Horror Opening Scenes Research

I watched four opening scenes of horror films to help with my pre production research and here is my notes taken from these opening scenes:



BLADE (1998)

Characters: 

A the female who leads the male into the 'club'. 

The male comes across as naive as he carelessly follows the female through the abattoir failing to       see the abnormality of the situation.

There is a large, powerful looking guard at the door dressed in all black to show mystery and his         antagonistic behaviour.

In the 'club' the camera frequently cuts to a medium shot of a blonde woman to convey her reactions and emotion. Foreshadowing to the audience that she must hold some significance in the film. She is also dressed in white creating a purposeful juxtaposition between the innocence this connotes and her behaviour later on in the scene, when she is enjoying being showered in blood.
Towards the end of the opening scene,'Blade' is introduced, he is conveyed as dominant and intimidating. This is portrayed in the low angle shot and his stern, cold facial expression as he enters the room; he knows he is feared and important. The mis en scene of Blade also connotes his menacing demeanour that is being portrayed in this scene. Also, the his sunglasses signify mystery and could show how he is hiding by masking his eyes, a part of the body that convicts emotion.

Location/Time: 

The establishing shot of to set the scene is a shot-reverse-shot of the female and the male character driving to the slaughter house where the enter a 'club' hid away in the back of this abattoir, guarded by a male at the door. This is particularly peculiar as a slaughter house has iconography to a horror film yet to have a club at this location is unorthodox, making this location particularly horrific and unsettling for the audience.

This film is shot in the 90's, however, has iconography that also shows that this is the era the film is set in, this is due to the electronic style music and the hairstyles of the young adults in the club.

Opening Titles: 

The opening titles of 'Blade' are in bold and are red, connoting danger and to also give the recognition to the audience that red was chosen for a reason. For example, shortly after these opening titles, blood is sprayed from the ceiling of the 'club'. They are also in capitals, this makes them striking and shows the audience that this horror film is bold and fearful.

What do you learn about the story? 

From this opening scene, you learn that the blond male character is slightly naive and will fall under the manipulation as he follows the female in the opening around a slaughter house but fails to see how abnormal this place is to 'hang out'. You gain the knowledge that the film focuses around the idea of the rebellion of these young adults as they show provocative behaviour in the 'club'. Also, there is a stigma around the blond male as the other people in the 'club' glare at him in disgust. This gives the indication to the audience that he is different from them and this is further recognised when the blood is sprayed from the ceiling of the club towards the end of the opening scene. The male is horrified by this as all of the other people seem to gain pleasure from this, You also learn that Blade is a feared character as all the characters stop when he enters the room, he has a presence that is dominant shown by the mis en scene and low angle shot showing him to be powerful.

INSIDIOUS (2010)

Characters:

The opening scene shows a young girl, who is part of a family that are in this film. This makes the film particularly chilling as using a family, makes it seem as if the abnormal can happen to the normal.

There is a haunted woman, who judging by the opening scene, will be the main source of horror in     this James Wan film.

The opening scene also makes a point to show a woman asleep. This is done purposefully as she will have a significant role in the film, which she does as she becomes the protector, fighting against the evil spirit. The way she is portrayed is peaceful, she is asleep, therefore this sparks a peaceful connotation to the audience. However, this juxtaposes how her character is actually aroused to be: a key figure in putting a stop to the evil occurring to her family. In a way, this is a heightened, non realistic way of symbolising how a mother is in a family, a protector of her children and will stop anything bad happening to them.

Location/Time:
It is set in a house and is in the modern day, however, the trailer seems to make it look older. This could be due to the generalisation that horror films that are set in older periods of time provoke more fear.

Opening Titles:

The titles are in red with a black screen, this connotes danger and mystery. Also, the font of the titles are in bold and in capitals to signify caution and alarm. Some of the words of the titles have blurred reflections and they fade off the screen, making them more mysterious and uncanny. 

'Insidious' flashes on the screen at a climatic moment of the music. The names of the people in production also fade. 

What do you learn about the story?

There is something haunting about the house and it plays a key role in the film. This is because in the opening, the camera takes shots of room that has no one in it. There is also a significance to the family living in the house, this is due to a family photo being shown in the opening. The clock is foreshadowing something as the camera pans towards it. 

SIGNS (2002)

Characters: 

In the opening of 'Signs' there was a male in a black top and a male in a red top. Both of these colours relate to horror films as these are generally the main colours in this genre (darkness and blood). There is also a young girl and a young boy called Gup, both mysteriously in a corn field. 

Location/Time:
The two locations in this opening are a modern house and a cornfield. The characters do not seem to not be in the corn field for very long, however, at the end of the opening, there is an aerial shot where it shows the characters to be deep into the cornfield with two dogs circling them, adding to the peculiarity of the film.

Opening Titles: 
There are no opening titles in the opening. This is effective as they characters are put straight into the action as this film seems far fetched and mysterious.

What do you learn about the story?
There is mystery evolving around the dogs being in the middle of a cornfield and how quickly they became amidst it with little walking from their house.





THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012)

Characters:
There are three little girls playing with teacups, teapots and dolls. They are playing in silence which is striking for the audience. The three girls all of a sudden get up and jump out the window, the camera then pans back to reveal a figure who is dressed in black with a veil. It is evident she plays a role in the horror and supernatural events of the film.

Location/Time: 
The opening scene is in the girls bedroom. It is clear that is not set in the modern day, the girls are in frocks and playing with dolls that are old fashioned. The opening scene doesn't give much away of the era as it is just in the girls bedroom however, the furniture isn't modern, showing how it isn't set in the in the present day.

What do you learn about the story?
The girls all of a sudden become possessed and trample on their traces of innocence (the dolls and tea party set) to get to the window. There is a haunting about the house as a dark figure appears at the back of the room.




This research helped as these are all popular horror films so to analyse how there opening scene is pieced together, helps with the success of our horror opening.