Three film openings from Horror

3 Film openings from Horror

    Recap; As my group and I inch closer and closer to filming and all the good stuff we are discussing more and more our ideas and the direction that we want to go in. We have came to the conclusion that our genre of choice is going to be Horror (it was a deeply discussed issue as I was leaning more to drama). So the following research will be based on all the characteristics of Horror film openings.

Halloween (2018)

    The film begins with an extreme close up on a clock and silence so you can hear the clock tick to create the feeling of suspense, there is then an extreme close up on a woman's eyes then a close up on a mans face as they seem to be in prison. There is faint murmuring in the background as the clock keeps ticking with laughing that seems from a crazy person. Everyone is dressed in what seems to be either rags from a prison or mental institution, and the all the colors of the scene are very bleak and gray. A man then signs a paper and checks tv's that have a camera's signal on it. The audience gains more information as there is a close up showing an officers police badge and you can hear the radio saying that it is a rehabilitation facility. The officers speak about a "monster" that has been in captivity for 40 years and has not spoken a word (Micheal Myers). They then speak very hesitantly about moving him to another facility, this foreshadows that something will most likely go wrong. They begin to walk and speak of him, calling him pure evil and saying over 40 doctors have seen him and they all have different opinions.

    This scene is good because it uses traditional techniques of horror, like bleak and colorless sets, and having a typical main character that is "pure evil". These techniques have been used and proven to create suspense, but they are pretty typical and not innovative.

Sinister (2012) 

        The scene begins in a unique way as it starts with an old timey movie count down from 3, then it after it cuts to old vhs footage of a family hanging out and playing as static noises are playing emulating the sounds of old technology. The constant fast cutting and filter slightly changing the coloring makes it feel creepy. The static noises get gradually louder. The camera is constantly shaky the whole time to show that it is filmed by the family and homemade. The footage then suddenly cuts to the entire family (including the kids) lined up in the same backyard and same place with a bag over their heads, tied up, and a rope around their neck as they are about to get hung. As this cuts it becomes silent, and the branch that was holding them down falls as it seems to be cut so it was barely hanging, and once the tree falls the family is pulled up and lynched to death. There is then about 3 seconds of them squirming followed by 5 seconds of silence and the family hanging. 

    This opening scene is extremely disturbing and frightening as it sets the tone perfectly for this movie, the entire movie is just as decrepit as this which is what makes it a really good opening.

The Exorcist (1972)

    The opening starts very typically as it is an establishing shot of a building at night with earie music playing. It then shows a tracking shot as the camera moves to show a couple walking alone at night. With the same music playing there is then a transition into the face of a nun sculpture, the music then gets to a peak as it cuts to a title shot with the title being in a creepy red font. After the title shows for a few seconds it then fades from black to the rising sun as someone seems to be singing in Arabic with the same earie music playing in the background. The man that is singing is singing in also a tone that makes me feel a little weird.

    This scene is the one that gives the least information out of the 3 that I researched for this blog post, if I were to have never known about this movie and just watched the beginning I would have absolutely no idea what the plot is about, which has it's pros and cons.

Conclusion:

    For my project I am leaning more to the type of scene where not a lot of information is given and audience is just thrusted into the story, and the story starts to fill it's own gaps throughout the film.