Opening scenes/Genre conventions

We have each chosen a clip of an opening to a horror film of our choice:

Alistair:- Jeepers Creepers




I have chosen this clip because it provides the audience with clear knowledge of who/what the villain looks like. It doesn't use the usual "blood and gore" type of openings that most horror films do; it provides the audience with an idea of where the film will be set, and what type of characters are going to be portrayed by showing a boy being kidnapped. The use of long shots show that the two men are far away from the boy, and they do not have a chance of retrieving him. The mise en scene is very important in this opening scene: the dog barking, the scarecrows and the use of tall corn plants to show entrapment are all elements of horror.

Kristian:- Texas Chainsaw Massacre III




The clip I have chosen does not follow the 'typical' horror genre e.g. blood and gore, monster and curse. It opens with a few paragraphs to inform the view the reality of this film. Leatherface cannot be seen clearly but we straight away see what he is about. Knocking his victim out with a sledge hammer, dragging her body away and then skinning her, and making a mask out of her flesh. The mise-en-scene plays an extremely important part, the house is poorly lit, damp and derelict. Letherface's costume, shirt and overalls, looking at him from that back he could be anybody.


Matt:- John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness




I have choosen this opening because it releases a plethera of important information about the film, interspersed between with seemingly dark and suspencful images of the homeless and unwanted. It is not a-typical of the horror genre - revealing a large part of its plot so early on - however, its use of dim lighting and warped synth soundtrack create a sense dreadful forboding. One of the major themes in this clip is the patient of evil - it can wait for an eternity - which is cemented by the deliberate use of slow editing and fades rather than cuts. Close-ups reveal the relevance of seemingly irrelevant things. The use of sound is crucial; as the sound of a million fire ants is amplified to a singular, deafening roar, which disorientates the audience dramaticly. It doesn't rely on overly ambigious gore or bloody violence as an opening; but more a steady, escalating sense of dread and forboding, which is common in psychological horror films.


Lewis:- Saw 5



This clip had a heavy influence on my vision of the finalised film. Almost immediately, a television has an important part to play. It features the elements of a psychological horror - the main character uses very vague phrases such as "whoever did this to me", leaving a lot to be answered. Furthermore, the person who punches the main character and knocks him out remains out of shot, leaving their identity a mystery. In his flashback, there is a rock soundtrack which doesn't really suggest anything about horror, yet when the main character has waited for the lift for a short while, the rock fades out and tension music fades in. This works well and is something I will try to do in our film. The clip effectively puts across themes of uncertainty and danger.