Chosen Genre Is...

   Hey Blog!

My partner and I have decided on a genre(finally), and it is HORROR! To make sure we really hit the nail on the head, or the head on the nail, we must research other horror films' film openings. That sounded like a mouthful! The films I have chosen all share something in common, and that is that all of them introduce the main antagonist. Let's have a look.

 The first film I will be discussing is Nosferatu. Please look up until the 2:40 mark.

In this opening, the audience is introduced to the main villain. It also showcases the relationship of the main character to the villain. What I mean by that is the interaction between the two. In this clip, it seems she communicates to the monster, and, in the end, she convulses on the ground due to it. This leaves the audience on a cliff hanger and eager to find out why this has happened. Moving on the the mise-en-scene. To begin, the room the girl is shown in, and her nightgown, all contribute to the fact that this movie is not set in modern times. And, all of the scenes are shown in dark cool-toned colors. This creates an eerie atmosphere which conducts a sort of fright in the viewer. With the addition of seeing the main villain in the curtain, the audience now knows that there is some sort of relationship that has been developed between the protagonist and the antagonist. This is not very common in horror films, as most of them just stumble upon an opposition with no relation. As we progress further into the opening, we see a tight close up of the main girl. The shot slowly zooms out creating a loose shot to showcase her surroundings. Suddenly, a hand grabs her neck and the main villain is revealed. This one scene allows the audience to see the kind of relationship the 2 characters have, and, spoiler, it's not a good one. The strong sting(sound) in the background is to enhance the jump scare effect when Nosferatu's face is shown, and trust me, it worked. I jumped.

Overall, seeing just the opening scene enticed viewers to keep watching.

Here is a link to a reaction of Nosferatu's opening scene!

The second film I have chosen is Longlegs. 

 In this film opening, it starts with a tiny red screen. It introduces the film companies, and then displays lyrics on screen. The lyrics are from a song called "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" by the band T. Rex. This band was popular in the 70's, and by utilizing it in the film opening it provides some sort of setting in this scene. Immediately after, the red screen fades away and a loud sting is played. This now shows a camera shot coming from the passenger side of a car. Then, a little girl is shown looking at the car through her window. The stillness and almost quietness of the scene keeps the audience anticipating when the scene will intensify. Now, the little girl is seen leaving her house and looking for someone. She notices the car, and in a tight shot of the car, no one is in there. As the scene progresses, she finally meets face to face with a man. The man is talking creepily to her and swiftly bends down. Right then and there, a loud score is played along with another showing of the red screen now displaying the film title. This simplistic scene is made terrifying as a result of the loud music and creepy interaction between the man and the young girl. Adding on, the man's voice adds another element of fright in its own way. The shakiness in his voice along with the pitch indicates that his intentions are not friendly. The man says some weird things such as "I wore my long legs today." This causes the audience to ponder the correlation between the movie title and its role in the film.

Here is a reaction to the opening scene. Please only watch until the 2:50 mark.

The final film I am discussing is Smile.

Here are the credits that this video does not show. Please watch them both.

What is unique about this movie is that there is no physical monster. It is only in someone's mind. As seen here in this scene, it is a psychiatrist interacting with a patient. The patient is attempting to share her struggle but insists that the psychiatrist does not understand. Eventually, the patient passes on the curse to the doctor. Unlike the other films, there is no immediate sense of danger shown. However, an eerie and almost frightening tone is introduced when a tight shot is shown when zooming into the patient's face. Along with the tight shot, the addition on non-diegetic sound creates a sense of danger in this scene. Speaking of danger, there is a vase placed between the psychiatrist and her patient. In this vase, there are yellow flowers. Most of the time, yellow is a happy, cheery color, but not here. Yellow can also be seen as a color to signify danger and caution and fear. This mise-en-scene element is so intricate, but yet adds another element of the scene's eeriness. Moving forward, the patient eventually meets her end, and the doctor calls for help on a red phone. This color is also associated with danger and mainly evil. As you can see, the intricate details that this movie chooses to use is very intelligent and adds a deeper level of meaning to the scene. After the doctor calls for help, the patient has disappeared. In many POV shots, the doctor is looking for the patient. Finally, she spots her, and she is just standing there with a creepy smile on her face. A non-diegetic sound is being played to intensify the scene. In many close ups, the patient's "suicide" is shown, as well as the psychiatrist's reaction. The camera zooms into her eye and introduces the title of the film in red. Along with that, a strong sting is created. One thing all horror films utilize in their openings is loud sounds to evoke fear, and in this film, the sound is terrifying. The text literally flashes from a brightened red to a dark red. 

Overall, this opening scene is absolutely terrifying, and I am not the only one that agrees.

See this link to see another's reaction. Please only watch until the 5:04 mark.

What I have learned through this study of film openings is that the horror genre really relies on sudden and loud stings of sound to properly carry out their scene. These 3 films really terrified me and I literally jumped out of my chair, so they did a great job! 

I am so excited to incorporate my findings into my film opening!