Analysis of opening sequence: Horror

Insidious 2010
In the short extract many codes and conventions of the horror genre can
be identified. The opening sequence beings with a black background and
displaying the production teams name written in red font. This signifies to
the audience that the genre is horror as red and black connote themes of
danger and evilness which are generic themes of the horror genre. Whilst
this is not a part of the narrative it helps to convey the themes of fear into
the audiences minds. The filmmakers wish to convey this to the audience
as they wish them to be anticipated for the next scene, not knowing what
will occur next. The audience is then shown a longshot of a young boys
bedroom, the low key lighting combined with non-diegetic eerie ambience
of the scene conveys that the young boy may be vulnerable. However the
use of a lamp as a prop symbolizes that there will be someone or
something that will keep the evil away from the young boy. The camera
than continue to pan across the room; this creates an un-easy feeling for
the audience as they do not know what to expect. The shot makes it seem
as if there is an unknown person lurking within the house creating a tense
and sombre atmosphere.
Suddenly as the camera is panning, a shadow appears on the window, and
the high pitched non-diegetic sounds of violins screeching is heard loudly
in the background. This is to create fear within the audience as they do
not know what to know expect. As the camera beings to pan, the audience
are shown the figure of an old lady holding a lamp with light. The lamp
connotes themes of warmth, safety and light however due to the old lady
wearing all black which connotes death, danger, horror it implies that the
lady will be the cause for the light from the familys life to be taken away.
Suggesting she will drag them into the darkness with her taking their light
away. The use of mise en scene, is especially present in the scene, as the
use of the lady wearing black conveys to the audience that she is the root
of all evil for the family. The image then fades to black, however the
image unexpectedly appears in large red bold font with the non-diegetic
sound of the violins screeching is heard in the background. The use of the
dramatic sounds indicate to the audience that the rest of the film will be
as equally as horrifying, encouraging them to watch the rest if the film.
The opening sequence of Insidious keeps viewers on the edge of their
seats as they do not know what to expect next. The title seems to be
glowing with flames in the background. This give the connotations of
blood, demons and danger. Implying that the characters of the film are in
grave danger of succumbing the horrors which will be thrown upon them
during the duration of the film. However due to the fact that the title is
glowing it implies that family may overcome the fears and horror and
come into the light again. The opening credits begin with the background
of a black and white house, indicating the horrors of the film will take
place within the film. This bring realism to the film as it indicates that the
horror could be realised onto anyone. The use of white and black creates a
ghostly atmosphere, which connotes the themes of the horror genre. The
use of the background being a normal suburban home indicate to the
audience that the horror will enslave an unsuspecting normal family. The
use of non-diegetic sinister sound of violins playing in the background
convey the audience that the terrifying events of the film will take within
the house, creating a tense and sombre environment. This creates a
suspense filled scene for the audience who are now anticipating the
events of the film. The font of the credits are small and bland, indicating
that the film makers wish the main focus for the audience to be the
background images of the ghostly house. They wish the audience to
instantly associate the house as being haunted. During the credits, a
chair can be seen moving on its owns which foreshadows paranormal
activity within the house. During the opening sequence many normal
everyday items appeared to move on their own, signifying the hauntings
to the audience. Also in the childrens room, many toys were shown to
create a sense of apprehensive realism.