The opening to Halloween (Made in 1978 by John Carpenter) displays many conventions of the horror genre, this is shown through the use of mise-en-scene, edits, camera angles and sound.
The shot fades in as a P.O.V. showing a large white house surrounded in darkness and shadows cast by the trees. A lantern is placed in the downstairs window implying that it is Halloween. A steadicam is used to show the characters steady descent upon the house, implying that he is calm and knows what he is doing. The only sound heard is crickets and an owl hooting which creates a calm atmosphere, that seems to peaceful for a horror movie.
As the camera pans around the house the pumpkin lantern comes into view followed by voices of two characters from within. This suggests that they are going to be the victims, a typical conventions is the romance between the two teenagers and their unawareness of the stalker that is outside. In the foreground is a translucent net curtain through which the stalker is watching them. Surrounding the victims is more darkness which would suggest danger. Inside the house is a typical living room which creates realism in the shot which makes the opening more believable.
After the teenagers leave the shot the camera moves right then left, possibly searching for an entrance, he then moves around the front of the house, the camera pans up to the second floor of the house. The light turns off, showing the teenager's whereabouts. Music plays to indicate a threat and the interest of the stalker.
The camera starts to move at a faster pace round the building, showing the character's process of entering the house and his urgency to get inside. Everything is dark at the back of the house which builds up more tension. The ringing continues which suggests a threat that is about to follow. After the character enters the house, a piano is added playing a chilling repetitive beat. The pace slows down to indicate that the character is creeping through the house. After the light
turns on a hand appears that reaches for a drawer and takes out a long sharp knife which is held at a stabbing angle. The emphasis on the knife is created by the slow pace he pulls it out of the drawer. Still in a minor key the music becomes more surreal, the camera matches this with a Steadicam which creates an eerie atmosphere.
In our opening title we will be including a classic murderous villain who will be killing a female at the end of the opening. The villain will have a distinctive look to scare the audience. We have been looking at other costumes used in horror films to get an idea of what ours will look like.
We first looked at Jason's costume from Friday the 13th, it is threatening because you can't see his face. Covered in a dirty hockey mask and wearing ripped worn clothes to make him seem tough and creepy. Wearing normal clothes shows that the killer is human making it more realistic building up more suspense. Not showing the killers face triggers a basic human fear because it makes him seem less human.
The Hellraiser shows the emotion of the character, however it is placed behind a lot of pins showing he is pain resistance and will freak out the audience. A white face suggests a ghostly character who, with the pins suggests that he is a sadomasochist, it contrasts with the facial emotions.
Both of the evil characters from Saw (puppet and human) are very different compared to most evil villains. The puppet seems very threatening because the face is inhuman- which is extremely uncomfortable for people to look at. The red, spiral cheeks, the pink bow tie and the white face make the puppet look creepily happy, adding to the fear factor of this character. In contrast, Jigsaw seems to have a normal appearance, which could be designed to imply that everybody could be a psycho killer.
The Leatherface killer from Texas Chainsaw Massacre has a face that always appears gruesome and damaged, constantly appearing to be made (as his name suggests) a leathery, inhuman skin. Leatherface's eye sockets appear empty which brings out suspense not knowing what he is really looking at. His clothes are all torn that would suggest he kills constantly leaving dirt and grime on his clothes.
The final character that we looked at was the Joker from Dark Knight. The Joker's appearance is based on something familiar and happy but with a dark twist. This serves to amplify the audience's discomfort with the character. His formal clothes also have a twist, where the colours of green and purple suggests evil and is usually found on a clown, the colours of green and purple both clash that represent his strange and twisted personality. The face paint is carelessly applied which reveals the Joker's disregard for his personal appearance. The face is horribly disfigured which suggests a violent past adding to the dangerous perception of the character.
For our A level horror opening we will be constructing our own torture device to use in the film. We have studied old devices that have been used in the past as punishment to put together a suitable torture device that would provoke an appropriate response in the audience - fear.
Here are some examples we have looked at:
First is the cat's paw, the victim would be hung up to a board and, using an instrument, would have their flesh torn from their bodies - from top to bottom.
The Judas cradle is a device where the victim is hoisted up above a pyramid and then slowly lowered onto its sharpened pinnacle crotch first, depending on the weight of the prisoner would depend on the pain given to them.
A standard form of punishment in the middle ages was impalement, they would have a long, sharp pole inserted into their anus and out of their mouth and left there to die, which could take more than a day.
We decided to use a different torture device but modernise it. The saw is a device where the victim is strapped upside down so the blood will go to their head, so when the sawing begins the victim will not pass out and would feel the pain. The saw would then start at the crotch and get to the navel before the victim would lose consciousness.
For our opening we will be using the saw idea but slightly changing the setup, firstly we will be using a chainsaw rather than a more conventional saw. Secondly, we will be lying the victim on her back so the saw will gradually move horizontally towards the crotch.
Scream made in 1996 and directed by Wes Craven falls into the slasher horror film genre, it has many codes and conventions to show the audience what genre it is. The introduction has many important features that help build up the film through this genre. Everything in the mise-en-scene, the music, camera shots, plot, setting, edits and characters, all of these create the horror genre in Scream.
As scream lies in a realistic setting everything inside the mise-en-scene must be normal objects, ever thing that is shown in the shots in the opening are all normal items that would be seen in a house (television, books, shelves). Fear doesn't come from these objects themselves, however being realistic it gives the audience a sense of possibility for this to happen. The fear from the opening comes from the telephone knowing that after the first few rings it will be the main threat to the character, she holds it in her hands throughout the opening so the audience knows that she is in danger, however no-one gets to see the killer while she has the phone, this builds up the threat even more not knowing what really is going on. The popcorn also has a significant use, after putting the popcorn on the main focus pulls back the character on the phone and after a while the audience forget it is on, when the popcorn goes off at a silent, tense moment and it startles the viewers.
Like all horrors the sound and music that has been used help build up the suspense, in Scream both the diegetic and non-diegetic help to create a creepy atmosphere for the audience. All of the sounds echo showing that the house is empty and that the girl is all alone and vulnerable. The phone tone has been set to have a sudden ring, this is used to repeatedly startle the viewer, after it has been off a few times the audience the tension builds as they know it has became a threat to the girl. The killers voice has gone off the original theme normally found in horrors, it is a high pitched, crazy joker tone, which makes the audience wonder if the killer is really that bad, however sounding a bit psychotic it does give some suggestions. Footsteps are heard throughout the opening, again this shows how the main character is alone but this also starts to build up pace when she moves quicker across the rooms with the faster beats of her steps. The non-diegetic sound that has been added to the opening is very common for a horror film, it has been played with a string instrument to give an eerie effect, also it keeps fading in and out at drastic moments to startle the audience or build up pace and tension when the killer starts to get more threatening.
Each of the camera shots that are used in the opening are used frequently in many other horror films, a medium shot used to follow the main character around the house, this is used to show the characters expression and where she is in the house, this also hides what is in front of her too. The same effect is used but behind her with a long shot, this builds up suspense as the audience expect something to jump out at her also this shows again what room the character is in. Another camera shot that has been used a lot is the close up on significant items like the phone and the popcorn, this shows the audience that something is to happen with these.
From the opening scene the plot gets set out very simply to the audience, the conversation down the phone and the first sight of the main characters boyfriend does suggest how the killing will be done and the victims they will attack. On the other hand there are not any clues what the killer will really be like, in most horrors you normally get to learn a little more about the villain.
A very common setting in horrors has been used in Scream, in the opening the audience find out that the setting is in the middle of nowhere making the female very vulnerable and helpless. The house itself is very large, this is suggested by the echoes left from the sound in the film. Only a few rooms in the house are revealed, the kitchen is shown to emphasise the use of the knives while talking to the killer and for the popcorn, the other room that is used is where the television is, this is where she hides and finds her boyfriend. This location is used alot in slasher horror films as there are alot of places to hide in a large house and the interior normally has the rooms set our ready for a small chase.
The opening title slides in from the bottom and the top, then a pulse starts like a heartbeat with the font flashing red and white, then the whole font goes red and the beats stop. This could suggest a heart stopping quickly telling the audience of the genre. The edits in the film start slow, as if she was being watched, then as the pace picks up with the killer, so does the edits, doing this speeds everything up and makes the part more tense and threatening.
Finally the characters that are shown in the introduction are typical characters in a horror, firstly the female character is shown to be calm and cool, making her clueless at first of the killer. She is a typical damsel in distress who is helpless to what is going on, although the audience think that she will survive the attack from the killer through the quiz, however on the other hand, the boyfriend that has been revealed is the helpless character that the audience knows has no chance of survival, this is easy to tell by the lack of time they have to see him. The final character that is introduced is the killer however he is not seen, the killer is threatening because the audience know he is somewhere around the house but does not know where, the killer is suggested as a joker more then too serious of why the killer kills, in the conversation he talks about other horror films and uses it as a trivia for the lives of the two characters.
SAW II made in 2005 and a sequel to Saw is a horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. Many codes and conventions suggest the genre of the Saw II (Sound, lighting, props, camera angles, setting, edits, plots and characters). The opening will be used as an example.
The sound in Saw II mixes both diegetic and non-diegetic to create fear, tension and to pace the opening. The diegetic sound echoes throughout the opening of the film, this shows the audience that the room the main character is in, is a chilling, empty room with nobody around to help this man (Michael Marks). When the shot first opens, the audience hears heavy struggling breathing while the camera looks around the room, giving a first person feel and the beat suggests that the character is in danger straight away. The sound coming from the character on the television(Jigsaw)is all diegetic and a crackling noise repeatedly playing with the sound inside the television helps to build up the fear in the opening. The volume of the ticking clock has been raised to emphasise the little amount of time the character has left to live and to pace the one minute the character has left to escape. The non-diegetic sound that has been used creates an unnerving atmosphere, when the first shot opens, laughter is heard, but in a high pitch voice from a doll, also a wind noise is used to build up suspense in this is a metallic noise as well to suggest more in the setting. When the trap is shown to the audience another metallic sound is used to emphasise the sharp spikes Michael is in danger of. A typical convention used in a horror film is a quick sudden non-diegetic noise used to startle the viewer, in Saw II this is when the television first turns on showing an image of the character Jigsaw. More sudden noises are then added when the audience get a quick glimpse of Michael's only escape this is used to gross out the viewer with the sick idea of what will happen. The final noticeable non-diegetic convention that has been used is a delay in sound from the camera, while the camera moves around Michael the sound is late to follow, this builds up a lot of suspense as the audience would suspect something to startle them, but unknown of when it will happen.
The lighting plays a very important role in the opening to Saw II, it is very dark, with a hint of green to give a feel of decay in the room that Michael is in. The light bulb seen in the very opening shows how little light is in the room, then to introduce the setting more to the audience and the character more lights are introduced from the ceiling and walls of the room, this creates multiple shadows giving a more eerier effect and shows everything in the room at once. The next light introduced is from the television, this creates a lot of flicking with the audience expecting to have something startle them. All the lighting used in the opening is natural light from objects within the shot. Doing this creates realism to the opening, making the idea seem more possible to happen in real life and adding more fear to the viewer from the film.
Unlike most horrors the props in the opening are at a bare minimum, in most horrors a lot of props are used to suggest hidden characters that would startle the audience, however in Saw II the main threat of a hidden character is coming from inside the television. The television turns on by itself after Michael has woken up, this idea of "Someone is watching him" creates a tense atmosphere.
The camera angles are very similar to ones used in other horror films, a P.O.V. shot is first used to show the character looking around the room, then a close up of Michael showing what he looks like and his emotions, but in a reflection of a mirror. The camera then moves up the back of him to a high angle shot, showing the trap around his neck and making the character seem vulnerable, the shot then zooms in rapidly to an extreme close up of the spikes in the trap showing how bad the situation Michael is in. A lot of close ups are used on the character Jigsaw, this shows that he is the threat to Michael. The camera then does many extreme close ups showing the x-ray of Michael, the knife near his eye, Jigsaw and the clock. All of these show the danger that Michael is in and builds up a lot of suspense and tension. A hand held camera is used when Michael falls to the floor and the camera does a 360 degree turn to have the last full look of him before he dies, also the use of a handheld camera shows how scared Michael is. Finally there is a close up of him falling to the floor with blood pouring out of the mask, this is used to be the final part of the opening, being a close up you can see him perfectly so it makes the shot more disturbing.
In the opening there is only one setting, this is the basement (a repeatedly used location for torture) it is displayed as a chilling, frightful, disturbing small room. The walls suggest that the room is quite old and never used as they are black, green and blue these colours could be related to decay. The floor is stone suggesting that it is cold in there. No doors are focused on in the opening suggesting to the audience that Michael will not escape. Michael is placed right in the middle of the square room, this shows that he is very vulnerable from all four sides of the room.
The opening titles (Not shown on this Youtube example) flicker on when the light goes out, the colours help set the scene as the text is the same colour as the walls again suggesting decay, while the font used is very simple but is blurs out after a few seconds. The blur edit is used a lot in the horror genre for titles.In the opening the edits are very quick when Michael is in danger as it is creating tension and showing the audience how little time he has left to live, the quick flickering edits again are used a lot in horror as it shows how much danger the main character is in. More edits that are used include time changes some shots are slowed and other speed up, this interferes with the countdown of Michael's life pacing him and making it very unclear if Michael will really live or die.
The opening title does suggest a plot, however a very unclear one. Unlike most horrors where the plot is set very quickly, Saw II just reveals that this man deserves to fight for his life. The audience get to see the villain clearly in the opening that is very strange for a horror where the audience doesn't get to see the villain fully until near the end. The death mask and the idea of escape show that the plot to Saw II is extremely twisted but has a deep meaning to it from the speech Jigsaw gives.
The first character that is shown in the opening is very common for a horror, he is vulnerable and confused of what is going on, only wearing underwear suggests that he was attacked and bringing the sight of his eye in shows that there was more done to him, then the conversation starts giving more to his history and why he was brought there. Jigsaw the second character is shown as a creepy looking puppet who knows a lot about Michael, this shows that he has chosen him for a reason.
