Research - Horror Movie Opening Scenes

Sorority Row

The first two minutes are quite gripping as it tells you what you think is about to happen and then what really is happening. It grips you into the story line and makes you want to watch the whole film so you can find out the solution. A negative side to the film is that the mise en scene isn’t typical of a horror scene so this could leave the audience confused into what they are really watching.


Scream

In this film, the opening sequence is good because it sets the scene, introduces characters and leaves question unanswered. The mise en scene is typical of a horror film as there is a typical cheer leader type girl who we guess is the victim, the mysterious man on the phone who we wonder who he is and the location in the kitchen were such things as knifes are shown. The low lighting also sets the atmosphere of the movie but doesn’t make it to dark, so the audience immediately know the link between the darkness and fear. The sound affects at the beginning like the banging and screaming instantly tell you the genre of the film before any motion pictures have been viewed.


Se7en

Opening sequence left a lot to the imagination as it showed no ones face, only pictures and hands of which every time a hand was shown it happened to have a sharp object in it i.e. a knife or needle. There was also no voice, only sound effects which increased in volume building anticipation and excitement in the viewer. The edited flashing and cutting between clips added tension towards the film.


The Ring

The start of this film is very simple yet really grips the audience. The setting and character are introduced and tension s added by the silence. The fear is only really implied in the audiences own mind because the audience don’t actually see anything frightening until the very last scene.


The Silence of the Lambs

In this opening sequence, the first two minutes weren’t very good. It was slow pacing and not much happened so this didn’t create any fear or anticipation. A character was introduced but that was about it.