TW: Research - Brief analysis of opening sequence to a Horror movie – House of 1000 Corpses (Zombie, 2002).

What I learned about genre characteristics surrounding Horror film opening sequence's:

Mise-en-scene -Initial non-verbal communication is essential in revealing the nature of the characters in the film, and the grinning, eager looks upon the two antagonists from the POV shot reveals their insanity, and also contributes to the ‘slasher’ genre – whereby a psychopathic killer goes on a series of killings. The brutal nature of the killer, revealed by the prop – the gun, whereby he shoots three times – also has connotations of extremism and creates fear in the viewer.

Editing           -During the sequence where the song plays, the cuts are very jumpy – which creates an edgy nature to the film, and makes the viewer feel uncomfortable.

Sound            -The use of profanity has ruthless, domineering connotations. The antagonist – ‘clown’ is angered that his murder has got ‘blood all over my best clown suit, this is revealed by the clown using profanity and referring to him as a ‘god damn motherfucker.’  This is not the only use of profanity, as before the screen goes blank after the gunshots, he says ‘And most of all, fuck you.’ This all reveals the ruthless and insane nature of the antagonist, and as it is established early on in the film – creates a sense of fear in the viewer.           -The soundtrack which covers the opening sequence is also important – and the song was made by the director himself. It reflects the genre of the film, a ‘slasher horror’ – as the soundtrack has a psychopathic tone, whereby the singer screams a lot.            -The scream at the end of the first cut – which fades out, is a classic feature of horror films – and goes further to emphasise the psychopathic nature of the antagonist in this film.

Camera -          -A POV shot is used in the first shot of the film, which automatically places the audience’s affiliation with the character subjected to the ‘clown’, and therefore insinuates a feeling of fear and trepidation in the viewer, as the POV shot places the viewer in the action.