TW: Analysing an opening sequence in detail - House of 1000 Corpses (Zombie, 2002)

Genre

• House of 1000 Corpses (Zombie, 2002) is a 'slasher' film, which is automatically revealed in the opening scene by the POV shot revealing the antagonist killer, and portraying him a number of ways in a short amount of time. Moreover, the use of montage editing highlights the sheer scale of murder the antagonist is likely to be responsible for - further reinforcing conventions of a 'slasher' horror, whereby a psychopathic killer stalks and murders a number of victims in a graphically violent manner. This graphic violence is also highlighted in the opening sequence, and this is similar to a number of 'slasher' films in this respect. Slasher classic - 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (Craven, 1984) also presents the 'graphic violence' convention in the opening scene, but through props - such as rusty scissors. The portrayal of the antagonist's fearful characteristics is a common feature of 'slasher' films. 
• One audience expectation of a horror text is death, and this is extremely prevalent in the opening scene - the use of editing; through using a blackout reveals the death of the character we are automatically positioned with, which also satisfies another audience expectation - fear. Being positioned with a character through a POV shot, who is then killed - causes the viewer to be nervous, and fearful. Another generic expectation of horror is features of extremism - which make the film stand out, the bodily horror which accompanies the title sequence satisfies this.
• This text does not challenge horror characteristics - the music is typical of horror, the evil laugh (non-diegetic sound), and the immediate murder - are all horror characteristics which are satisfied early on. They inform the viewer of the nature of the film automatically. The costume is also a typical convention of horror - as clowns are depicted as scary from a very young age in our society, and a lot of horror films play on this long-lasting anxiety.

Film Language

Sound             Dialogue - 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. This anchors the images as they have a direct correlation.         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.

Editing The use of montage editing in the title sequence also implies there is a huge range of ghastly acts committed by the antagonists in this film Screen time is an important factor in establishing the key characters of the film early on - before the title sequence; the antagonist clown receives the most screen time, and is portrayed as a main character due to his central position on screen. Title sequence: The title sequence reveals the cast members, but the varying frequency that the cast names appear on screen create an unnerving mood - due to the lack of regularity. This construction is further enhanced by the jumpy cuts.  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.  The titles are in the centre of the screen, and their colour and typeface is typical of horror films, as it is red and in distinct, capitalised lettering. The film title is the second title after the director's name, and appears at the beginning of the title sequence, it is also in a larger font - which makes it stand out.   Post production techniques: The use of the blackout, whereby the screen gets dimmer after every gunshot - constructs verisimilitude, which therefore makes the sequence scarier.

Mise-en-scene Non-verbal communication - 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.

Camera Distances: the camera is close to the two antagonists, which creates ‘shallow space’ – this makes the viewer feel closer to the antagonist, and therefore incites fear in the audience. Movement: During the title sequence - the camera is not in a fixed position, and therefore shudders and jolts around, this makes the viewer nervous, and creates a rustic feel to the opening sequence. Angle: 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.

Narrative

• The plot doesn't develop much during the opening sequence - the antagonist is shown to murder the protagonist character which the audience is positioned with due to the POV shot, the stock main antagonist character (portrayed due to his costume), laughs devilishly; before the title sequence begins. The title sequence is essentially a series of disturbing clips montaged into one another over the song.
• The POV shot is vital in this opening sequence. Importantly; the audience is positioned in the persona of the protagonist character, rather than a view which would be less engaging.
• The dominant theme throughout the opening sequence is bodily horror, which is prevalent in the title sequence. This is important as it is a theme which is continued throughout the film, and therefore highlights the fact that - opening sequence's establish the film's main themes early.
• In the opening sequence - Zombie adopts a technique often used by Alfred Hitchcock - using humour to create tension. This is achieved through the dialogue - 'God damn motherfucker got blood all over my best clown suit.' This dialogue is not only humorous, but it also portrays an utterly insane and irregular nature to the antagonist character - and therefore creates tension, as this strikes fear and anticipation into the audience. 

Representation and Ideology

A patriarchal society



Sexually promiscuous representation of women

• One social group which is represented in this opening sequence is women. Women are presented as objects of male domination in the opening sequence, which is a continuous underlying theme throughout the film. The title sequence reveals this representation of females - promiscuous scenes of sexual bodily horror contaminate the title sequence, whereby women are seen chained up. This objectifies women as subject to male desires. Moreover - only men are pictured in dominant iconography in the opening sequence; for example - two men are seen in white waistcoats - an example of iconography which implies power and status. This reinforces the residual ideology of a patriarchal society. 

Media Audiences

• The target audience for House of 1000 Corpses is post-18 year old, horror fans. This can be inferred due to the sexual nudity, profanity, and graphic horror already established in the opening scene! Moreover - the director; a well known horror director, reinforces this target audience. 
• Due to this - there could be an oppositional audience reading of the text - whereby some viewers would slate Zombie for the extreme nature of the film; rather than recognising the conventions of horror and fear included in the film - which could be a negotiated reading, as the dominant reading is probably that the film is extremely graphic - but also a well directed, engaging text. 
• Indeed - some have critiqued the 'sickening' nature of the film. (Clint Morris.)
• Personally - as a male, British teenager; the text immediately shocked me, due to its extreme graphic nature. As a teenager - I have not seen a huge number of body horror films; and therefore found this film shocking and slightly sickening. Moreover, as a male; this made the experience more sickening - as I felt that the patriarchal representation portrayed 'males' in the bad light of the binary opposition - masculinity / femininity. I found the text particularly damning towards females; which therefore presented males in a negative light - and as domineering. 

Institutional Context

• House of 1000 Corpses (Zombie, 2002) is an 'industrial' film, produced by Universal Studios and Lionsgate, however - there is a lack of A-listers in the film, the only recognizable actor being Sid Haig. This is significant as it reveals where the majority of the $7 million budget went - into post-production editing. This is useful as it reveals the dependency 'slasher' films have upon special effects. 
• If anything; the industrial nature of the film is not highlighted through the opening sequence, as the opening sequence aims to bring a rustic, imperfect feel to the film. My original interpretation of the film being an independent film is due to the 'library' shots throughout the title sequence - where a number of pre-existing shots are put together in a montage.
• However - the title sequence is a way to establish the 'industrial' nature of the film, as it reveals that director - Zombie, and actor - Haig, are both part of the cast. This makes the film more valued; as horror fans may see House of 1000 Corpses because of this partnership; also present in 'The Devil's Rejects' (Zombie, 2005.)

Blogger on website 'bloody-disgusting.com' claims - 'If ever there was an opening sequence that perfectly set up what the rest of the film was to bring, House of 1,000 Corpses nailed it.' This is the main reason that I choose this opening sequence - not only does it highlight the necessity to reveal the nature of the characters as early as possible, it also displays themes which are prevalent throughout. These are two main features which I will ensure are considered during the production of our own opening sequence.