Analyzing horror/suspense/thriller film openings
The Black Phone
- The film opening of The Black Phone is a style that interests me very much. I really enjoyed the approach this film took and would possibly use it for my own project.
- The opening begins with upbeat music playing and a kid riding his bike which then cuts to a tracking shot and reveals a black van turning the corner. As soon as the van is visible, the volume of the music slowly decreases, and the brightness of the screen slowly fades into black, and the music completely stops. This all very cleverly hints at the fact that something went wrong when the screen went black. Without showing what happens, the viewer can assume that the kid got kidnapped by whoever was in the black van. The rest of the opening then proceeds to very efficiently support this without actually showing it.
- Throughout the opening, various posters, places, objects, and people were shown in very concise and fast-paced clips. Each of these clips is meaningful to and foreshadows the occurrences of the film. An example of this are the "missing child" posters. Clips of these posters were used several times in the opening, this confirms the claim one could have made in just the first clip of the opening. One of the clips even reveals a missing child poster with the picture of the kid in the beginning. Other clips with children or people bleeding are also frequently shown to foreshadow that in the contents of the film, there will be gore and children will be harmed.
Terrifier 2
- Terrifier 2's film opening's approach is not one I personally appeal to. Considering that the film is very unique, I suppose the opening correctly corresponds with it.
- The very first shot of the opening is a close up of clown shoes.
This shot immediately establishes the character of "Art the clown." The following clips consist of Art the clown mopping the floor and carrying a trash bag, that last clip before the screen cuts to the title of the movie is of a man who was clearly murdered. This medium shot of the dead man sets the tone for the rest of the film.
- Throughout the rest of the opening, a young woman is shown making some sort of costume in a room decorated with several candles, pictures, posters, and drawings of all sorts. This demonstrates that the girl is crafty, which is also shown by the clips of her spray painting and cutting things.
- What stood out to me personally about this opening is the constant cuts in between shots to a black screen with credits on it. The time between the cuts to the credits varied from 5 seconds, to 12, to 19. Similarly, the duration of the black screen with credits
varied from 3, to 9, to 12 seconds, depending on the amount of names being shown. I believe this symbolizes inconsistency and the cuts in between prepare the viewer for the fast pacing of the film.
Get Out
- The film opening of Get Out is another example of one that I do not find interesting. I believe that the opening does not efficiently hint that something bad will happen throughout the course of the film. Although the film is, let's just say, special, the film's opening does not portray that. Perhaps this was done on purpose so when the film reaches its climax, the plot twist is even more shocking for the audience but since my project solely consists of the opening, this would not be an efficient approach for me to take.
- 1:45 out of 3:27 consists of shots of the woods coming from a
moving vehicle. All that is displayed here are the opening credits.
- The scene then cuts to black and white photographs, which one can infer that were taken by the man introduced consequent to the photographs since there is a scene of said man holding a camera and viewing photographs on it.
- A previous shot of a living room of an apartment, hints that the woman who is then introduced and the man are involved or related. Consequent shots of the woman going up an elevator with pastries, knocking on a door, and kissing the man confirms this claim.
- The opening begins with upbeat music playing and a kid riding his bike which then cuts to a tracking shot and reveals a black van turning the corner. As soon as the van is visible, the volume of the music slowly decreases, and the brightness of the screen slowly fades into black, and the music completely stops. This all very cleverly hints at the fact that something went wrong when the screen went black. Without showing what happens, the viewer can assume that the kid got kidnapped by whoever was in the black van. The rest of the opening then proceeds to very efficiently support this without actually showing it.
- A previous shot of a living room of an apartment, hints that the woman who is then introduced and the man are involved or related. Consequent shots of the woman going up an elevator with pastries, knocking on a door, and kissing the man confirms this claim.
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