Task 2.1 Insidious Opening Analysis Horror

Horror

Insidious

In the Insidious opening sequence most of the normal conventions are apparent. It is a horror genre so this should be made clear in the opening. When watching the opening the genre is made clear by the music and the slow film edits. If we look at the music more closely we see that it is eerie and mysterious helping to emphasize the genre. The titles are brief and tell us the film production company, actors, film name etc. The writing they come up in is vibrant red which symbolises blood and is something conventional for a horror. It also fades out in smoke which can add to the horror effect. The film location is shown when we see a shot of what looks like abandoned house which is empty. It is surrounded in thick fog and the setting is dark and at night. This is a convention for a horror genre.

At the start of the film we see a young child in bed and sleeping. When we have seen this we then get led through the house and see a distinctive shadow in one the windows in the house. Shadows are used in Horrors a lot and is a convention of the genre. The camera draws closer to the shadow and we see that is a ghostly and mysterious woman. After this the title of the film appears and the camera moves to a new location. We then see a tour of the house that we saw at the start of the opening. All the rooms are empty and there is ghostly eeriness about them. Empty rooms and POV camera shots are both conventions of Horror films. The POV shot is used by the director to give the audience a sense of being there. It feels to them like they are the ones looking.

Mise-en Scene

Costume = Insidious comes under the horror genre. In the opening of it we only see ghostly figures. However we do get a close up of the woman. She is wearing a black veil and dark old fashioned clothing. The black suggests that she is evil and backs up the genre of horror.

Lighting = The lighting in the whole of the opening is low key to emphasize the mysterious aspect of the film. Most of the shots have just black and white. This could suggest the part that is lit up in white is an important place and features during in the film a lot. There are many links in the lighting to normal conventions of horrors.

Actors = If you do not watch the opening closely then you would say that we do not see the main characters. However this is not true. During the opening we see a picture of the family in a photo frame. On the picture they are smiling and appear to be happy. However the male in the photo isn’t smiling and is standing quite stiff. He is also holding his family very close and is very protective. This might suggest he is scared of something. 

Make up = When we see the woman dressed in black the camera takes us up quite close. We see that she is quite wrinkly and pale which shows that she is old in age.

Props = During the opening the grandfather clock is featured quite a lot. This makes the audience think that it is important. The clock also fits the convention of a horror film.

Setting = We learn in the opening that the setting is the family’s home. We can see that the family has recently moved in because there are boxes with items in ready to be un-boxed. We are shown all the rooms in black and white to show that is very spooky at night.

Editing

The editing in the opening of the film is quite slow. This gives the audience a chance to take it all in and a sense of enigma. They use the fade on their camera shots to good effect. It means that the mysterious element of the film is much more apparent. When the camera changes shot, the new shot is unfocused suggesting confusion in the house between the characters. There connotations of black are evil and there are also connotations of white and purity, goodness and innocence. These two connotations tell us that the film could be between good and evil. The titles are in red and red in the horror genre connotes danger and blood. Danger and blood is a convention of the Horror genre.

Camera

There is an establishing shot at the location of the house to set the scene. This is a convention of any film not just horror. Just after the opening establishing shot there is an aerial shot from above the staircase looking down to the floor. It is also a point of view shot which creates a feeling that something is looking down at the house. The camera angles are sometimes tilted. This is a convention for a horror genre film. It can also suggest the confusion and unease in the house.

Sound

During the establishing shot there is no music. However when we see the shadow there is high pitched violin noise being played at a fast tempo. High pitched music that is not nice to listen to is a convention of a horror movie. Directors use this type of music because it makes the audience jump because it starts from nowhere and there is no build up. We then see the woman’s face it goes quiet and then the title shows up with the same high pitch violin noise. After the title there is just an eerie mysterious feel to the music. This gives a sense of unease. In a Horror film the director wants to make the audience scared for the whole film. They want the audience to be anticipating the next scene in fear of what is going to happen. Music always helps to do this.