1. Analysis of
existing horror
films
Tina Hartnell

3. In this master shot three little girls can be seen playing with there
toys, children are commonly used in horror films as there
innocence can be turned into evil creating scary characters. At this
point there is scary music playing which sounds as if it is leading up
to something that’s about to happen. The music also sound quite
lullaby like which fits with the children on the screen. The clothing
worn by the children suggest that the film is set in the past as
these are not clothes commonly worn by children these days.

4. In this close up the children all seem to be happy
and playing as normal children do. This would
entice the audience as it is clear from the music
that this film is a horror film so they would wonder
what is going to happen to the children.

5. The children all look up at the same time and are looking at
something that cannot be seen by the audience creating an
enigma code because this would make the audience want to see
the what is making the children look up. This also creates a fear
of the unknown for the audience which is a common convention
in horror films. The décor helps the audience to understand that
the film is not present day due to the old fashioned rugs and
curtains.

6. The children are seen playing with dolls which emphasizes the
children’s innocence so that when this changes there will be a
bigger contrast in their behavior. Dolls are often used in horror
films, there lifeless figures with quite lifelike features create a fear
in a lot of people. The close up shots of the dolls faces show in
detail there human features and also shows the children acting as
if the dolls are real. The dolls can also be seen to represent the
children in the clip as the children are playing with them and
making them do things. This then foreshadows what is about to
happen to the children as they then seem to be controlled by this
unknown presence.

7. The children then look at the window in unison as
the shot changes to a close up of the window and
the camera continues to move in towards it. This
is suggesting to the audience what is about to
happen as the camera just keeps zooming in on
the window.

8. The children all begin to walk toward the window shown in a
series of close ups showing the actions as they get up. There is
then a close up of one of the girls feet as she steps on the doll
and it smashes. This is foreshadows what is about to happen
with the children as the doll smashes under the power of the
girl the children are about to die under the power of the
unknown presence.

9. The children then reach the window, shown in both
medium shots of there backs and closer shots of their
faces. The closer shots of there faces allow the audience to
see that there is no fear or unease in the childrens faces
which you would obviously expect in the situation which
further adds to the fear of the unknown. The use of the
children in this horror film is because they are expected to
be sweet and innocent yet in films such as this this
stereotyope is questioned by them being the sign of evil or
bad giving them a whole new contrasting side.

11. This film opening is put together with a lot of shorts,
close up shots of different actions. This shot shows a
book in a very close up shot at an angle that is in line
with the look. This shot doesnt give anything away
about the film and therefore gives the audience a
reason to carry on watching as this is an enigma code.

12. This again is a close up shot, but still doesn’t give any
information about the film allow does start to give the
audience the idea of the type of film due to the fact a
razor blade is most likely to be in a horror or action film
do to its gorey possibilities. The hands shown in this
shot also allow the audience to get an idea of the
character as the hands seem worn and not delicate.

13. The film uses white flickering titles both for the acting
credits and for the title of the film. These are typical of a
horror type film and the genre of this film is a
psychological thriller. As these are quite simple and plain it
once again prevents giving away any information about
the film and the flickering adds to the eerie affect the rest
of the opening has. The 'v' is substituted for a '7' as the
word is 'seven' so this makes the title more interesting
than just having the straight forward word, it could also be
to give more of a hint about the content of the film.

14. Some of the titles as the opening go on are shown
over the shots, this allows them to continue crediting
the actors whilst also showing the content of the film.
In this show the camera shot is very close again and
literally only allows you to see the pen writing in the
book but not any of what is being written therefore
continuing the enigma code and mystery.

15. This shot shows a photograph so gives the audience a
little more information about the film although it still
very descrete. The close up shots just straight cut to
the next one but still maintains continuity as it seems
clear that each clip follows the next.

16. All of the clips in this film opening maintain the
audiences attention due to the enigma code, lack of
description and enigma code. The dark lighting and
titling allows the audience to know the genre of the film
and would keep the interest as the audience therefore
know if the film genre is the one that they would
choose.

18. The film starts of with an establishing shot of a house at night,
the shot shows a scary looking tree and generally looks like the
stereotypical location of a horror film. The film opening is set at
night as this is generally a time when people are most likley to
be on edge due to darkness being a fear of many and meaning
that sight would be reduced etc. Therefore this is already
creating tension and it is the very first shot.

19. The next few shots are medium shots. They introduce
the audience to the two teenage characters in this
scene. They are seen messing about, scaring each
other and just generally acting like teenagers. This
scene just sets the equilibrium so that when things
that are not ordinary start to happen the audience will
know the difference. The characters clothing is just
ordinary school clothes also adding to the normal
everyday situation being seen on screen.

20. When the phone rings the girls are seen walking down to answer it in a
series of different shots that maintain continuity. The shot is shown in a
close up and is in focus where as the background is blurred to ensure
that the audiences focus is on the phone and to show the importance of
it at this point. As the phone is the thing that is scared of at this point the
fear of the unknown is introduced as the girls are unsure of who is
calling and therefore are anxious to answer it. There is a long shot that
is maintained while the girls approach the phone and their slow, anxious
walk up to it would make the audience on edge and keep them watching
so that they can find out who is calling. Even at the end of the opening
the fear of the unknown is maintained because knowone knows what
happens to either of the girls there is just a series of events which are
typical of a horror movie such as the pool of water, noises, one girl
being left alone by the other one and finally technology turning itself on
and off.