My first film beginning analysis for the horror
genre is Women in Black
Usually in a horror film there is silence when
something bad is going to happen. This was evident when the girls jump out of
the window at the end of the first scene in Women in Black. You know that
something terrible is about to happen because suddenly the music stops. The
sound in the scene made by the girls playing is very muffle which gives it a
feel of the past. Also it creates an eerie feel to the scene not being able to clearly
hear the girls.
Near the end of the first scene, there is a point
of view shot of the women in black however not yet seeing the character creates
a mysterious atmosphere and not yet knowing who this character is makes the
audience fearful of what’s to come. There are a lot of close ups of the china
dolls looking emotionless, most people have Pediophobia (fear of dolls) which
is why they are heavily associated with horror films. At the very end of the
scene, there is an over the shoulder shot of the women in black which only
shows her black veil. The fact that we weren't entirely sure there was a
character watching the girls, this shot confirms that there is someone there
manipulating the girls. This shows us that the film is a horror because of the
mystery and the suicide of the girls.
The scene is set in a creepy old house with the
girls wearing dirty, old fashioned clothes. This is a typical setting for a
ghostly horror movie; you usually see this kind of location associated with
haunted houses. The colours throughout the scene are dark and dull which create
a sad, sinister atmosphere throughout. The props used are china dolls, which
are associated with Pediophobia, and old china sets which are typical to
children’s play in the olden days. This scene shows the girls being very happy,
playing and having fun as friends, which is why the audience is so shocked when
they jump out the window. This is usually what happens in horror movies, the
characters are all very, overly happy and then something terrible happens. The
audience can usually tell that something bad is about to happen because the
characters overplay their happiness.
JEEPERS CREEPERS
In this opening scene of Jeepers Creepers everything is happy
and jolly with the characters very chatty and excited. This portrays an almost overly happy
atmosphere, leaving the audience to anticipate something bad about to happen.
The sound of the van is very loud and overpowers the rest of the scene causing the
audience to jump because the sound is so unexpected. I’ve noticed a lot that
the opening shot of a horror movie is usually an establishing shot. In Jeepers
Creepers the establishing shot is of a long twisting road, surrounded by empty
fields. The location is very much
in the middle of nowhere, suggesting that if something bad was to happen there
would be no one to help them.
