Carrie opening analysis

In the opening we are introduced to a teenage girl covering herself with a towel and looking around suggesting that she feels like an outsider. The setting is based in a normal swimming pool which creates a sense of normality in result we don't expect anything dramatic to happen yet, she is surrounded by normal characters which creates a relaxed tone. Her facial/body language indicates that she feels self conscious as she looks nervous/scared, when the girls walk past her she looks up to them, signifying that she is of a lower status to everyone else, their height difference anchors this. When they are in the swimming pool a low shot tracking is used  up to Carrie this shows that she is separate from everyone and doesn't fit in, furthermore she is standing tightly connoting that she feels uncomfortable this also connotes that she feels judge by others, this foreshadows the next scene. She is portrayed as being picked on, due to how she is acting and how everyone acts around her. At the start of the scene a silence is used which gives us an insight to Carries point of view, then as the opening progresses slow mysterious non-diegetic background music plays which acts as a build up to the upcoming scenes The mood set is that we feel sorry for Carrie, this provides an enigma as we question what has happened to her.

Woman in black opening analysis

The opening scene of the woman in black starts off with three young girls dressed in old fashion dresses playing with a china toy set and dolls, this creates a normal tone as we don't expect anything dramatic to happen. The three girls all look around showing that something has caught there attention/showing signs of possession as they all acted at the same time with the same blunt facial and body expressions. Then they turn around looking out of the window, a zoom is used when all attention is on the window connoting that it withholds importance, the three young girls all stand up and walk towards the window walking on top of the china toys/dolls, they stand in a line and open the window then jump out reinforcing that they are being possessed, this is followed by a woman's scream. A zoom out is used on the empty bedroom. This scene is anchored by creepy non-diegetic background music and slow pace building up suspense for the next scene, a confused mood is set which provides an enigma as to whats happening this intrigues the audience to carry on watching, the theme introduced is suffering/death due to the significance of the three young girls jumping out of the window.  

  skip the first 50 seconds

Mama analysis

In the fist scene we are introduced to a girl sleeping, then her sister who wakes her up showing that this scene is set in the night which adds a more scary feel about the opening as darkness is linked to being creepy/mysterious we can also tell from the scene that it is set in a normal house, adding normality to the scene this is because we don't see this setting as abnormal. As the two young girls start to walk down the stairs tense non-diegetic background music starts to play which changes the mood of the scene and foreshadows an upcoming event. One of the girls attempts to open a door but it is locked providing a sense of being trapped, this is followed by the sound of a glass smashing this acts as a false scare. A possessed woman then appears wearing a white ripped dirty dress and is leaning to one side, this enables us to identify that she is abnormal/possessed which is anchored by the girls running away screaming. The screams connote panic and being scared this builds up a climax for the audience, the theme appears to be jumpy as the narrative provides suspense links in with the enigma of whats going to happen next. The majority of the opening is filmed using handheld, the effect of the slight shaking of the camera creates tension and mystery which anchors the mood of the scene.

 
  


 
I found these images on Google of possessive horrors to give us some inspiration and to show us what we are aiming for to ensure that our possessive horror opening meets the conventions of possessive horror films. I chose images from a number of different possessive horror films showing the different elements which create a possessive horror, we can also incorporate this in our opening, furthermore giving us an insight to the possessive horror genre.

Conventions of Horrors
Creation of enigma: 

-Normal at the start with false scares leading up to the main story line = creates suspense

-Leads us questioning what,how. 

-Intrigues us to watch until the end.

 Introduction of characters:

-Young children are shown in the beginning of the majority of possessive horrors we viewed.

-Followed by the introduction of the rest of their family

- The family against the young child shows the binary opposition that their is something not right with the child.

Setting the plot:

-Starts off normal then a dramatic twist happens leading to the main event of the film.

       -We don't suspect anything 

Pace and rhythm: (mise en scene) 

-slow pace to start of with, as the narrative moves into the action the pace gets quicker. 

-Setting is shown to be in a normal house/area.

-Mysterious tone anchored by non-diegetic background music which indicates that something is going to happen. 

-Lighting starts off high key, when the action is happening the lighting is generally low key. 

Mood and time:

-The mood is usually happy at the start, acts as a build up to the main event.

-The tone is mysterious as we know that something well happen. 

Textual evidence:

-Paranormal activity

-Carrie

-Dark skies

-The woman in black

-Sinister

-The conjuring

-Insidious

we looked at the conventions of possessive horror openings so we can get an idea of what to include in our opening.

             

Possessive Horror/symbols  

Iconography: 

-Symbols of death

-Darkness

-Scared facial/body expressions 

-Weapons

-Blood/fire

-Pathetic fallacy 

Stock Settings:

-Abandoned house/isolated areas

-A normal house

-Woods/forest

Plot:

-Suffering/people are effected in a bad way

-Someone being possessed

-Murder 

Stock Characters:

-Little children

-Parents

-Outsiders

-Possessor

-Doctor 

Stock Themes:

-Evil

-Mystery 

-Mental illness

-Suffering

-Strange events

-Death

Narrative:

-False scares

-Turning points

-Climax

-Recognition of their being something wrong

-Trying to solve the problem

we looked at codes of possessive horrors so we have an understanding of what they consist of.