The Monkey: Opening Layout

The film opens with a black screen and heavy, male breathing. The black screen cuts to a shaky drone shot of an apartment building, leveled with a second floor window with warm lighting emanating from within. The breathing from the black screen intro continues and is complimented by a droning, one note synth lead. This coupled with the shaky camera movement is meant to convey the sense of an unknown presence. As the camera zooms in on the window, we can see three friends playing video games together, and we can hear the muffled sounds of banter through the window. This is meant to create a sense of warmth and familiarity that contrasts the unsettling unknown presence, and makes the audience feel as though the characters are being watched.

The scene then cuts into the room. We can no longer hear the heavy breathing, instead our characters and the video game they are playing. Their banter is playful and natural, and is meant to help make the audience relate to them. After the round of the game is over, two friends say their goodbyes and leave. Corey is left alone, and he turns off the lamp in his room, eliminating the scene's warm lighting. This is meant to strip the audience of any comfort they once felt.

The heavy breathing returns, indicating that the presence is inside Corey's home. The camera cuts to show to a hallway. The set from the point forward is fluorescently lit to make the audience feel a sense of unease and to create and oppressive, unnatural environment. Corey leaves his room and we can see him walk down the hallway and turn into the kitchen. The camera lingers in its position, and with the absence of Corey in the frame we are able to see a masked white face peering out of the closet. 

Corey begins to cut up some chicken on the kitchen counter, and we hear the footsteps of a dog coming towards Corey. Lovingly, Corey chops off a piece of chicken and feeds it to the dog. Corey continues chopping the chicken and the dog can be heard running down the hallway to eat the piece of chicken. The running sound stops and the dog begins to bark. Shortly after, we hear a crunching sound and a whimper. Corey looks back into the hallway to investigate and he sees the closet door slightly ajar. As he approaches the closet, ominous synth music begins to play, ala Halloween (1978). 

Corey opens the closet door and the camera cuts to a low angle shot from within the closet of his reaction. Corey, horrified, stumbles into his room and picks up his landline phone to call the police. Immediately after he picks up the phone, a droning phone sound effect comes into the mix, letting us know that the phone line is either down or has been cut. 

In a panic, Corey falls to the floor in tears. The camera cuts to a mid shot of him on the floor crying in a fetal position. The music cuts out and all we can hear is Corey’s wimpers. The camera then switches focus to Corey’s bedroom closet. After a couple seconds, the masked white face becomes visible. Suddenly, it begins aggressively advancing towards Corey with loud heavy footsteps. A kitchen knife is visible in his hand. Corey looks up and lets out a scream which is cut off by the slashing of his throat. The camera remains in its position as Corey bleeds out on the floor. We can only see the murderer’s legs as he stands above Corey’s body for a couple seconds. He then begins walking away with the same aggressive cadence as before. We hear the apartment door open and slam shut.

Title Card

Horror: Film Opening Research

This blog post will aim to explain the common codes and conventions of the openings of two popular horror films, The Ring (2002) and Hereditary (2018).

The Ring

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

Only one at the end of the opening scene.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

In the opening scene, the character's facial expression are prioritized over any visual horror, with the exception of certain visual cues like the TV static, the dripping doorknob, and the imposing house.

What connotations do the images carry?

The decision to focus on the character's reactions instead of the horror lets the audience's mind wander and create their own horror. It also helps us build an emotional connection to the characters on screen

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

Visually, the film's low lighting and dark, grimy color palette let the audience know that The Ring is a horror movie. The orchestral stings at points of tension are also landmark conventions that the film is supposed to be scary.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The main mystique of the film is built around the urban legend of the videotape. The legend, as described by Becca, goes that whoever watches a certain VHS tape will receive a phone call telling them "7 days," and will be murdered a week after. This ambiguous fate is reflected in the director's decision to neglect from showing what kills the victims of the tape.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The film appeals to its target audience (teenagers) by making its two main characters (Becca and Katie) teenage students. They engage in stereotypical teenage activities, like watching TV and talking on the phone, in an attempt to bridge the gap between the audience and the characters.

How has technology been used effectively? You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.

The camera angles help make the scene feel intimate and like the characters are powerless.

Hereditary

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

Only one at the end of the opening scene.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The opening scene is takes cues from drama films, choosing to linger on characters' interactions with each other and other dramatic imagery, like the Grandma's coffin.

What connotations do the images carry?

The imagery establishes the family's strained relationship as well as the presence of something sinister, with certain background character's having unnatural stares.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

Initially, the film does not use any popular horror techniques.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The film's initial enigma is how it will evolve into a horror film. The marketing leading up to Hereditary communicated to its audience that it would be a horror movie, but its first couple minutes are very slow and character driven.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The film's central emotional character, the son Peter, is a teenager that goes to parties and has girl problems, typical teenage issues that people can relate to. Peter's parents, Annie and Steve, also appeal to middle-aged American parents, which could be a secondary audience considering the film's mature themes of familial trauma.

How has technology been used effectively? You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.

The staging of the opening funeral scene makes the family feel small compared to the seemingly anonymous wave of attendees, setting up the film's later themes of manipulation and feeling trapped by those around you.

Horror: A Genre Analysis

Horror

Content 

Horror movies are generally made to play off fear, whether it be personal or societal. They are usually set in a dark area, like a forest or an abandoned building, but can sometimes be set primarily in the daytime, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1978). The characters of the film usually depend on what kind of fear that the movie is trying to play off of. For example, in a movie about demonic forces haunting a place of comfort, like The Exorcist (1973) or Hereditary (2018), a family is a fitting set of characters. In a slasher film with a murderous antagonist, a cast of disposable teenagers is customary, such as in Friday the 13th (1980). Bar a few exceptions, horror films will typically follow a tumultuous narrative with an "unhappy ending." 

The horror of Hereditary (2018) comes from
its cast of characters, a commonplace
suburban family who become the victims
of a demonic cult.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1978) subverts genre
expectations by setting itself in broad daylight, creating a
shocking and visceral experience.

Production Techniques

In horror films, the mise-en-scene can usually be described as dirty, murky, and uncomfortable. Set design and staging usually aim to make the viewer feel claustrophobic. Take for instance Halloween (1978). The film takes place in a typical suburban town, where the antagonist, Michael Myers, targets his victims in their homes. The confines of the suburban household make the viewer feel small and uncomfortable in comparison to Myers. Low lighting techniques are utilized in horror movies to compliment the typically dark setting and themes of the genre. Notable examples of low lighting in horror movies include The Conjuring (2013) and Hereditary (2018). In tandem with low lighting, the color palette of horror movies is either gothic, such as The Woman in Black (2010) or murky and dirty, like in Saw (2004). In regards to cinematography, high and low angles shots are typically utilized to establish power dynamics between the protagonists and antagonists of the film, such as in Halloween (1978). Sound design is typically used to establish setting and place the viewer in the shoes of the characters. A commonly used sound design technique is the "unseen character," where the audience hears human-like sounds, like breathing or footsteps, but the character making them isn't on screen. This technique is used to create tension and unease in the audience. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) uses the utilizes this technique to establish Freddy Kruger as an ethereal and mysterious antagonist. 

The Woman in Black (2010) uses a gothic color palette to
establish the Victorian-era setting and create a dark and
depressing atmosphere. 

In Halloween (1978), the antagonist Michael Myers is shown
through low angle shots, to establish that he has power over
the film's main character Laurie Strode.

Institutional Conventions

Horror films are usually targeted at a teenage audience, as children are too young to understand and deal with the themes and emotions that come with the genre, and adults tend to like resolution and "happy endings" in their films. In the modern age, social media marketing campaigns are typical for horror movies, with ads playing on TV, before YouTube videos, and on social media feeds. Viral marketing is also popular in the genre, with recent examples being Unfriended (2015) and Countdown (2019). In terms of production and distribution, horror movies are typically very low on production costs, meaning large and small studios can turn sizable profits off of them. This means they are prime for wide releases across the world.

Representation

The social groups typically represented in modern horror films are diverse groups of teenagers or young adults. These people are usually portrayed as initially strong and ego-driven, and sometimes morally nihilistic in order for the audience to view them as disposable. As the film progresses however, the characters' perceptions of themselves are subverted by the antagonist, revealing some weakness that the audience can relate to.