Research - Horror Opening Analysis: Insidious

Malevolent Phantom
Horror Opening Analysis: Insidious

The opening scene is a black background then the red writing appears this could connote danger, death or mystery then its fades out introducing the credits. There is non- diegetic sound that creates a tense atmosphere. The scene pans downwards toward the light source, which includes the director of the film then, it rotates around. When the camera is up right it turns into a long shot then slowly pans down showing the surroundings, which shows a boy sleeping which could be the victim. The camera pans towards the right, moving into the kitchen area, we can see the silhouette of a woman outside the window, which suggests that it’s the antagonist she begins to move. There is non-diegetic sound of string instruments that is used to build up the tense surrounding as the antagonist is revealed. The woman looks like a cliché antagonist in a horror film with a creepy looking face that shows no expression.  The camera movement allows the audience to enter the film as the shot looks like it’s from a person’s perspective. The women enter the room and we are able to see a face holding candle as we get closer to it however as the camera turn into a close up of the woman the scene fade away.  As soon as she disappears the title appears in red with a loud non-diegetic fast paced music. 

The title of the film connotes blood and we are able to see the light flickering underneath the title, which could relates to the antagonist as she was holding a candle before the scene faded out. The non-diegetic sound stops as the screen goes black again.

The title fades in introducing a picture of a house that could be the location of the film and it’s in a black and white effect that could suggest that it’s set in the past. There are casts being introduced at the corner of the screen in red and it fades out like a candle that has been blown out which connotes that the narrative may be set in the past. There is a picture slideshow that shows the different areas of house shown which exposes the family and also the bottom of the images flicker, which could relate back to the antagonist that was holding a candle. There are some supernatural activities occurring whilst the credits are being shown. There are boxes with things in the middle of the room that shows that a family might be moving in the haunted house. We only see the family picture of the characters involved that shows the family looking happy, smiling and they are dressed in white clothing suggesting their innocence however the male in the picture isn’t smiling instead has a stern face suggesting he isn’t innocent. The male is seen to be holding his family members close suggesting that he’s protective which conforms the stereotypical role in a family.  In one of the pictures we are able to see a silhouette of a man near the window and he’s quite blurry compared to the surrounding that looks clear. The image of a dining table is shown which shows a chair being moved without someone pulling it and in an empty room the lamp suddenly sways which could mean that there is going to be paranormal activities, which is going to occur in the film. An image of the corridor appears with a grandfather clock at the end but the camera shot is canted which gives the shot a dramatic effect and portrays an uneasy feeling.

There is a low angle medium shot then footsteps appear on the wooden floor, which is a convention of a horror movie. The use of tense non-diegetic sound throughout the opening gives it an eerie feeling. Throughout the opening the lighting is low key suggesting it’s mysterious and emphasizes the importance of certain areas and may have something hidden. The editing is slow which allows the audience to take their time looking at the images in detail as it gives hints and gives a sense of enigma. After every shot there is a fade out from one image to another that gives a mysterious effect.