Rabid begins with a New World Pictures ident. The ident fades out and it cuts to an extreme long shot looking behind a brown haired woman wearing leather biking clothes, standing by a motorbike. There is a road running across the screen in front of the woman, an old barn on the opposite side of the road and a country scene in the background. There are no leaves on the trees, the sun isnt out and there might be a bit of snow on the ground in the background which signifies that it is autumn/winter. The main colour in the shot is brown which adds to the feeling that although it is daytime in the countryside, its not a very picturesque shot. The camera begins to move around the woman with use of a steadicam as credits begin to play. The credits are in a yellow, sans-serif font with a shadow and they come on in different positions in the shot which fits in with the camera movement and makes the viewer see more in the shot. It is quite a long, slow take and ends with showing a man walk out of a small building behind her.
The music which starts from the first shot is quite slow and uses long, high-pitched notes which isnt what you’d usually associate with a slasher film. This might however be used through the film to make the audience think that everything is fine before a scare or a killing.
It then cuts to a medium close up of the man walking out the building. He has black, 70s style hair and is also wearing biking leathers which signifies that hes probably with the woman. The building is mainly dull brown in colour. This all connotes that the film is set in the 70s.
The man looks up and it cuts back to the extreme long shot of the woman from behind, which makes it similar to a point of view shot.
It then cuts to a close up of the woman from the front who is rubbing her hands together to warm them up. This also signifies that it is cold and probably autumn/winter. I quite like the composition of this shot and I think that it fits in well with the music and overall feel of the opening to this point, but I dont think that it would work very well in our opening as so far it doesnt feel like a slasher film.
It then cuts back to a close up of the man who is still looking at the woman in an admiring way. This signifies that they have quite a close relationship.
The music fades down and it cuts to an extreme long shot of the two people on the motorbike driving down the road. There is just the diagetic sound of the motorbike and then music similar to before begins playing. The camera is in front of the bike and moving at roughly the same speed as it, so the bike stays pretty much in the same place in the shot throughout the take. The title Rabid comes on in capitals in a distressed, yellow font with a black shadow and a thick line above and below the text (also in yellow with a black shadow) at the bottom, centre of the screen. The title goes off and the take continues, showing some more credits. It is a long take and I quite like how it cuts from the very slow, peaceful start to the fast paced take of the bike.
It then cuts to a close up of one of the bikers brown leather boots and the wheel as well as some of the road as they are driving. This is also quite a long take. It cuts back to the extreme long shot from before which is also quite a long take. Next it cuts to an extreme long shot from beside the road. The bike drives past the camera and it pans across to follow the bike, ending with the bike riding off into the distance.
The credits play through all of this which I think could run for a bit less time as it is quite slow, but the quick motorbike does add a bit of pace to the credits.
The music fades out and it cuts to a long shot of a sign that says Keloid Clinic Inc. In the background there is the outside of a building with a grassy area and a path which leads to two men wearing white standing and talking. This all helps to connote the setting. The noise of the motorbike fades in as the camera pans, tilts and zooms to show some windows next to each other on the building. A voice of a man begins to play which creates an audio bridge to the next take.
It cuts to a medium close up shot of a middle aged man sitting in a chair, smoking a cigar and talking. I think it works well how the previous shot shows you that the man is in the building by zooming into a window and using an audio bridge. The camera zooms out as the man provides exposition by talking about plastic surgery.
Then it cuts to a medium long shot of another man sitting behind a desk. He is also middle aged and appears to work at the clinic by what he says and the mise-en-scene with the desk and his shirt, tie and waistcoat.
It then cuts to a long two shot of the man smoking and a brown haired woman sitting in a long white dress and high heels on another chair. On the wall there are diagrams of the human body and there are big books on a shelf.
It then cuts between a medium close up of the smoking man, a medium close up of the woman and a medium long shot of the other man depending on whos speaking at the time. They talk about experimental plastic surgery.
It then cuts to an extreme long shot of a road and the same music begins playing again. The bike rides down the road past the camera. It cuts to a close up of the two peoples feet as they drive along. Next it cuts to a point of view over the shoulder shot from the passengers viewpoint which might make the audience feel like they are there on the bike. I then cuts to another extreme long shot from off the road and pans across as the bike goes past. All of these are long takes and very similar to the first driving scene which I think works quite well.
The opening is 2 minutes 59 seconds.
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