WL - Wolf Creek Opening Analysis

Wolf Creek (2005) Director: Greg McLean

So the intro of wolf creek starts with a group of 3 youngish people about to set of on a road trip and there buying a car. Theres a long flash back of the party the night before which involves lots of drinking, smoking and sex thus following common slasher conventions. The people wake up the next morning and set of on the journey, this gives an overveiw of rural australia and the wide outback which really enforces the sense of isolation. When it acctually gets to the part where they wake up theres plenty of close ups to show the characters emotions. What also help build up tension is the long opening and it takes a while to get going. Overall the film does a good job of creating a tense atmophere and one I would like to emulate when it comes to my own coursework piece. 

WL - Terror Train Opening Analysis

Terror Train (1980) Director: Roger Spottiswoode

The film opens with a group of teens having a party for new years eve. A boy gets tricked into going upstairs to have sex with a girl who is actually a dead body. The rest of the teens come in and start laughing as he freaks out and the scene fades to black. Again common slasher devices are used: teenagers drinking and partying. Overall the intro is about 6 minutes long. This traumutising experiance leads the teen to become a killer. Another key note is the film features Jamie Lee Curtis who appeard in haloween and prom night. The clothing of the characters is important as well as it shows they are college students. There isnt alot of exposision in the opening scene just a brief introduction to a few of the characters. However should you be a fan of slasher films its quite easy to figure out what the plot might hold in store. One of the interesting points of the film and what makes it unique is the killings take place on a train. Overall it has many of the common slasher devices which build tension and suspence.

WL - Last House on the Left Opening Analysis

Last House On The Left (1972) Director: Wes Craven

As with a few slasher films the opening starts of by saying these where real events. This may not be true but certainly makes everything seem a lot more scary. So it starts in a peaceful scenic setting with a mail man deliviering mail to a girls door. He goes through the mail which provides exposion on her name and age so we know shes a teenage girl. After this the titles play and you see Mari in the shower. So then her mum and her have an argument about her wearing reveiling clothing but she brushes it off and proceeds to go out with her friend. They go of into the woods and drink and talk. This is showing the moral code involved. However the atmosphere is still very peaceful and there is no signs of danger and you would even know its a slasher film if you had not known before. Also there is no clear final girl or scream queen so far, Mari and her friend both have brown hair and both appear to be breaking the 'moral code' in some way which isnt commom in slashers. The reason for this where it was made before Halloween which is where the main features of a slasher are set out. Also there isnt really a clear part where the opening finishes, However the titles play after only one minute and thirty seconds. Overall this film dosent seem to apply most modern slasher features.

WL - My Bloody Valentine Opening Analysis

My Bloody Valentine (1981) Director: George Mihalka

The Intro starts with one paramount ident and goes striaght in with titles over two miners walking through a mine shaft. The constumes look quite ominous and scary. There is polysemy as to who these people actually and why they are in the mine shaft in the first place. There are lots of low dutch angles used to increase the tension and you feel the suspense is builing up to something. The mineshaft also gives a clotrophopic and isolated feel. 

Then one of the miners starts to take there boiler suit off to actually reveil she is a woman and that they may be in the mineshaft for a sexual liaison. There is a type of false scare where the miner who we still dont know appers to swing and the woman with the pick axe however is only sticking it in the wall. This gives the impression of the pick axe has some weight behind it and is not just a foam object or similar. Titles continue however the first miner still hasnt taken there mask of so we become quite suspicious. The woman involved is also blonde and obviously sexually active which is an instant indicator of what is going to happen. The first miners hand starts to shake and suddenly pushes the woman onto the pick axe in the wall which stabs through her and the camera pans into her screaming mouth and the title scene commences.

WL - Black Xmas Opening Analysis

Black Xmas (2006) Director: Glen Morgan

The Film starts out with two idents for the big horror company at the time Dimension and 2929 Entertainment. The film starts with what would seem to be a house decorated for christmas time, however the atmosphere still feels a little creepy. It then cuts to a woman opening a bottle of wine with a red corkscrew and everything in the room is red. This could connote blood and possibly foreshadows what is to come.

 You hear voices in the background so the scene does not feel to isolated but then there appears to be a creepy rustling sound coming from the cupboard. But its a false scare as its only an updraft coming from the ventilation in the house. So she sits backdown and relises her pen is missing. Suddenly a bag is put over her head and there is a momentary struggle until she is stabbed in the face by her own pen and it suddenly cuts to the title which is in a red seriff font on a black background.

WL - Buried Alive Opening Analysis

Buried Alive (2007) Director: Robert Kurtzman

So the film starts out with two company idents and cuts to a woman shaving in a bath. Most slasher fans would definetly see this as a sign of danger due to many famous scenes in bathrooms in past films. However everthing seems fine as who appears to be her boyfriend comes in and they joke around however things suddenly change as she is forced under the water by the man and struggles with him.


 But it turns out to be a false scare as she wakes up from her dream and everything is fine. Another man comes in who is her boyfriend and he gets in the bath with her signifying she is sexually active so possibly a scream queen although she has brown hair. Titles play over this sequence and it then cuts to a sunny garden where the introduction ends. Overall the Intro is just under five minutes long.

WL - Hell Night Opening Analysis

Hell Night (1981) Director: Tom DeSimone

The First scene is a close up of a woman screaming which then quickly cuts to medium panning shot possibly stedi cam of a massive party full of teens. Interestingly there are no company idents and the title for the film play straight away in a red seriff font which connotes blood which would be in keeping with the title and theme of the film. Diagetic music is playing in the back ground and teens are dancing, drinking and smoking which is often seen in this sort of slasher film. Another thing to note is that the takes are alot longer as it is an older film from the genre.

The camera then cuts to the inside of the mansion where they are partying where exposision is provided telling us that it is a fraternaty party and there is going to be some sort of initiation which is hinted at. Lots of the girls are in fancy dress and in very revieling clothing. Here we also get an idea of a possible final girl, She is much more appropriatly dressed than the rest of the possible scream queens and looks to be the sensible one and socially awkward  she is not seen drinking or participating in any of the moral taboos which are found in films of this genre. There are a few close ups of certain character who have dialog which possibly means they will play a part in whats to come.

The scene then quickly cuts to a bunch of cars driving down the road with select members of the party in them who are going to take part in this initiation. The possible final girl mention earlier is now wearing an outfit which resembles red riding hood. The red over coat possibly signifies blood shed again, however she looks very innocent in it. The smaller group then proceed to go through the gates into the gardens of the infamous 'Garth Manor'. Exposision is then provided and the groups task is to stay in the manor for one night. The leader of the fraternity then proceeds to explain what took place at the manor twelve years ago which was the killing of 4 family members and a suicide which provides exposion and the reason for why its 'haunted'. The group dont seem to concerned as most of them are intoxicated and they laugh and oke about the deaths. It is also said they did not find one of the bodys which gives us an idea of who the killer might be even though there has been no sign of one yet.

It is not clear where the intro ends as the titles play at the very beginning, however what ive got is that its around ten minutes. The intro has given me further ideas on how we could develop our own coursework piece and how i can encorperate some of the techniques used into my own work.

WL - I Still Know What You Did Last Summer - Opening Analysis

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) Danny Cannon 

Unlike the last film this one starts out with 5 lenghty company idents which take up around to minutes. The titlles shows and screaming and voices are heard in the background which is quite affective. The shot fade in quickly on a close up of a statue which looks as if its crying. Theres a close up of a woman in a misty church which cuts to an extreme longshot establishing shot of the woman in an empty misty church but we still dont see her face. She goes into a confesion box which is framed well through the grating in the wall.

She talks and there are subtitles played over due to the wispering. She provides exposision on what happend and how she killed a man and nobody else knows about it. She talks about having dreams about the killer and her friends. She tells the priest the killers name 'Ben Willis'. The priest turns to her and tells her he know what she did last summer and smashes through the wall and she screams and wakes up in the middle of her classroom. She talks to her friend Will about whats been happening. Suddenly a passer bye on a bike sets of some fireworks as a false scare and she screams again. Its the anniversary of when what happend last summer occurd. Throughout this you get the sense she is a final girl through church and books and the brown hair. You get the impression theres some love interest between these two characters as they leave each other. 

She has another discussion with another friend who was involved in what happend but they argue and he leaves. The teen apppears to be living on her own in isolation and looks distressed throughout the opening. She has a photo of her friend who im guessing dies in the previous film to show a bit of exposision. Again this opening dosent have a clear ending and no titles are played. Overall the start has a sombre and meloncholic atmosphere with a couple of false scares to raise the tension at the start.

WL - Clown House Opening Analysis

Clown House (1989) Director: Victor Salva

The film starts of with only one company ident which plays for a short time and then goes straight into the opening. Exposision is provided at showing a poster of a circus that is coming to town. The films main theme plays on the fear many people have of clowns. The titles start over an establishing shot of an old mansion and theres a man hung from a tree dead which is a shocking opening image. The music is a mix of creepy and a circus theme which ties in with the title. Also the sound of howling wind creates a tense atmosphere. The camera cuts to the inside of the house as the titles are still playing and pans past some clown related toys with the creepy sound of laughter in the background.

The camera then pans onto a boy who is in bed and gets up and out of bed and looks out the window to see the body swinging in the wind. His face is expressionless and he doesnt seem to phased by the whole thing. He goes down stairs in his pyjamas and short quick sting notes play which ups the tension. He looks down the corridor as if someone is there and begins walking down. The camera comes up behind him from a low angle giving the imprssion he is bieng followed. Then suddenly the poster we saw earlier blow onto the door of the house with a large quick string note giving the auidience a false scare.

The boy has a horrified look on his face as he sees the clown on the poster and then wets himslef whilst standing up. He then quickley wakes up from the dream he was having looking relieved. The camera pans back to the outside of the house where the body was hanging in his dream and it is still there. The scene outside fades into day and the introduction finishes which lasts around 4 minutes.

WL - Hostel 2 Opening Analysis

Hostel 2 (2007) Director: Eli Roth

The are no idents at the start, however it starts with a white seriff font on a block background with 'Quentin Tarintino Presents' and then fades into a man in some sort of boiler suit searching through someones back and emptying the contents. The room is lit only buy the fire possibly from a fernice in the background which creates an earie an sinister feel. The only sound is Diagetic and the sound of the fire and the emptying of the back. Also there is polysemy as the scene does not show the mans face so you wonder what his job is and why he is there. He goes through the mans walet but puts the money on the side. There is also some exposision as the persons identity on the walet shows he is American and possibly a victim of the killer, but again you do not see the mans face on the I.D as the persons thumb is covering it.

The camera then cuts to these belongings bieng burnt on what appears to be some sort of grill. This is possibly to destroy evidence and we get the sense this man is an Antagonist. There is long takes of the belonging bieng burnt and the titles carry on over it. There is still only the sound of burning which keeps up the mysterious atmoshpere. The camera then cuts back to an extreme longshot as the man appears to take his suit off, however when this happens the camera blurs slightly and then fades slowly to black meaning you still dont get a view of the man which keeps up the narrative enigma.

Saw 2- Opening Analysis

Saw 2 (2005) Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

It starts off by showing the ident for “Twisted Pictures” It then shows another ident for the same company although this time it is in text rather than the animation. This time it say’s “Twisted Pictures Presents”. This is on a dark background with white, san serif font.

It fades to a black screen and a lightbulb appears, it seems to have a faint green light around it and is flickering on, this connotes a heart beating. It then fades to another black screen where you can hear a man breathing heavily, this builds tension and makes the person think a killing may happen soon. Over the top of the man breather you then see the light appear again which is flickering.  The title “Film by Darren Lynn Bousman”, you again see the light and hear the breathing.

The next shot is a panning shot which shows a silver tray and it pans to the other side revealing another light. This is a point of view, of him looking round although you don’t know that yet. You see a hand grab a the mirror and he swings it round, from the view of the mirror you only see half of his face, the other half is cut of the screen although you can see a bloody eye, he starts panicking and you see a metal structure around his neck. The person is male with dark hair and in his early 20s.

A quick zoom out occurs; this turns into an extreme long shot showing the room and the person is centred in the frame, he is sitting in a chair in a structure. It then zooms in quickly to a high angled shot; this makes the person look weak and inferior, while doing this he is screaming for someone to help him.

A static noise comes on, sounding from a television, he panics and jumps out the seat when he turns round the television turns on and jigsaw gives him the instructions to escape. He tries to pull the bear trap off while being given the instructions. On top of the television are a set of pictures these quickly flash into the screen and then cut back to jigsaw and the male screaming. The pictures are an x ray of what he has inside his eye.

After being given the instructions it shows a close up of a toolbox on the floor, which the male rushes to, he gets a tool out and puts it close to his eye, as he tries to put it in he stops and doesn’t want to do it to himself, the timer starts and there is a lot of fast editing cutting between his eye and the clock. When the puts the tool close to his eye, you never see this as it cuts to a different angle of his face. This is used to avoid having to use special effects make up. As the timer counts down from 30 seconds and ends the bear trap closes and the male falls to the floor dead, he is laid on his side and blood flows out of the cage to show he is not alive.

Hostel Opening Analysis

Hostel (2005) Director: Eli Roth

It stats of with 2 company idents, the second one has the sound of spilling which could denote blood. It then shows the 2 titles of the production companies. Over that you can hear the sound of a man whistling. It then shows a tap dripping and a man brushing the floor although you can't see it his do to him being blurred. Over this titles are being placed, these are in a large white, serif font .

Although the man is not being shown you can still here him whistling, meanwhile it is showing light red coloured bubbles on a wall this could denote that blood has been cleaned up. It then cuts to another another shot where some shears/large scissors start shaking,