Analysis of existing Horror movie

openings and Codal analysisBy Bethany Bouchareb

The Exorcism of

Emily Rose

The clip begins with hearing light eerie music and also screaming which indicates that we know that someone is already possessed and intrigues the audience. The screaming in this opening is an audio code and it helps establish the genre and establishes something is wrong.

The title credits roll on screen slowly which shows the pace of the film and hearing the girl scream and someone shout her name Emily backs this up as we know the exorcism won’t happen for a while., showing the film will be dragged out with certain issues which make it a horror.

There is an establishing shot of the house showing that it is in the middle of nowhere which boosts the horror as it shows that when there will be a scary problem no one will be there to help, making you want to see what will happen and how it is going to end without help. The setting of this opening is a visual code as it sets a feeling of isolation and lack of chance to escape.

From the mise-en-scene of this shot you can see that there is nothing but a house, which is decoded by the audience as there will be danger and there is no way out, this is interesting for the audience.

A single person enters the house which is scary as it makes you think if they know what they’re going into, especially after hearing the screaming.

The weather is snow, therefore cold which reflects the mood of the film, it is not a film that makes you warm it is a film that makes you scared and therefore the weather is negative. It also shows possibilities of getting trapped somewhere. Like rain can which is cold, but sun cannot which shows warmth.

The music is made by the film makers rather than a popular song, this lets them give the audience the emotion they want them to feel, in this sense, fear and anticipation. This is non diegetic mood music which also sets a scene for the audience which is scary. This is an audio code for horror movies as it isn’t often they use songs found in the charts, they more so use music they create on their own as they can create the exact moods they want to, tension. The music is created through the use of strings and is low and lengthy which is suggestive to the plot of the movies and the disequilibrium.

The sky in the opening scene is dark reflecting that the film will be dark and therefore a horror and scary. The dark setting is a visual code as it predicts the plot of the story and enforces the genre. It also matches the

The font type is skinny rather than bold, the skinny font type backs up the eerie feel and projects the mood the audience is meant to feel.

The font type is also quite blurry which gives the idea of ghosts which is stereotypically associated with being scared.

The diegetic sound of the screaming also acts as an enigma code as the audience wants to find out why a character is screaming and this draws the audience into the beginning of the disequilibrium.

The wind is blowing on the plants which is a pathetic fallacy as it is a negative weather, which means the creators encoded this so the audience would decode this as that the film is going to be negative and therefore in the genre of horror.

There is the synchronous sound of the wind blowing also which backs up the fact that the wind is blowing.

The font becomes more eye catching when the title of the film comes on screen, also the scenery changes. The background is of a clouded area with a barbed wire which represents danger. The font color is in blood red which is a warning color, which becomes a warning for the audience to be careful, which makes them scared and becomes a successful horror. The mist in the background creates a dim lighting which is a visual code as the pathetic fallacy matches the circumstances of the film.

Credits included: Production Companies, ‘True Story’, Title of film, Actors names (I cannot specify the others because of the quality)

Jeepers Creepers

The sound appears as the opening credits of the production company does and the sound isn’t a song, it is a sound that has been made electronically and it is quite eerie and you can tell right from the first sound that this is going to be a scary film. This again is an audio code as it produced a certain emotion of fear for the audience. To produce this emotion a low pitch has been used.

The credits fade in and out against a black screen in white writing. This makes it stand out. The credits concerning the film titles get bigger and this makes the audience feel as if something is coming to get them.

An establishing shot of a field is used, and even though you can see slight road, the field is what has been focused, and it is almost a master shot as you can assume that the action is going to appear in this area. This is produces a theme of isolation which is a visual code within the horror genre.

Enforcing my last point, a track shot is used as a car drives down a road, this shot displays the desertedness of the area, again enforcing the previous visual code of horror, of being isolated.

There is dialogue used within this scene and it is asynchronous, however it alerts us that there is two people in the car an produces the possible narrative of Propps, as a survivor out if the 2 is suggested.

The audience is confirmed of 2 characters being in the car when a two shot is used displaying both characters, this enforces the fact of conversation and also suggests a relationship between the two, through the dialogue it is clear that they are close friend or perhaps in a relationship as they refer to old times.

In this shot the depth of field shows the car to not be that far behind as even though it is not in focus, this suggests that even though they are on the same road, that they are being followed and it can be predicted something bad is going to happen.

Once the film has grabbed your attention with the care behind it is then shown that it swerves off road, producing the idea that those people are up to something, or something is happening to them. This is a narrative code in which something bad happens from the beginning of the film, already introducing the disequilibrium.

The depth of field then shows that the people are in fact being followed as the focus becomes more and more clear as a truck drives into the back of them, this interests the audience as they begin to wonder what is going on.

The boy then mentions ‘serial killers’ which fore shadows the narrative of the story and even suggests that he is going to be killed. Moments before this they are both screaming at each other (synchronous sound) this produces panic and foreshadows the situation which is clearly about to occur, this is an audio code for the horror genre.

The girl is wearing hoop earrings, a vest top, make up and a skirt, she is portrayed to be feminine, thus this leading to a visual code as she is shown as weak and to be harmless. Credits included: Production companies, Film title

The Grudge 3

The audio code on own made eerie music is conformed to as the credits begin to roll, forcing the audience to already be intrigued in what's happening.

An introduction to the film is used as seen here, this already introduces the disequilibrium which follows Todorovs theory, which we know is going to be a a killing curse. This informs the audience of the plot and more importantly, the genre.

A close up is used of a young boy and you can visibly see tears gathered in his eyes, his white clothing suggests his innocence and the tears show how it has been corrupted, this then brings a haunted vibe. The use of a child is a visual code as it reflects his innocence, however due to the previous text the audience is led to believe it shall become corrupted.

As the camera slowly zooms out it begins to show the surrounding of the boy smoothly, showing he is in fact in a white padded home, a mental institute, this padded room fits the visual code of being isolated and no way out, this is emphasized as the diegetic dialogue states the words ‘the door is locked’.

A camera is shown and it shows the characters in a high angle shot displaying the characters, showing that the cameras can see the whole room, this suggests that something bad is going to happen and someone is going to see it.

The boy character uses the enigma code of saying ‘that wont stop her’ this predicts that something is there and something is going to happen to the boy.

As the boy is pressed up against the door in a medium close up shot, there is shown to be distress and panic and attempt to escape, signaling that something bad is about to happen.

The diegetic sound begins again as the helpers leave, leaving the boy alone, the music is eerie as an audio code and notes the audience that something bad is about to happen as the boy is left alone.

Through the mise-en-scene of this medium close up shot we can see the nurse is reading a magazine and listening to his headphones, alerting the audience that he is not paying attention and that the stakes of something happening is very high right now as the boy has no protection. This is not verisimilitude.

The diegetic sound drops to a boom as the lights flicker and then the common ‘ah’ noise is made which signals to the audience that have watched this series before, something bad is about to happen and the grudge is about to appear. The lights flickering is an enigma code for the audience as it links to the line ‘that wont stop her’.

This medium close up shows 4 arms and two arm holding onto the little boy which conforms the idea that something bad was going to happen.

Parts of the boys body are seen in extreme close ups, next to the parts of his body in the flashes that the audience can see shows blood next to them and that his parts have been contorted, conforming to the stereotypical action of a horror, death.

The blood splatters then flip and go onto a background which turns into the credits, however the blood is no longer real, but a drawing on a page.

A flashback is used to portray the events of how the curse started, an editing technique. These clips often cut back to the titles, continuing with the blood splatted, a convention within horror movies.

This film has the narrative code of Todorovs theory in which it begins where everything is normal but then people get the curse and it ruins everything.

Credits included: Production companies, Film title, Actors names, Music by, Edited by, Casting by, Production designer, Director of photography, Co-producers, Executive producers, Producers, Based on, Written by, Directed by