Media analysis of the opening of the film 'The Boy'

1. ‘The Boy’ Opening Scene
Analysis
LAURA NEALE

2. As the film begins, there are a few close ups
of children’s toys. However the toys are
things like clowns that typically, the viewer
would find quite creepy. It is made more
creepy by that fact that although there are
children’s toys, there are no children playing
with them, and so the viewer is already put
on edge as they wonder why. The lighting
is also quite low in the close ups, again
creating an eerie feel. The music is played
on a piano in a minor key, helping to create
unease and suspense, aided by the violins
that come in every now and again.

3. The scene then changes to an establishing shot
of a road, and a black cab drives past. As it goes
past the camera, the shot changes to an aerial
shot of the cab, followed a long shot of the cab
entering a forest. There is also a few shots of the
characters in the cab – for example a close up of
the driver’s eyes in the mirror. The lady in the cab
spots him looking at her, and it makes her
uncomfortable, therefore making us
uncomfortable as well. The music also carries on
from the previous scene, creating a sound
bridge.

4. There is then more shots
of the children’s toys,
still with low lighting,
and the music carries on
from the scenes before
creating another sound
bridge. Then, there are a
series of match cuts
with the driver reaching
for the gate, the gate
unlocking, and then him
opening the gate.

5. There is then an
establishing shot of
castle, and also a tilt
upwards of the castle
when the lady gets out
of the car.

6. When the lady enters the house, the
non diegetic music is still playing, but
we can also hear the diegetic sound
of a clock ticking, which adds to the
suspense. There is closed framing
when there is a shot of her through
the stairs, as the bars on the stairs
look like bars that are trapping her in.
There are lots of long, slow tracking
shots of her walking around the
house and up the stairs, and there is
a close up of her reflection in the
eye of a taxidermy animal, which
gives the audience the impression
that although she seems to be alone,
she is being watched.

7. As she continues walking up the
stairs, the music builds slightly, and
there are sudden changes in pitch,
making the audience feel uneasy.
There are lots of slow pans and
tracking shots throughout to help
build suspense, and the last shot of
the opening is of a portrait of a
mother, father and a boy, who, we
assume, the title of the film ‘The
Boy’ is referring to.