This opening scene establishes conventions of horror through visual, audio, and narrative codes. Visually, the isolated setting of a mental institution room suggests a lack of escape. A young boy as the vulnerable character indicates something bad will happen. Disturbing props of blood and a body further this notion. Through unsettling non-diegetic music and synchronous sounds, the audio sets an ominous tone and hints at disruption. Narratively, the boy's death begins the story in disequilibrium and follows the trope of using innocent victims. Several enigmas are presented, such as how the grudge exists and what will happen next given the early death.
3. Visual Codes
• Location: This movie is shot in an
isolated area in the middle of
nowhere, suggesting an idea of
loneliness and lack of escape, which
predicts mayhem and anarchy.
• The weather: The weather acts as a
pathetic fallacy and the mist within
the film suggests confusion which
predicts something bad is going to
happen that no one will
understand.
• Props: A spinning weather vane
suggests a cold breeze which
presents quite an eerie and
haunting feel to the film, and
suggests something/someone is
lurking.
4. Audio Codes
• Non Diegetic: A non diegetic soundtrack runs on the
throughout which is quite low and haunting, which
immediately sets the narrative for the rest of the film and
informs the consumers that something is going to go wrong
• Asynchronous: The non synchronous sound of someone
screaming accompanies the soundtrack and is played
simultaneously with it, this occurs with the dark credits of
the movie. This hints violence, horror and distress
• Minimum Dialogue: Barely any dialogue is used, simply a
cry for help by calling a characters name, this is in a
woman's voice and suggests a damsel in distress, which
follows Propps theory
5. Narrative Codes
• This opening does not hint Propps theory as it
does not introduce the characters at this point
as the opening is merely of setting and credits
• It does not hint Todorovs theory because the
film has begun mid disequilibrium which the
audience can guess from the screaming
6. Enigma Codes
• The screaming stop as the title rolls on screen
which almost acts as a question and answer.
Why is she screaming? You then see the word
exorcism. This produces enigma codes for
what has happened?
• The isolated house: What is going to happen
to people in which they cannot escape?
7.
8. Visual Codes
• Setting: The road in this opening scene is
very long and stretched and nobody else
is seen on it (initially), surrounding this
road is a field which again is empty, this
produces visual convention of an isolated
area and lack of ability to escape is
something was to happen, which it always
does
• Characters: The young woman is
represented as sexual figure and as easy
prey as she is represented to be very
feminine by having a vest top emphasising
her chest, is good looking and by doing
actions such as painting her toenails, this
suggests Propps theory, a damsel who will
become in distress
9. Audio Codes
• Mood music: Mood music is used at the
beginning alongside the credits to set the scene,
before any moving imagery is used, the genre is
established. The music is eerie and low, a typical
convention within horror movies
• Synchronous: The sound of the cars during the
hysteria of the teenagers nearly being chased off
the road emphasises the danger within this scene
and adds to the already made disruption of the
equilibrium
10. Narrative Codes
• Propps theory is included as the young
woman is slightly represented to be a
damsel in distress for future
references within the film, the boy is
the one driving in the dilemma and
therefore the one in control, as they
survived this presents him as a
protagonist
• Todorovs theory is included as
everything is fine as they are driving
initially, then they are in a road
incident which seems someone is
trying to take them off of the road and
which is the disruption of the
equilibrium, now the audience is left
to wait for the disequilibrium to begin
11. Enigma Codes
• What happened to the other people mentioned
within the clip when the girl explains being afraid?
• Why is the other cry trying to crash into the 2
teenagers and take them off of the road?
• What is the significance of the number plate
which was highlighted in the opening scene
through a close up shot?
• Why is the girl returning home from spring break
early?
12.
13. Visual Codes
• Setting: The boy has been put in a
locked room in a mental institution, the
room is small and is isolated off from the
rest of the world, this follows onto the
convention of having no way to escape
and therefore it is evident something
bad is going to happen
• Characters: A young boy is used which
represents vulnerability and produces a
binary opposition as innocence becomes
vs. the horror, it becomes an indicator
that something bad is going to happen
and that such innocence will become
corrupted
• Props: Blood is used to display killing,
also alongside the blood in this opening
is a mutilated body, this is disturbing
imagery and follows the convention of
murder and effort to frighten
14. Audio Codes
• Non diegetic: Eerie music is used which sets the scene and the
consumer can assume that something bad has happened
previously, the music becomes even more eerie as the door shits
and the boy is alone, indicating that something bad is going to
happen again. As the woman walks away the sound again becomes
louder and more detailed, this again enforcing that something bad
is going to happen, this also happens in jaws as the shark nears, the
music becomes deeper and faster, I will attach the jaws clip to
display this
• Synchronous: When the door shuts closing the boy in and off from
the world the sound is very loud emphasising this point and
indicating the future disruption
• Diegetic: The typical grudge sound of the ‘ah’ can be heard by the
character, and it is hinted that danger is about to occur, a running
theme is a convention within horror series, the theme in this horror
is done by the diegetic audio
15. Narrative Codes
• Propps theory: A child is used
to be a victim as he is killed,
this is because his youth is a
portrayal of vulnerability,
women and children are
often used as this victim
within horror
• This film begins with a
disequilibrium due to the boy
being killed within the
opening scene, however this
could be due to the fact that
this movie is the 3rd within
the series and narrative has
already been established in
the previous films
16. Enigma Codes
• The Grudge: How did I get in?
• The Death: What will now happen if a death
has occurred so early on?
• Who is this grudge?
• Why can’t anyone see the grudge?
