The document analyzes horror movie openings through codal analysis. It provides examples from four horror movies: The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Jeepers Creepers, The Grudge 3. For each, it examines visual codes like isolated settings, dark skies; audio codes like non-diegetic scary music; and narrative codes like introducing a threat or disequilibrium. These codes aim to intrigue audiences, establish genre, and foreshadow danger through techniques like ominous sounds, titles, and character introductions, setting the tone for scary stories to unfold.

1. Analysis of existing
Horror movie openings
and Codal analysis
By Bethany Bouchareb

2. The Exorcism
of
Emily Rose

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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)

7. Jeepers Creepers

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

11. The Grudge 3

12. 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’.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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