The opening sequence of Insidious establishes the setting and tone for the horror film. It begins with an unsettling establishing shot of a light turning into the family's house. Subsequent shots introduce the sleeping child and show shadows moving around the dark house. A shot of a pale woman's face lit by candlelight increases the ominous mood. The title appears in red letters with flickering lighting, suggesting danger has corrupted the home. A disorienting soundtrack featuring violins builds tension and leaves viewers feeling uneasy throughout the sequence.

2. Insidious Opening Sequence
Insidious was made in 2010 by horror director
James Wan and released late April 2011 in the
UK. Starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne
The plot follows the lives of a ‘normal’ American
family who's family home is haunted by evil
demons. And try to protect their son who is
possessed by an evil spirit.

3. First shot; Establishing
Shot
This shot opens the sequence
and sets in motion the feel of
the horror film from the
outset. Although this isn’t a
typical establishing shot we
would expect to see at the
opening of a film it does
conform to the typical genre
of a horror by creating a sense
of disorientation among the
viewers. The text that is
anchored to the white circle
then fades and disappears as
the shape turns and becomes
a light. This everyday object
leads us to the house whilst
creating a sense of insecurity.

4. The Bedroom Setting
As the camera pans in a
downwards motion it reveals the
setting of the film. It makes it
clear to the audience where the
film is based and is more like an
establishing shot. The wide
medium long shot contains a
young child sleeping in his
bedroom surrounded by toys. It
creates a sense of foreshadowing
for these characters because the
dark rooms connotes a sense of
unknowing and naivety for these
characters. The audience can
relate to these characters and
typically they expect them to be
the victims because they are
weaker than most horror villains.
The use of children is very
common in horror films because
they display signs of innocence.

5. Shots of shadows moving
around the house
They have decided to use tracking
shots around the home to
establish the location for the
audience and make the film seem
more relatable to an audience
and therefore although being part
of a supernatural genre makes it
relatable. The use of shadows in
the night help create the on
going feeling of other elements
watching the home whilst the
family lay asleep completely
unaware of any danger. The
shadows are constantly moving
around and take hold as human
shapes again making in relatable
to an audience who can
commonly have fears like this.

6. The Unknown Face
The camera follows through the
home and through the darkness a
pale face lit by a candle takes
centre place in the shot. Usually
directors use the rule of thirds to
find points of the action the
viewers should be looking at
however this is centre frame and
take the audiences eye line. As if
they have used a point of view
camera angle to make it seem like
they themselves are looking a the
woman. She looks like a typical
feared character found in a horror
film, the costume of a white gown
is very common to show the age
of a character and in this case
ever present through time.

7. Insidious Title
The title “Insidious’ appears in
bold red lettering yet another
colour that is prominent in the
horror film genre. The large font
jumps out at the audience with
flickering back lit lighting. This is
followed by more tracking shots
of the exterior and interior of the
home as the titles of those in the
film appear in red. The effect on
the audience is that danger has
fallen on the house and washed
the colour and therefore life out
of the home. The demons have
corrupted all aspects of the home
and the family inside.

8. Sound
The linear editing style is accompanied by a non-
diagetic soundtrack. The music gives a sense
of uncertainty and disorientation. The use of
violins creates a fierce build in tension and is
used to shock the audience and make them
feel uneasy in their viewing. Its pitch has a
‘ringing’ sensation that remains with the
viewers through out the sequence as if the
suffering for the characters is ongoing.