The opening sequence of Insidious effectively sets up the horror genre through various cinematic techniques. It begins with ominous, unsettling music and slow edits that build tension. The abandoned house setting is a horror convention. Red titles representing blood and the smudging effect cause discomfort. Character introductions show an innocent family but hint at a darker element. Mysterious lighting, slow pacing, and an ominous grandfather clock repeating foreshadow its importance to the plot and create an eerie atmosphere. These elements come together to unease the audience and signal this is a horror film.

1. INSIDIOUS OPENING
SEQUENCE ANALYSIS
By Charlotte Dyer

2. From the opening sequence of Insidious the genre is made clear by the music and the
slow edits in the film opening. The music used has this eerie effect which helps to
emphasise the genre. The location of the film is an abandoned house which is a
stereotypical convention of the genre of Horror.

3. TYPOGRAPHY
The Opening Begins by showing the audience the titles of the production, distribution
companies as well as who the film is in association with. From looking just at these
titles it is clear to see that the genre of the film is Horror. This is shown as the titles on
the screen are red which is a connotation of blood, danger and death. The blood red
colour chosen for the titles is stereotypical of a horror. Blood is nearly always included
in this genre, so to see it used for the titles is to be expected and sets the theme for
the movie. . The titles smudge off of the screen which causes a sense of discomfort for
the audience watching the film.

4. CAMERAAt the beginning of the opening sequence there is an
establishing shot at the location of the new house. This is used to
help show the audience exactly where the film will be set but also
what the setting looks like outside which can give the audience
an idea of what it may look like on the inside.
Once inside the house, there is an bird’s eyes shot looking down
the staircase, in the middle of the stairs there is a silhouettes at
the bottom, suggesting that something is watching them and
allows the audience to become interested for as to who the
person is and what they may do as well as create a feeling of
unease for the audience as they know that the family is being
watched. The bird’s eye camera angle is effective as the slow,
shot makes the audience wonder what is lurking within the
house.
The camera also pans from scene to scene so that it is smooth.
Each room transitions smoothly from one to another so that it
goes along with the slow, eerie music that is being played as well
as keeping the audience interested for as to what they are going
to be shown next.

5. ACTORS
The first time the audience meet the main characters is during the brief shot were the
audience see the family photo. The camera zooms in on the family photo and they appear to
be happy, as they are all together and smiling for the photo. They are all dressed in pale, light
clothing which suggests their innocence and purity. However ,in the photo the adult male, who
could be suggested to be the father, in the photo isn’t smiling like the rest of his family which
creates a twist for the audience as they could wonder if he is as innocent as the rest of the
family or if he plays a role which could affect and endanger the rest of the family. Having
children in the image again shows innocence and provides a contrast against the music and
blood red text. Furthermore, children are seen as more vulnerable, so using them as victims in
horrors only serves to make the horror more menacing.

6. SETTING
The location of the opening scene is in the home of the main characters that the
audience see in the family photo. It is also evident for the audience to see that the
family are new to the house as their are brown cardboard boxes lying around waiting
to be unpacked in the opening .

7. THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK
The most iconic prop in the opening scene is the grandfather clock featured
repeatedly in the opening scene which fits into the conventions of a stereotypical
horror film as a lot of horror films take place in old houses, so grandfather clocks
represents genre as they are shown a lot in horror films based in old/ abandoned
Later on in the film, the clock becomes of relevance, which is why it is shown
repeatedly in the opening scene. The chiming of the clocks also creates a tension for
the audience in the atmosphere during the opening.
The use of a canted angle on the first shot of the grandfather clock gives a
sense of confusion and disorientation for the audience. The clock is
unrecognizable at first because of the distance, then there is a jump cut closer to the
clock with light around it to highlight its features. Suggesting the clocks significance.

8. LIGHTING
During the entire opening scene, the lightning is dull and low key aside from a few
angles where certain areas are highlighted. This is done to suggest that the house is
mysterious because if it was in clear, artificial lightning, it would not look any where
near as interesting. The rest of the rooms are black which ties into the conventions of
the genre.

9. EDITING
All of the editing that is used is all slow, there are no fast transitions, this is to give
the audience a chance to take in all that is going on within each shot. After each shot,
there is a fade after from one shot to another to give it more of a mysterious effect.
Each new shot is slightly unfocused, encouraging confusion within the audience as to
what is going to happen in the house and to the people moving in.
The film opening is in black and white. The most typical convention of 'black and
white' is that black is evil and white is purity and innocence. This suggests that
throughout the film there will be a clash of good and evil, which helps to excite the
audience for the twist which are to happen.

10. SOUND
Throughout the opening there is non-diegetic sound being played. At the start of the
opening there is a ringing sound played to echo in the audiences ear, this makes the
audience feel at unease. When we are first shown a ghostly shadow, there is a high
pitch sound of a violin being played to emphasise the fear of seeing something in the
house. The music dims down when the audience are shown the woman’s face but
speed up with the high pitch music again when the titles appear, this is done to make
the audience become on edge and jumpy which is a key factor for horror films. Most
of the music in the opening scene has a eerie, creepy feel to give a sense of unease
for the audience.