2. Conventions
The conventions of psychological horror that we included in our
opening came from our research into similar films such as Donnie
Darko (Kelly, 2001). We took inspiration from other films that also
used a dream sequence in their opening such as A Nightmare on
Elm Street (Craven, 1984). We did not really challenge any existing
conventions of horror film and kept to the guidelines of a traditional
form of the genre.
3. Conventions
A Nightmare on Elm Street: This film
features elements of the dream world that
intrude into the characters’ lives’. It is about
Freddy Krueger jumping in and out of reality
from the world of the children’s nightmares
to haunt and kill them. The character
formation is also a feature we developed
from this film, that is the final girl and the
male antagonist.
Donnie Darko: This psychological horror
presents a teenage boy who suffers from
schizophrenia allowing him to create the
character of Frank through his deranged
psych. Our opening contemplated with the
idea that the antagonist’s appearance
outside the dream was because of the
positioned
protagonists
figment
of
imagination.
The conventions of psychological horror that we included in our
opening came from our research into similar films such as Donnie
Darko (Kelly, 2001). We took inspiration from other films that also
used a dream sequence in their opening such as A Nightmare on
Elm Street (Craven, 1984). We did not really challenge any existing
conventions of horror film and kept to the guidelines of a traditional
form of the genre.
4. Conventions
A Nightmare on Elm Street: This film
features elements of the dream world that
intrude into the characters’ lives’. It is about
Freddy Krueger jumping in and out of reality
from the world of the children’s nightmares
to haunt and kill them. The character
formation
formation is also a feature we developed
from this film, that is the final girl and the
male antagonist..
antagonist
Donnie Darko: This psychological horror
presents a teenage boy who suffers from
schizophrenia allowing him to create the
character of Frank through his deranged
psych. Our opening contemplated with the
idea that the antagonist’s appearance
Our the character, because plays
outside lead dream was Jane Doe of the the
residual protagonists
the final of
positioned representation offigment girl in
horrors.
imagination. This was a feature common in
horrors from the late 1970’s such as
Halloween (Carpenter, 1974). We show a
contrast with the other girls in the opening
as they are shown to be weaker with
features such as how one victim is shown to
be on her phone. Doe dresses in a suit
which connotes a smarter, more level
headed female who we assume will protect
herself when in danger and survive till the
end of the film.
5. Form
Many techniques of mis-enscene, sound, camera and editing come from
our research into other real media products that
have the same format as ours; horror film
openings. We rarely challenged or developed
these forms as one of the criteria we decided on
was to reflect everything that is generic about
horror.
6. The Hitcher () features a close up
side shot/profile of the protagonist
dropping their head forward as they
fall asleep. We took this shot as
inspiration because we understood
it to be very effective in suggesting
that the character was falling into a
deep sleep.
The framing adopted the
generic rules seen in film.
This is that the subject is
positioned in one third of
the frame. It guides the eye
of the audience and has a
cleaner appearance that
allows for both the subject
and
scenery
to
be
observed.
7. Another technique we adopted
from The Hitcher () opening was
the shot where the car headlights
point directly at the camera. This
distorts the image that is seen
creating a spooky image. The
bright light emphasises the
darkness around it.
The effect of the shot is that
it is very invasive as it is
pointing straight at the
audience and has an almost
blinding consequence. We
liked the idea that the
antagonist in some way
threatened the audience as
well as the protagonist, which
further positions us with
them.
8. Shadows are a very generic
feature of horror films and
especially in openings to give
clues about what will happen
(foreshadowing). For this
reason we felt like it would work
well in our opening. We noticed
that shadows were used in films
like Sixth Sense
(Shyamalan, 1999). They are
incredibly menacing as they only
give the audience an idea to
what is causing them. To create
the shadow we had to use low
key lighting supplied by a torch.
We chose to cast the shadow
across the murder board
because it allowed the audience
to interpret the idea that the
murderer was approaching it.
9. We took inspiration from a
scene in Insidious () were a
vision is shown and as the
antagonist is revealed there is
some non-diagetic sound, this
is then heard again when the
antagonist reappears. We had
a sound that played when the
murderer appears and grabs
the victims. In every shot
outside of the dream only
diagetic sound is heard until
the antagonist appears. This
makes a clear connection for
the audience. It contemplates
with the reality of what Jane
Doe sees. This is a narrative
device we used to break the
wall between the dream and
reality
10. This shot was designed to
imitate the first appearance
of Frank in Donnie Darko. It
is a very long shot, it
challenges the traditional
invasive presentation of
evil. However this has an
almost acrophobic effect
and is still incredibly
frightening.
