The opening scene of The Maze Runner establishes mystery and tension. Thomas awakens in an elevator with no memory of his past. He emerges into a village of boys surrounded by stone walls forming a maze. Through cinematography like high angles, close ups, and POV shots that increase speed and tension, the audience experiences Thomas' fear and confusion. Sound effects of chains and Thomas' heavy breathing create an unsettling atmosphere without music. Quick cuts in editing further the intensity as Thomas is overwhelmed upon arrival. Strategic lighting and moments of darkness and revelation keep viewers in suspense about Thomas' surroundings.

1. Opening Scene Analysis by Fatima
Nawaz

2. SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE
The Maze Runner (2014), a movie directed by Wes Ball, is a movie about a teenage boy named
Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) who wakes up in an elevator with no recollection of his past life.
Thomas emerges into a world of a number of boys who were put through the same situation
as he was and have built a village in the glade surrounded by large, dangerous and formidable
stone walls that form a maze to survive. He quickly becomes part of the group and soon after
demonstrates a unique perspective that scores him a promotion to Runner status; those who
patrol the always-changing
maze to find an
escape route.
Together with Teresa
(Kaya Scodelario), the
only female, Thomas
tries to convince his
cohorts that he
knows a way out.

3. CINEMATOGRAPHY
The cinematography in the opening scene of the film is extremely
important in establishing the thriller genre. In the beginning of the
opening, the 20th Century Fox Logo appears and then it cuts to complete
darkness during which we hear the sound of rusty old chains. This
confuses the audience as they don’t know what to expect and it also
creates a lot of mystery. As the surroundings are slowly introduced to
the audience, we see the main character, Thomas, is introduced when he
un-expectantly rises into the frame. The fast past movement is meant
to make the audience uncomfortable as they wonder who this boy is.
The high angle shot of Thomas is extremely significant as it shows that
he's vulnerable. This is followed by a close up of his face in which his
facial expressions are obvious and the audience can see he is terrified
and confused. The close up shot also introduces the character to the
audience so it is very important.
The POV shot used further on in the scene is
effective in building tension and helps establish the
thriller genre. We see the speed of the elevator cage
rising faster and faster, building more tension as the
speed increases. He suddenly falls to the ground as
there is a loud noise and red light which indicates
that something is wrong and builds the fear of the
audience while intriguing them at the same time.

4. MISE-EN-SCENE
The director has used light and dark to set the scene for the film opening. As the lift is
going up, there is alteration between dark and light which makes the audience
uncomfortable and disarray. The camera is positioned inside the cage which makes the
viewers feel as if they are inside the cage with Thomas. Because of the positioning of the
camera, Thomas’ facial expressions are clearly visible and make everyone watching the film
feel scared for Thomas and it is made possible for the audience to
relate to the
characters
feelings. The lift
also resembles
the look of a cage
which intensifies
the feeling of fear
and isolation.

5. EDITING AND SOUND
The music first played is the sound of the 20th century theme music, which the majority or
the audience should be familiar with. The screen then cuts to black and he next sound
would be an enigma to the audience as it firstly sounds like chains, there are diegetic
sound effects, slowly increasing in volume as the opening scene plays to create tension.
All of the sound in the opening sequence is diegetic, there is no music, only the sound of
Thomas breathing and moving in the lift and the chains of the lift are heard. The first
dialect heard is later on in the opening instead of from the beginning when Thomas shouts
for help. A lot of chattering is also heard when the doors for the lift open from above and
more characters are introduced to the viewers as they watch Thomas from above. Diegetic
sound of bugs and insects are also heard to maximize the realism of the opening. One of
boys in the crowd shouts “We’ve got a runner” which is an extremely important line as it
shows that Thomas would later on have something to do with the group of boys who try to
find a way out of the maze.
During editing, a lot of quick cuts were made to create and increase the intensity of the
situation displayed on the screen especially when Thomas is lying on the floor while
everyone is gathered around him and he later on takes off to get away from the crowd.

6. LIGHTING
Throughout the beginning of the opening scene, barely any light is used which makes it
very hard for the audience to figure out where the character is. The lighting is used in
such a way to highlight important facial expressions or objects and images to keep the
viewers on the edge and create suspense which intrigues them. Although we can hear the
sounds of some sort of machine or chains working, we do not know until a few seconds of
watching the film opening that the character is in a lift as the director does not reveal this
to us by playing with the lighting of the film opening. The lift is fully revealed to us when
we see red light which signifies danger but this turns green which confuses the audience
even further. When the screen turns black, it makes the audience ask questions such as:
has the character blacked out, has the elevator stopped, has the light gone out. The scene
stays black for a few seconds, keeping the audience in suspense and focused on the
scene. But it is later revealed that he is okay when daylight is revealed as the lift opens.