Analysis stops at 3 minutes 51 seconds
The second film that I am going to be analysing is American supernatural horror film, Insidious, released on April 1, 2011 starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, directed by James Wan, distributed by FilmDistrict and the studio being Alliance Films. It earned $97,009,150 worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics.
The opening scene starts with a high angle shot which pans down to reveal a boy in bed. As the scene goes on, we can see that this shot is a crane shot as it is moving around the room without any cuts or edits. This crane shot travels around the house until we see a LS of a corridor, which at the end of it, a silhouette of a woman in the window is seen. Non-diegetic, incidental music accompanies the shot and as soon as the crane travels around the corner to reveal the shadow, the music intensifies and increases in volume, thus adding tension for the audience, which is typical of the horror genre. The music is unpleasant as it sounds like violins being scratched violently. This type of instrument and unpleasant sounds are typical of the genre and they make the audience feel uncomfortable, which is what the target audience want.
Very low key lighting and dark filters are used in the house set which casts a spooky, dark atmosphere which is an icon typically seen in the genre. This also tells the audience that maybe the house is a dangerous place and where all this paranormal activity is going to be centred around.
The crane shot starts to zoom in on the silhouette of the woman in the window when suddenly it turns another corner into another room to reveal a LS of a lady, holding a candle which is casting a light on her face. This shot slowly zooms in on to her face until it fades to black and the incidental music fades out. The title then appears suddenly along with fast paced non-diegetic music which adds tension for the audience. The sans serif typography used is large and capitalised over a black background and a shadow is cast around the text. This title then quickly fades to black. It seems that whenever this silhouette appears throughout the opening scenes, the music starts to become more frantic and increased in volume, suggesting that this character is more or less likely the antagonist.
After this, we see a number of shots which are being accompanied by the titles of the cast. The first shot we see is an establishing shot showing a large house which looks American, and so tells the audience that the film will most probably be set in America. A black and white filter is used over the shots to set a dark, eerie and bleak atmosphere which is typical of most horror films. As the shot appears, the incidental music slightly increases in volume and this continues as each new shot appears.
Another black and white shot that appears is an aerial shot of a stair case. From this shot we can see that the house is large due to the grand staircase and other furniture that is visible in the scene including the large grandfather clock. This connotes to the audience that maybe the inhabitants are wealthy due to the grand and expensive decor. In addition, these large houses which have old-fashioned furniture in such as a grandfather clock, are the typical sets that are used for horror movies. The aerial shot also shows a shadow of a man being cast across the floor, shadows are an icon of the genre and are something we typically see in horror films. Also, the fact that the incidental music intensifies as this appears suggests to the audience that this could be the antagonist throughout the film.
As more and more shots start to come and go, they start to appear and fade out more rapidly which matches the incidental music being used over it that is also increasing in pace and volume as the shots become quicker. This tells the audience that something bad could be about to happen and so it adds tension. Furthermore, with every new shot, the paranormal activity that is seen in each starts to become more common, for example in the LS of the window and a lampshade, the lampshade begins to swing back and forth and in the LS before that of the table and chairs, a chair appears to move away from the table by itself. These paranormal activities are an icon of the paranormal horror genre and tells the audience that the film will likely be about ghosts.
In a canted LS of a hallway, we can see another grandfather clock. This is the third time we see the grandfather clock as the audience now and due to the frequent features of it, this subtly tells the audience that the clock could become an important centrepiece in the film.
In a CU of a framed picture, we can see a family; a mother, father and two sons. The use of this shot implies to the audience that the film will be based around these characters. Also, families are the typical victims that we see in paranormal horror films.
The costumes used for the family are relatively modern suggesting that the film will be set in present day. The two children are wearing flannel shirts which are smart and so suggests that the characters are well behaved and well educated which connotes again that the family could be wealthy. Also, flannel shirts are a fashion choice that is often seen on Americans and so suggests that the film will be set in America.
At the very beginning of the scene, the titles seen show the director, distributor and studios that were used in the film. The typography is deep, blood red, a colour associated with danger and an icon of the genre. The font is sans serif and is capitalised. As the letters disappear gently one by one, red smoke is also cast from the letters, much like a candle being blown out which links to the use of the candle when the women appears later on in the scene. Incidental music is played alongside these titles which sets the eerie atmosphere right at the beginning, already giving the audience an idea of what type of film this is going to be.
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