Opening Scene Analysis Halloween- Miss Georgiou

Opening scene analysis-Halloween

How does the opening sequence of 'Halloween' inform the audience of the conventions of a thriller film?

In this post I will be analysing the different techniques and conventions that are displayed in the opening sequence of halloween and how they will help me to create my narrative idea for a thriller opening sequence.

The purpose of a thriller opening sequence is to engage the audience from the start of the thriller movie for example in Scream 4 you see two stabbings in the opening few minutes and this is used to shock the audience and to make them to keep watching to see what is going to happen to the victim and the killer in this situation. In addition a opening sequence is used to create a sense of drama such as a victim and killer is usually used in these type of thriller films for example in Halloween its self when you see the conventional female victim. The purpose of a thriller opening sequence is also to portray suspense as this is vital to any thriller opening scene because it keeps the audience entertained and they would enjoy it more if more conventions are shown throughout the opening scene such as surprise,shock,enigma,mise-en-scene and tension furthermore the critical theme to a opening sequence is to create a suspenseful storyline.

Halloween Analysis

Conventional to the thriller genre-

Halloween's opening sequence is conventional to the thriller genre through firstly the suspense from the fast paced piano sound and this is use to see what is going to happen next in the scene.

The opening sequence from Halloween is conventional to the thriller genre because of the stereotypical female victim that you would usually see in a thriller film also the masked killer which has a hidden identity is conventional to the thriller genre because it's signs of enigma and unpredictability to see what the character  is going to do next.

The low key lighting is conventional to the thriller genre because the shadows involved displays obsession and mystery to the audience in the opening sequence.

Camera Angles-

A Point Of View (POV) shot was used when the the hidden identity of the killer was walking up to murder the sister. This builds up shock to the scene because you don't expect as the audience that a little child would murder a sister also the POV shot builds up the rest of the thriller movie because you want to know what happens to the victim and the killer.

A handheld shot is used when the hidden identity of the killer walks in the room to get the knife as this stage it's very intense as you do not know what the little kid is going to do.
A high angle is used when the camera focuses on the victim when she is dead and outside of the house it makes it look small which represents that life is taken away from the victim.

Editing-

The slow paced timing of the shot is when the camera focuses on the sister to see who the figure is at first this creates a sense of surprise to the audience because it's the element of unpredictability at what the masked killer might do.
The jump cut at the end of the opening sequence signifies that the supposed parents were confused when they pulled off the mask from the little child in addition it's what the audience expects at the scene because of the child has a axe in his hand with blood on it of course they are going to be confused as of what is going on.

Sound-

The pitch from the sound track identifies the fact that it intends to make the audience to focus on the upcoming action and events in the next sequence of the film. The soundtrack from low to high creates suspense and enigma from the whole scene as the audience expects action to happen . The non diegetic sound at the very start of the sequence identifies the mystery as you expect the scene to be in a class room or some sort of teaching environment but it's very conventional to the thriller genre to surprise the audience.

Narrative-

What we learn from the narrative is that the killer when is the child creates a sense of enigma as the killer is thought to be a man especially in thriller movies and the audience learn the level of surprise that is fluid within the film and the setting is very conventional to the thriller genre because it builds up a sense of mystery and tension to the audience because the suburban location gives the audience a false sense of security. The narrative gives the audience a relationship between them and the characters as you'd expect the child to be a killer when he picks up the knife in the scene futhermore it gives the audience a emotional response between the character and themselves.

Characters-

Firstly the couple at the start is very typical to the the thriller genre as a couple is commonly seen within a thriller/horror movie and the little child is conventional to the thriller genre because of it's halloween and the children normally dress up on Halloween and of course the little child is the killer in the end. The parents are conventional to the thriller genre because they are confused at the situation with the child and the knife this is also how the audience would expect that sort of situation as of course they would be worried as of what is going on with the child because of the knife and the mask on the child.

To summerise the film Halloween will help to assist us in creating our opening sequence as it's a clear narrative that has enigma and suspense and this is the basis of the sequence that we want to create also it will help plan our opening sequence by Halloween's use of sound effects that are appropirate to the film, this has helped us plan carefully where and when we are going to use certain sound effects to our advantage as well as the POV shots have assisted us in creating our opening sequence as we plan to influence them as we feel it can create the hidden identity which is vital within our opening sequence.