3 horror movie opening two minutes analysis.

Cabin in the woods opening scene: 

The opening to cabin in the woods is very different to any other horror film such as insidious or drag me to hell. It opens with two work colleagues  getting coffee from a machine in their work place. However, when the credits are being introduced, there is ancient writing and drawings over the top of blood on the screen, and then it quickly jump cuts to the coffee scene. This is effective as it was unexpected so it makes the audience confused as we are expecting a horrible creature or spirit to pop up on our screen. The camera then has a two shot/medium shot of the two work colleagues dancing in their office, as they are going on a trip away with their friends to a lake. This is significant, as we know that this wouldn't be a good idea (hence the name of the film) however, they think this is a great and exciting moment. This makes us think its a recipe for disaster.


The opening music is sinister, daunting and low pitched. It has high pitched points and low, and has subtle screams in the background. This is effective, as it shows the initial representative of the film as gory as there is also blood on the screen. So it subtly shows the viewers what to expect, without actually showing any graphical image. The men are wearing suits in the picture above, suggesting they are upper class and have a well know place in society. This is unique, as you wouldn't expect a horror film to have men in suits in their work area, this makes the audience confused, but also more interested as to when the film gets more exciting, resulting in them watching the film the whole way through.                                      

I wanted to focus on the main concept of the film and analyse the cabin itself. When the group of 5 friends arrive, they all stare at the house decisively, questioning whether this place is a safe and suitable place to stay for a week. One of the girls is blonde, and energetic and full of excitement. She rushes over the cabin and opens the door. In the picture, it shows a medium shot of all the characters backs towards the screen. This is effective, as we cannot see any emotion on their faces, so it leaves it up to us to decide what they look like. However, we can see their body language and one girl is hugging her boyfriend. This could suggest that she is scared and relies on her boyfriend for comfort and support, indicating the house is daunting and scary to them.

Near the end of the opening two minutes, their caravan breaks down, and they stop at a run down, old gas station. The area is immobile and for-boding, there are no birds or signs of nature, assuming that no one lives there. This suggests that the area is not liked by humans or any kind of living thing. A old, creepy man walks out and insults the group of friends. He has a evilish look in his eyes and automaticlly makes the audience know he is not a trustworthy character.

The next horror movie i chose to look at the opening scene of is scream.

In the opening 5 minutes to scream, we see a innocent, blonde girl named Sidney on the phone to a unknown character ( we know its the antagonist in the film.) They discuss about their favorite horror movies, until things start to get more creepy and personal, such as when the antagonist finds out about her boyfriends name being Steve. Here we have a medium/close up shot of our main character on the phone. We can see all her facial expressions as-well, so it helps the audience get an understanding of how she feels in the situation. The sound of the voice on the phone is deep, intimidating and mysterious. We know that its a man, and we can also tell that he wants more than just  "chat" on the phone.

Sindey is portrayed as a innocent character. She is wearing a yellow toned jumper, with tracksuit bottom typed trousers. She always seems happy and could perhaps come across as slightly annoying. This is effective, as typical horror films usually have a innocent yet dumb character, which is usually the victim of an attack. Sindey seem like the perfect character. We know she is slightly "ditsy" due to the fact that she answers the phone. If a unknown number kept calling you, why would you answer the phone?

In the above picture, you can slightly see a medium shot of the back of sindey. The camera follows her around her house like someone was following her. The effect of this, is that the audience can see anything that happens in front or beside her, before she notices. Quick movements or shadows are a effective way to engage the audience, as it makes us wait in anticipation for what is going to happen next.

On the right, we see a long shot of our victim walking through her house. This is effective, as we can see in the shot, the majority is the background of her dining room. This makes the audience automatically look in the background, as we stereo typically expect to see someone or a slight jerk of movement.

Innocently, we see Sindey on the phone to this "mysterious
unknown character" while she plays with the knives from her
knife block/tray. This is significant, as we would expect to see these
used as a weapon as the concept of "blood and gore"
is a common trait in horror films. It makes us think that these knives will be used against
her, as she is innocently, playing with them while she is on the phone.