Horror opening scene analysis

 

Scream 1996 opening scene analysis.

During the opening scene of Scream the opening shot is the title of the film, straight away we hear the diegetic sound of a telephone ringing along with the title that is white on a black background but slowly turns red. This is a convention of a horror film as nowadays, most horror films use white writing on a black background but the red can connote, blood, death and violence. The next shot is a close up of the telephone ringing which leads to a close up shot of a woman picking up the phone, the audience understand that this girl will be one of the main characters. Naïve to the fact of who is on the phone, she hangs up when she realises he has the wrong number, as she walks away the phone rings again her face expression connotes confusion, but believes it is a coincidence that the phone rang again, showing a close up of the telephone again, the shot turns back to the woman in a slightly slanted medium shot, showing the back door in the background, this makes the audience slightly eerie as they are worried that someone will be in the background and will be ready to jump out, which is also a general convention of a horror film. Straight away the audience are given the enigma as to who is on the phone and why they keep calling to the house.

In the next shot we are shown is an establishing shot of where the scene is set, is shows a large house in what seems like a rural area due to the vast amount of trees and nature around it. There is no diegetic sound which can also play a part in building tension, as we are oblivious as to what is going to happen next. The next shot is an extreme close up of a gas cooker turning on and the woman putting a tray of popcorn over it, while doing this the phone rings again. Throughout the next medium shot the woman is walking around her kitchen and leans down on the counter, the audience would be curious as to why she is still on the phone to a stranger and would think she is quite stupid as she doesn't know who this person is or why he is constantly calling. As he asks her favourite movie, she reply's with Halloween, and pulls out a knife from the knife block. The knife can connote to the audience that something gruesome is likely to happen; it can also connote violence and death. The knife is an important symbol as it starts to build up tension for the opening scene and for the audience. Another contributor to the build of tension is the close ups of popcorn that is being cooked, as it grows larger and larger it can connote the build-up of tension in the scene.

As the conversation goes on the audience have still not been given the answer to the enigma as to who is on the phone, and the audience start to realise the woman gets too comfortable with the unknown caller, she starts to flirt with him as she tells him she is single and jokes about going on a date with him, this is a convention of a horror film as the teenagers usually deserve to die and in this case the woman is not being sensible as she is flirting with a man she does not know and is naïve to whom he could be, so believes flirting is harmless.

The tension starts to rapidly increase as suddenly he asks her name because he wants to know who he is looking at, which is unusual as he could not possibly see the girl as he is on the phone to her, the audience are suddenly given another enigma as to if the caller is in the house or if not watching the woman from outside, giving the scene an eerie effect. As he says this, the shot suddenly goes from a medium shot to a close up, her face expression can suggest she is scared and uneasy about the situation she is in. The non-diegetic sound starts to play in the background, which is a convention of a horror as it helps to build suspense and scares the audience as they are given the feeling that something is going to suddenly happen which they are oblivious to. The diegetic sound of a dogs bark makes her turn her head in panic suggesting she is now anxious and worried. As she turns and turns on the patio lights we are shown a long shot of her patio, the audience are given the effect that she wants to make sure she is safe and no danger is in close range to her.

The next shot is a medium shot of her back turning of the patio doors and then we are shown a close up of the woman locking the door, this can suggest she is starting to panic and builds tension for the audience as we are slowly starting to reach the climax of the scene. As the woman becomes resistant to keep talking to the speaker, his tone of voice gets more aggressive, this can connote anger and frustration. Again, we are shown another close up of the popcorn which build up more tension as it now looks full and almost ready to burst, which can suggest we are about to reach the climax and it is about to burst and something scary is about to happen.

Obviously as another convention of a horror film, the woman starts to panic and realises she has made a mistake, the phone rings again, and now the audience can tell she is more reluctant and she takes longer to answer, her facial and body expression suggests that she is nervous and fidgety and is concerned about what the caller might say. Her tone of voice also becomes more aggressive which is different as before she was happily flirting with him. As she hangs up again and walks into the kitchen the shots become faster and her actions get a lot more aggressive and faster as well.

Reaching for the popcorn, the phone rings again and her body and facial expression connotes anger and frustration, picking up the phone she screams 'listen asshole!' which can connote that she is trying to scare him off and is trying to show that she is fearless towards the unknown caller. Before she can finish her sentence the caller disrupts her sentence with even more anger, threatening to 'gut her like a fish' if she hangs up again, the sudden climax alerts the audience and the medium shot again moves further into a close up, suggesting that the woman feels threatened and isolated as she has nowhere to go. Her facial expression connotes fear and absolute terror. The woman's tone of voice becomes very fragile and quiet, connoting her weakness which is a convention of a horror film, as woman are usually seen as the victim and are the weaker gender compared to the male e.g. antagonist being the more dominant scarier character. The voice on the phone starts to tease her and as she backs away trying to find a place of comfort and safety, the unknown caller, calls the woman a 'blondie' which gives the audience the idea that he is watching her.

In absolute fear and panic she runs all over the house showing medium shots of the woman running and locking all the doors in her house, connoting that she is panicking and is trying to defend herself by keeping the house locked and safe from anyone getting in. The non-diegetic sound picks up and gets louder, creating a more dramatic and chaotic atmosphere. The loud dramatic music is a convention of a horror film as it builds tension and fear throughout the audience. The next shot is a close up of her peering through the front door window, checking if anyone is outside, her eyes connote dread and despair and she is literally trembling with fear. The panting of her breath suggests to the audience that she is frightened and it is stopping her from staying calm. The non-diegetic sound becomes quiet again just as the protagonist is taunting her, he suddenly tells her that he wants to 'see what your insides look like' this presents vile and gruesome imagery to the audience and would make them feel uncomfortable. At this point the non-diegetic sound suddenly picks up again and becomes very loud and rapidly increases the tension. The woman’s facial expression connotes that she has become hysterical and in complete dismay, the audience would connect with the character as when putting themselves into her position they would feel the same. The facial expression is a general convention of a horror as the victim should feel terror and show it through their face or body movements.

As she hangs up the phone and walks away we are shown a long shot of her back walking away, she is struggling to breathe which connotes that she is distraught and is rapidly losing hope. Suddenly, the diegetic sound of a doorbell rings and makes the woman jump, panic and scream. She shouts 'who's there' which is a general line of a horror film as is it usually ironic and that it will be the villain. As she runs to a medium shot of her picking up the phone, in hope to call the police, the phone rings in her hand making her scream and panic even more, connoting she is in absolute chaos and doesn't know what to do. Of course the caller on the phone is the protagonist and as he is still constantly talking to her throwing threats the camera slowly zooms from a long shot into a medium shot, but follows her slowly while she is backing away from the front door. This builds tension as the slow moving pace of the camera creates an eerie effect which would usually be a convention of a horror as they would end up which a scary shot, making the audience jump.

While the camera is still moving back, following the victim, she starts screaming into the phone threatening that her boyfriend will be there to protect her she gets louder and louder to try and make her seem powerful even though she is the weakest link between them both. as the character gets louder so does the non-diegetic sound, becoming more dramatic, this builds even more tension and makes the audience feel uncomfortable as they can’t tell whether something scary is going to happen or not. The next shot is the long hallway, with the front door at the centre of the frame, the occurring shot of this build tension as the audience believe that the protagonist is waiting behind it. While taunitng her he reveals the name of the woman boyfriend, this brings a shock to the audience as well as the woman, giving us the enigma as to how he knows his name? At this point her face shows shock and trauma connoting that for her and the audience, that the film is only going to get better.