Opening sequence analysis - sinister - COS

Genre
- The film sinister belongs to the psychological\slasher horror sub genres; this is clearly evident through the hanging scene within the film opening, clearly showing a family suspended from a tree which is quite gruesome. The psychological elements are not overly shown in the opening sequence however we do not see the person hanging them and we are not shown how they got there, which does create questions and tension amongst the audience.

- The audiences generic expectations for this genre of film is to be scared and to be made uncomfortable during the opening. Almost all horrors at some point during the movie have a death in them, during sinister there are four before the movie even starts! There is a large crocked tree in the first location surrounded by mist, this is almost a stereotypical feature of a horror movie. Horror movies can effectively use old features to create a sense of terror, the flicker of a celluloid projector is used during the opening scene, making it seem old and dated. One characteristics or horror movies is inevitability, you know what is going to happen, and you are made to wait for it, creating suspense, for around 10 seconds we can see the family stationary on the floor before they are hoisted up, we can see that they are going to be hanged, because of the noose

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Film language
- The first sequence is all one long shot, for about a minute, this is because it is supposed to be a home video. It gives it an edgy feel, and questions arise like who would film this sort of thing? For editing, there is the tick of the film being played. In terms of prevalence, they are all displayed equally, and the cut is motivated by the movement being stopped in their bodies because they have died. There is no pace of cutting in the hanging scene as it is all one shot.

- In terms of mise-en-scene, the lighting of the scene is very dim, and there is a mist in the background, this creates fear and a gothic edge to the movie. The four people being hanged are all dressed in everyday smart clothes, however they all have a brown bag over their heads, which is synonymous with hostages, as they are seemingly a normal family, it makes them seem innocent and unable to help themselves. While they are hanging it becomes obvious their hands have been tied and their bodies start jerking in an attempt to break free, however they are seemingly calm and unresponsive while they are on the ground, their non-verbal language leaves questions whether their actions are involuntary or if they are drugged or something similar.

- There is non-diegetic sound in the form of spooky music to go with the hanging scene, this is the sort of music you would definitely associate with horror movies. There is no dialogue until the celluloid clip ends and we are shown the family, and the conversation between the policeman and the man allows us to see that the family are not welcome in their new home, which again is a generic convention of horror movies. Once again the ticking of the projector is significant as it's scary when used in the context of the film.

- In terms of visual techniques there is a square on the left hand side as if the tape had been damaged somehow and making it seem old, however the people are wearing modern clothes, and there is a slight flickering between frames, adding to the eerie mood. The title is extremely subtle, it is in white handwriting and appears on the right of the tree once the people are dead, this adds to the homemade feel of the opening.

Narrative

- The basic plot is a hanging scene, which is used in many horrors as it is quite a gruesome way to die and is associated with executions from the past, it is quite a sinister activity and is associated with punishment and public entertainment, due to the image movies have created of large crowds gathering around and jeering at criminals. It is a what seems to be a common nuclear family, two parents and two children. Then a family is shown moving into a new house in, what we can assume from the policeman's outfit and trees, quite a rural area, and it doesn't really get much more stereotypical horror than that, as it features in pretty much every horror movie ever created!

- There is a clear contrast between the two opening sets, for one the first one is edited to be like a 35mm film, while the second one is just a normal continuity edited film. Obviously there is a clear contrast between the death of the family and the very much alive family. It is organised to straight away dive into the horror and action and then calm it down with the family, this created tension and develops it into an anti-climax. The audience seeming knows more that the characters, as they are not aware of the characters knowledge and their purpose, the fact the audience have witnessed the hangings before we meet the main characters is quite significant, as questions arise about what they are doing there and it becomes obvious that sooner or later something will happen to them! 

Representation and ideology
- In terms of the hanging, there is not a lot to be said about ideology, however you could note how the dad is on the end of the row, while the mum is closer to the children, which could refer to the dominant ideology that the mother is more the carer to the children and the father is the head of the family. However this is more obvious in the second part of the opening when the male is sent over to deal with the police officer which has pulled up at their house, this shows him as the protector of the house. There is a small emergent ideology, which is the fact that they are all carrying boxes, this is progressive as physical labour is stereotypically a males job, however the wife is helping with this. There is a slight ideological discourse between life and death.

- Evidently death is clearly the negative one as it is shown with darker lighting during the hanging scene with deep scary music. And the family is shown alive and well while moving into their new house, while still dark it is lighter and clearer than the hanging scene and the music is more upbeat.t

Media audience
- The audience of this film would be from 15-25, this is because the film has a certificate of 15 meaning it would not be possible to aim it at people younger than this. The fact it has a low budget of around $3m, and was produced by alliance films; a company which focuses on horror movies, tells me that it is aimed at fans of the genre, and the fact that the film brought in box-office revenue of around $48m suggests that it didn't really expand beyond this target audience. It would be aimed at people who get visceral pleasure from scaring themselves and like that sense of being uncomfortable you get with certain horror movies.

- The beginning of the text is easy to understand, so the audience will be negotiated, meaning they understand the text yet question the meaning. This is their desirable outcome as the purpose of their introduction is to create questions about the movie and to make it evident there is something sinister going on, and to let the audience realise their is imminent danger.

- As a British teenager, I completely understand the text, I know that there is clearly some sort of psychopath or supernatural creature at large, and the fact that they have recently moved into a new house, and as I have seen many horrors, I know that it is very likely someone's going to try and kill them!

Institutional context
- There are no A-Listers in sinister, this is because it is a low budget movie and that would dramatically increase costs, as I said earlier it had a budget of $3m, this combined with the fact it was released on the 12th October (near Halloween) and it was released by a small studio, gives it all the factors of an independent film, even though it turned over a $48m box-office, granted it is one of the better horror movies in my opinion, scoring a 6.8 on IMDB, which is quite high for a horror! The opening scene has low production values, this has been cleverly hidden by using it to effect to create a home video style.