Week 9 - Analysis of similar movies

I decided to analyse the opening sequence of three movies of the same genre to mine, to get a better feel of the codes and conventions of the genre, this also helps me better understand my own movie opening and what it should be like.

My first movie was Bram Stoker's Dracula
I chose this movie becuase it is a classic movie in the horror genre, and most people have heard of it. It also has a human-like antagonist similar to my own movie.

The second movie I chose was The Blair Witch Project
Again this is a very well known movie in this genre, it is also quite old like Dracula. However this movie also had a very low budget much like my own film.

The final movie I chose was Jennifer's Body
I chose this film because the antagonist of the movie is based on a Succubus, much like my own movie. It is also a teen horror film, like my own. It is the newest of the films I chose and I wanted variation in the release years of the films I chose to analyse.

Analysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula opening
Before any image is seen on screen we hear music, orchestral, it starts off slow and quiet and builds up the volume and pace to add tension. This is done over the religious imagery of the crucifix falling and smashing on the ground. The voiceover then comes in and sets the scene and what has previously happened. It also brings in the title character, Dracula, but before we see him we see his silhouette in-front of fire, this connotes anger and passion. There is also a slight orange glow to everything we see which reinforces this connotation. We then see Dracula’s wife, which shows us that the man has a back-story and that the passion the fire connoted was true. We then see Dracula in his battle armour, which is red and appears demonic this connotes his anger and fury. Next there are shots of fire and Dracula fighting in the war killing those around him. The final image in the two minute opening is of the dead warriors that Dracula has murdered impaled on spears, with a red fiery background.
Overall this opening is very action packed and brings the viewer straight into the narrative, establishing the titular character and a brief back-story but also the gory murder that he commits at war. The dialogue is very small, only a voiceover that establishes what is happening to the viewer and the music does an excellent job at building tension.

Analysis of the Blair Witch Project opening
The film opens silently, which is a large contrast to Dracula. There is a black background with the title of the film towards the left of the screen, in a very plain font. Next there is a written description of what has happened before the film. The first image we see is of somebody’s hand using a home camcorder, the camera is very shaky but it is to get the desired effect. The female character on screen is describing what she is doing, which also sets the film for the viewer; she is taking a trip to explore the Blair Witch. The sound quality is very poor as it is filmed on a camcorder, but it is filmed in a documentary style which is done to bring the viewer into the film even more than usual, it is as if we are watching their memories, and seems quite voyeuristic.
Overall this opening is quite boring compared to Dracula, but it is also successful in drawing the viewer in as we want to know what the Blair Witch is and what is so interesting about it. The home documentary style filming also brings the audience in as I previously said it is quite voyeuristic in nature to watch somebody else’s home video but we want to know more about these people and what happened to them.

Analysis of Jennifer’s Body opening
This film opens with an establishing shot of a house, it is night time. There is also eerie music which builds tension. The narrative is split into two; one of which is introducing the main character with various close up shot of her scratching her arm and eating some sweets, and also some mid shots showing her lying on a bed watching TV, whilst the other narrative is of some creature running up to the house and creeping around to watch the girl the through the window, however we are unaware of whether or not it is a creature or not until the narrative switches back to the girl and we see the creature in the window behind her. The images of the girl all connote sexuality; the extreme close up of her eating sweet, the slow tilting of the camera from her legs up to her face etc. The talking in the opening is also very minimal, much like Dracula, as is only has a voiceover, however unlike Dracula this does not establish the scene it only says, “Hell is a teenage girl” and then the scene changes.
Overall this final opening is also different to the previous two, although it does seem to follow the general conventions of minimal dialogue and builds the tension of the film through music and camera angles, it is lacking in the action of most horror films.The title of Jennifer’s Body is also written in a very feminine pink curly font, which seems out of place in a horror film.




I have also decided to edit my opening script to minimalize the dialogue and also cut down the characters to fit in with the conventions I have found due to this analysis.