MG: Conventions of Horror Openings

Orphan (Collet-Serra, 2009)
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• Title: simple, white capital seriffed letters in the centre, which then flicker with a UV light, turning the font into a child's scrawly handwriting with smudges and fingerprints around it, giving the impression that there is a dark side to children, in this circumstance, an orphan
• The title then fades into white and then to an out of focus two shot in a hospital alongside eerie music, giving a ghostly sense which is almost like a dream or a flashback, this is also reinforced by the bright white lighting used and also by the echoing of the characters voices
• The slow pace of editing also emphasises the dreamy effect
• All shots in the opening are almost blurry by the background being out of focus the whole time, for example, when the pregnant protagonist is being wheeled to reception in a wheel chair, a close up is used where her face is in focus but the windows on the wall in the background are blurry
• The location and all the props are all white and the protagonists face is very pale, adding to the ghostly sense, however as the opening progresses, the protagonist starts bleeding as she's being wheeled down the corridor, the red of the blood contrasting with the whiteness of everything
• A birds eye view is used directly above her being wheeled down the corridor to reveal the trail of blood behind her 

The Fourth Kind (Osunsanmi, 2010)

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• Blurry and out of focus, a figure walks towards the camera, building up tension as the music starts.
• Comes into focus, in a woods, actress starts speaking, breaking the fourth wall, telling the audience that it is a true story and that actual footage is included.
• Quick cuts between close ups and mid shots are used after each sentence she says to portray a sense of urgency and uneasiness.
• The music is ghostly and almost churchy, this is very enigmatic as it could suggest death or possibly even murder.
• The background of the woods starts spinning creating a sense of chaos and reinforcing the uneasiness aspect.
• It then immediately cuts to actual footage of an interview, close ups and two shots are used of the protagonist's pale face and the interviewer's intrigue to the interviewee.
• This then fades into a shot of a tape player, playing the same interview from where it left off, it then zooms into an ECU of the tape player so that the audience can fully concentrate on what is being said.
• There is no music throughout this, adding to the uneasiness and tension but also so the focus is on the dialogue.