The Ring (Verbinski, 2002) is a very good example of a psychological horror opening, is all about convincing the audience there is something there. The Ring does this very well through a use of techniques:
- By using diagetic sound from the TV it positions us with the character and gives the situation a sense of realism. Many horror films use music in the opening scenes to get the audience tense, but The Ring uses silence to enhance the situation. When she gets close to the TV we briefly see and hear someone running past, this is a very immersive experience for the audience which is exactly what horror is suppose to be.
- When she enters the kitchen, the light is focused on the fridge which then opens. This is stereotypical to horror films; a door swinging open and the audience not knowing where it came from. The Ring is based in what looks like a normal house with an isolated, curious women on her own, a main character such as this is what we expect in most horror films.
- The shots towards the end of the opening are to set the scene of the story; when the women is walking down the corridor towards the room, we see water pouring out from under the door. Those who have seen the film know this represents the daughter who was drowned by her mother. The darkness in this shot and us only seeing her legs creates an tense atmosphere of the unkown.
3 comments:
good choice of opening and comments. Remember to practice the skills learned in tv drama and keep the comments technical using a wide range of film language
Okay I will try to add some more key terms into my work in the future
Nice opening sequence Josh, we can definitely use some of the ideas in this scene :)
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