Opening sequence essay

The opening sequence (first 2- 3 min) of The Strangers ( a successful horror released in summer 2008 )starts with the indents of rouge pictures and intrepid pictures . Both of these indents have loud unexpected noises and a Gothic logo trying to put the audience immediately on edge. There is then text on a black background being narrated by a non dietetic voice describing that what we are about to see is inspired by real events increasing the feel of realism so the audience can become more attached and there for feel the emotion more dramatically .

It then goes on giving facts about violent crime in America this makes it more real for the audience and increases the fear the audience feels. Then a short sequence of shot fading in and out from black showing a car driving through a village , into the country side and then into a woods – this sequence is there to show the audience that the characters are far from the public and secluded from people . This makes the audience feel isolated.

There is then a conversation between a police officer and a scared child on a phone. The child is short of breath and crying he tells the P.C. he is in danger, this brings a feeling of anticipation to the audience. The child then goes on to say that he does not know where he is reinforcing the feeling of isolation. There is an unsettling piano note in the background making the audience worried that a jump is coming, horror audiences are usually preconditioned to expect a jump after a subtle unsettling piece background music. The child then explains in a very scared manor that there is blood every where in the house. This further connotes the feeling of fear and worry.

Throughout the dialog between the P.C. and the child there images of the house with smashed windows , blood on the walls , a knife with blood on it and a shotgun this also further emphasizes the sense of fear and anticipation the audience feels because they know want to know why the weapons have been used and whose blood that is. The title then fades in and out from black , the name typical of a horror as it is a normal word (strangers ) but with ‘The’ in front makes it slightly scary and make the audience want to know who ‘the strangers’ are.

In conclusion the opening sequence of the strangers is constructed to put the audience emotionally on edge and to make them feel anticipation towards finding out what happened to put the house in that condition. It is contemporary opening to a horror and does not go out side boundaries or experiment with new concepts but is still very effective in receiving the right reaction from the audience