• Genre made clear by the music and the slow edits in the film opening.
• Music is eerie helping emphasize the genre
• Titles – film production company, actors, film name etc.
• The film location is a empty house being a convention of the horror genre.
• A lot of mystery
Costume- In the opening of Insidious we don’t see any people other than the ghostly figures, we mainly see shadows. When we get a close up on the woman holding a candle, she looks as if she is wearing a dark veil and dark old-fashioned clothing, suggesting she is evil.
Lighting- Throughout the opening the lighting is low key suggesting it is mysterious, also in some shots there is only a certain part of the room highlighted and the rest is black, showing the importance of the certain place also suggesting something is hidden. This links to the conventions of the genre horror
Actors- We only see a picture of the main characters in a family photo. In the photo they look to be a happy family, smiling and all in pale clothing suggesting their innocence. However the adult male in the photo isn’t smiling and has a very stern look on his face, suggesting he isn’t as innocent as first thought. He is holding his family quite close showing he is protective.
Make up- When we see the woman’s face close up, she is quite wrinkly and pale, showing her age , the area around her eyes is very dark suggesting there is more to tell.
Props-The grandfather clock is featured quite a lot in the opening of Insidious showing it is important. The clock fits the conventions of a horror film
Setting- The location of the opening is the family home of the main characters, the audience sees all the different rooms, because it is in black and white it is fairly spooky and uncomfortable. In the rooms we can see that the family has just moved in as there is cardboard boxes.
Editing- Editing is slow, giving the audience a chance to take it in and a sense of enigma. After every shot there is a fade out from one shot and another fade into the next making it look mysterious, also when we go into the next shot it is unfocused suggesting confusion within the house.The film opening is in black and white apart from the beginning giving a sense of unease. The connotations of black is evil and mystery and the connotations of white are purity, goodness and innocence giving the idea that in this film there will be a clash of good and evil.The titles are in red, red in this format connotes danger/blood/gore.There is a long shot on the grandfather clock down a corridor, we can only make out the clock. There is then a jump cut bringing us closer to the clock with a flickering glow around it suggesting it is significant but why? Links to the conventions of the genre.
2020 Film Blog 