Throughout making my film opening, I used most forms and conventions of a typical horror films. For this evaluation I did a 9-frame-analysis in order to portray these conventions clearly.
1) The establishing shot of the house introduces and sets the scene for the film opening. It introduces the setting as a large and spooky looking house which will also introduce the sad and tensing atmosphere of the film opening. A spooky, old house is a typical setting for a horror film as it will immediately increase the eerie atmosphere that it establishes.
2) The second shot portrays the mother and her son playing together, like normal family would do. The use and the sound of the toys gives a sense of normality and happiness as they play together. This, however, will soon change as we know they are torn apart, which makes the audience feel sympathy towards the mother.
3) This shot also gives a sense of happiness and normality as the mother is seen to be teaching her son how to play the piano. This emphasises the mother and sons strong bond, which again makes us feel sympathy towards the mother because of the fact that she has been torn away from her son through his death.
4) This close up shot how the story easily changes from happy to dark and scary, which is shown through the mothers scared and shocked face as she watches a horrific killing happening to her son, which she can do nothing about. Also, the audience knows that something bad has happened as the scene is a lot darker than the previous lighter and happy scenes.
5) The editing in this shot shows the son being thrown against the wall. This also poses mystery upon the audience as they may question whats happening? or Who's hurting the son?. Also, the audience will fell sympathy towards the son because they do not want him being harmed or hurt in any way.
6) This mid-shot of the mother, with her head down, encourages sympathy from the audience because of the terrible states she is in after her sons untimely death. The voice-over of the scene also shows the mothers distress at the loss of her son. Theses shots are filmed in a clinic room as the mother s in hospital and not allowed out because of her past which has caused her to develop mental health problems. Lastly, the blue filter over the top of the shot reflects the mothers misery and sadness.
7) The close-up on the dead sons face, is horrifying and saddening as it shows the capabilities of the ghost and what the ghost has put both the mother and the son through in the film opening. Furthermore, the large cut or 'Gash' on the side of the sons face is very gory which is one of the typical conventions of a horror film. This also makes the audience feel sympathy towards the son as he looks so innocent and vulnerable.
8) In this shot the audience are introduced to the ghost, which is one of the main focal points of the story, even though the audience only sees her hand and a her face for a short time before hand, the ghost appears in the modern day sector of the film. The over-the-shoulder shot portrays the ghost creeping up on the vulnerable mother, which also represents the mothers past haunting her over again. Here the tension is increased and the scene again darkens, to represent the evil that is haunting the mother.
9) The title 'Nemesis' means vengeance, which reflects the ghosts story-line. The ghost was killed in her 20's by her husband and wants revenge on any family that steps foot in the house by tearing them apart like what happened to her family. The title screen flashes up, with the sound of thunder playing in the background, which is a typical convention which makes a horror film scary. The text is blood-red and the font gives the impression of blood dripping down, which reflects the film as it represents death.
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