JP: Opening Sequence Analysis


Drag Me To Hell (Raimi, 2009)

No links or screenshots available, viewed in DVD format.

Genre

To which genre does the film belong?

The film is strictly a hybrid horror/thriller, targeted at the core audience for horror films, which is males aged 15-24.
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To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or challenged by the opening sequence?

The opening sequence is very typical of the genre, with an enigma created as to what has happened to Juan for this to happen to him. The audience’s expectations are fulfilled completely because the opening sequence is eventful and scary for some people, with references to religion, curses and demons, all things very conventional of horror/thriller films.
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Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?

I believe that the opening sequence may be parodying the genre very slightly, as many people who have lots of experience with horror films would find it funny, with cheesy visual and sound effects and camera techniques. However for some it could be found strictly serious and quite scary. The interpretation of the film depends entirely on the audience observing it, in my opinion.

Film Language

How does mise-en-scène convey meaning in this sequence?

The location is a large, slightly creepy looking house, very typical of horror films. The costumes of the characters clearly show them to be Mexican straight away, a country renowned for superstition. The props that the woman in purple waves around are quite common in religious horror films, as they show someone trying to clear the area of evil spirits.
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How does camera shot size, movement and angle also convey meaning?

The establishing shot shows the large, creepy house. Shot reverse shot between the family and the house’s owner shows a difference of understanding. A spinning shot above Juan shows that he is feeling very dizzy and ill. A close up of Juan’s face straight after the door is opened shows his panic and desperation to escape despite his illness. A POV tracking shot is used to show the demonic force following Juan.
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How does sound anchor the images?

The eerie yet calm music at the beginning gives an unnerving feeling to the scene, as if something will inevitably go wrong. The growling sounds made when the demonic force is throwing things around the room gives an animalistic image of the creature in the audience’s minds, making it seem more vicious and barbaric.
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What do we learn about the characters from dialogue and non-verbal language?

We learn that the family are superstitious and that Juan is supposedly ‘cursed’. The woman they go to immediately shows strong knowledge in the subject as she says, “What did he do?” straight away. The non-verbal language shows Juan ot be very ill as he shivers and sweats excessively. The woman is shown to be a professional by the way she waves some props around.
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What other visual techniques does the director use and why?

The special effects used when the floor cracks around Juan show a hellish place beneath him, linking to the title of the film. A visual link is made with the fly that appears when Juan’s parents present the stolen necklace, which appears more later on in the film when cursed items are presented.

Identity (Mangold, 2003)

No links or screenshots available, viewed in DVD format.

Narrative

How is the narrative organised and structured?

Enigmas are created and maintained with the narrative, as a tape recording of a mental patient is played over the top of a series of long takes on newspaper articles telling stories of abuse, neglect and murder. This leads the audience to wonder what this mental patient’s role in the film is and what is going to happen.
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How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?

The audience are positioned with the doctor/detective, who is clearly trying to help the mentally disabled man despite what he has done, and prevalence gives him plenty of character exposition, showing him to be very involved and passionate about Malcolm Rivers’ case.
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What techniques of alienation and identification are employed?

In this extract, we are alienated from the patient, Malcolm Rivers, as he is shown to be severely mentally unwell in an uncomfortable, dangerous way, and he is shown to have murdered many people. We identify with the doctor/detective, as he appears to be trying to help the man as well as work out what it is that is wrong with him.
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What are the major themes in the narrative?

The main theme is fear of the unknown, for many people would not understand what is wrong with Malcolm Rivers, and would be afraid of him because of this. He has murdered people and this shows that those who suffer from unknown mental illnesses could be very dangerous.
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How is tension created and maintained?

The music is eerie and builds tension, and all of the newspaper clippings about abuse and murder lead us to wonder what happened to Malcolm Rivers, and we wonder what he is going to do next, as the film is clearly based around him.

Representation & Ideology

What social groups are represented in this sequence and how?

Mentally unwell people are represented negatively in this sequence through the use of newspaper clippings, voice recordings, and criminal photos.
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What values and beliefs / ideological discourse is evident?

There is a residual ideological discourse evident, as the mentally unstable man is shown to be an outcast to society, who was rejected and abused by his parents and then went on to murder people, showing him to be extremely dangerous and not able to live in a normal society.
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How does semiotics as a framework see how the representation is constructed?

The main recognisable semiotic is the tape recorder, playing back clips of Malcolm Rivers speaking, and causing the audience to become alienated from him.

Inception (Nolan, 2010)

Link to opening sequence.

Media Audiences

Who is the target audience?

The film is clearly aimed at the 16-24 age range, and this is evident through the use of some psychological enigma with why he is washed up on the shore and why he sees the two children playing. He is carrying a gun, evidence that there will be plenty of action in the film, very popular amongst people of this age range.
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What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text?

Most people would probably guess the film to be just another action movie, with lots of guns and explosions and poor acting, however it is possible that people could see from the start that the film is a psychological thriller, from the use of enigmas and strange events.
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How do you, as a British teenager, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, and background?

I, as a British teenager, read the film as unique from many others, as the enigma codes created spark lots of questions that many action or thriller films do not create, and therefore I am led to become more intrigued in the film than I would normally be. I don’t really believe that this is affected by my upbringing, age or gender, as it is a unique opening that would cause puzzlement in any audience who watched it.

Institutional Context

Has a star been used in this film? Why is this important?

Leonardo DiCaprio is the bankable star used in the film, and he is also the first character we are introduced to, and character exposition is introduced immediately, showing that he is clearly the protagonist. I believe this is quite important as he is famous for spanning across several genres with his acting, so we do not really know what to expect from his performance in this film.
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Which studio produced this film? Is it an ‘industrial’ film or independent film?

It is produced by Warner Bros, making it an industrial film, which is very useful for the effects required to pull off the movie. The locations used in the opening are clearly very high-budget and thus make the movie feel more genuine rather than cheaply made for the sake of it.
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What strategies were used to market the film?

The viral marketing campaign for Inception included internet games and puzzles, trailers, an official website and ‘Mind Crime’, which is explained here: http://www.nolanfans.com/2009/12/21/inceptions-viral-marketing-begins-with-mind-crime/
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Is the institutional context evident in the production values of the opening?

Yes, there are very high production values in the opening that identify the film as a thriller, and the locations and use of an a-list actor prove that the film must have an ultra-high budget, and is targeted a the audience most likely to go the cinema and see it, which is also the audience most likely to be very critical of films, so the production values were set high and were very successful.