Supernatural Horror Movie Opening Deconstruction

Supernatural horror movie opening deconstruction:

I decided to explore further into the horror genre and look at sub genres such as supernatural horrors. I choose to look at the film opening for Sinister, a supernatural horror which came out in 2012. The clip i looked at is around one minute long and shows the beginning of the movie.

The production company used for sinister (2012) is Blum House, which is commonly used for low budget horror movies.

The opening scene to the film is what seems to be an old video tape of people hanging from a tree, diegetic sound of the video playing is used along with slow non diegetic music to create an eerie atmosphere. The picture also flickers to represent the fact it is an old movie tape, this is to make it seem scarier and more realistic to the audience watching. The fact that someone is also filming them in this situation is also fairly disturbing,  as well as the use of bags to cover the faces of the victims, since it dehumanises them and does not allow us to see their faces.

The tree branch seems to mysteriously lower pulling on the rope and forcing the bodies into the air. The fact that no one except them and the person filming is their creates and eerie effect and shows how more supernatural events are to come. At first the bodies do not move potentially giving the feeling that they are already dead, but as the branch lowers they begging to squirm and move their legs which makes it very unsettling.

The tree branch then breaks, greatening the supernatural feel since there was no one else there who could have broken it. The fact that the music and noise allows us not to hear any audio in the actual video is also fairly creepy since no screams or noise from the victims is heard.

As the people begin to stop moving smoke appears from the trees creating quite an eerie atmosphere, the title of the film is also shown, the writing used is very messy and oddly written, almost as if it  is hand written. The use of white allows it to stand out against the dark background, it almost seems as if it has been scratched in.

The lasts scene of the opening shows the footage flickering and shows how it was recorded on an old camera.

Evaluation:

• The starting clip is very creepy, the use of figures dying creates a very ominous, scary atmosphere right at the start.
• The use of old movie footage also adds to this.
• As well as this the slight signs of supernatural happenings shown allows the audience to know what kind of events are to come (the mysterious mist/smoke and the tree bending down and breaking by itself as the bodies are raised.
• Mise en scene, of the bags over the head, also creates a 'sinister' feel since it dehumanises the victims. 
• Diegetic and non diegetic sound being used also is good, since it creates tension and a sense of reality.
• The title could have been slightly bigger, since the first time i watched it i actually did not notice it. If it was slightly bolder and clearer, it would be more appropriate. However the fact it is small could relate to the film, since it is harder to spot than the ordinary. Alike how a supernatural killer/being is harder to spot than a human murderer.