Opening and titles analysis: Insidious

Opening and titles analysis: Insidious

We are introduced to a Horror genre immediately as a result of the dark and dark and eerie lighting. Then we see who the film is produced by in Black bold letters which contrasts against the colour of the background (white), this creates a sense of mystery as all that is apparent so far is the contrasting of colour, this will be consumed as unusual and will result in the audience already becoming weary of what's to come.  Next the titles rotate in a 360 degree fashion around the light (white background) and suddenly begin dissolving. This mysterious and sudden change in normality will further unnerve and confuse the audience. Furthermore as the camera slowly creeps downwards in an unusual fashion we see what appears to be an innocent and typical boy's bedroom setting, this however is leading the audience into a sense of false security, and shortly after the pace of the camera movement (one continuous motion) increases, this will unsettle the audience, shortly after we see a shadow of some sort and it is after the recognition of amplified sound (what appears to be the non diegetic sound of a violin) will unsettle the audience as they are experiencing too many motions at one time i.e: increasing of the camera movement, addition of a sudden high pitched sound, mysterious image of a shadow, and because the audience cannot consume all the sudden changes at once they are left fearing what is to follow.

Moreover, we then see what we assume to be the villain/problem at the end of the small and congested hallway, and given that this is the only character that we have seen, we believe this to be the main character, or a character that is too be heavily involved. However because of the dark setting it is hard to establish any sense of understanding, as often the clothing and props allow the audience to conjure up an idea of the film whether it is a traditional/ old fashioned horror or a current horror that will perhaps concern a more relatable setting that consists of technology. Therefore this opening may be targeting an audience who has more knowledge and preferences towards horror films, like aficionados or maybe even film avids. Then as the music and the frame of the character fades into darkness yet again, we as the audience lead once again into a false sense of security as film title, covers the whole screen in Big bold red letters,  not only does this sudden occurrence shock the audience but looking carefully at some of the letters it is clear that all the "I" letters appear to have some sort of curve at the end of them , perhaps resembling similar shapes that are often associated with the devil, and may lead the audience to self consciously make violent and unnerving comparisons between the devil and the film they are about to watch.

At the same time it is evident that the low lighting present is flashing onto the bottom of the title, in an unusual fashion, additionally this type of lighting is off putting and also reflects both: an enigma as we have not encountered lighting yet as the opening has been set in darkness but also exaggeration as the flashing light is clearly highlighting the title of the film.

Next the screen fades into darkness as we are brought to the attention of a black and white setting, during which the screen once again clearly displays the bold red writing in the same font as the other main film title. But parts of the title appear to fade away into the background in a ghost like fashion, and perhaps mimicking the film itself. Simultaneously the screen in panning across the screen (hallway in this instance), this effect clearly shows the darkness of the room, whilst maintaining speed throughout the opening.

I like the constant unsettling of the audience by incorporating numerous actions at one time in order to create fear, and exploiting typical fears such as claustrophobia and the fear of the unknown, but I will need to be weary as doing this incorrectly will mean the audience may not be intrigued.  Overall the simplicity of the cold open leaves much to be discovered, especially in terms of mystery. And the limited cast may favour certain film goers as by having an all star cast, aficionados and audiences that enjoy old fashioned films may tend to avoid such films as they assume them to be Big Budget. And also the mystery behind all the characters is also effective because not only are we intrigued by what appears to be the villain, but also it leaves the audience to uncover all the information for themselves and will ultimately make them feel more involved as a result.

And with regards to inspiration, I like how the editors have maintained a fast-paced opening thus keeping the audience intrigued, but at the same time the audience are aware of a potential antagonist as well as a potential victim.