Three Film Opening (Thriller/Horror)

    Halloween (1978)

The film opens with a chilling first person point of view shot of a figure stalking a young women inside a house on Halloween night. As the camera follows his movements, he grabs a knife and kills her. Which reveals the killer is a 60 year old Michael Myers. This type of opening sets the tone for the films restless suspense, introducing Michael as an unstoppable evil force.

    Scream (1996)

The films opening scene is filled with suspense and tension, beginning with an innocent phone call to Casey Becker which quickly turned dark. Before killing her, the killer taunts her with horror trivia questions. This was a very bold move by the producer because they killed off one of the main actors within the first minutes. This helps build the unpredictable approach to the movie.

    It follows (2014)

The film begins with an unsettling long shot of a scared young women running from an unseen character or presence. Her reaction, despite the absence of any visible threat, showed the extent of her fear. After a sequence of her trying to escape, she is found dead, in a very strange position. This reinforced the movies theme of inescapable horror. The film opening was very slow building and dread filled which established a unique supernatural tension and restless paranoia.

 Takeaway

While researching 3 film opening I decided to look at older movies, this was only to compare what they were able to do with the limited resources they had. By doing this it inspired me to use the resources I have to develop a CRAZY opening film. These 3 opening films taught me a lot, whether it was the editing, sound, or even just the choice in shot angles. Everything these three producers did, helped me discover what and how I want to make my opening film.