What Makes an effective Horror Movie Opening ?

Some people have different views on what makes a successful horrow film opening. In my Media class we had the chance to watch 2 different openings and assess them. We watched 1408 and When a Stranger Calls. While we were watching them we made notes on things that we saw and thought made it an effective opening.

1408

At the start there was rain and thunder and it was at night. The man was on his own and had a map which suggests that where he was, was a new place for him and gave off a sense of being lost and isolated. There was creepy music in the background which helped add emphasis of him being on his own. There is reference to a haunted house when he turns up at the hotel and he is introduced to paranormal activities that had been going on. We are given clues about the film as there are recurring motifs. There is also ellipsis, the jumping of time, which makes the watcher wonder what is going to happen and when.

When a Stranger Calls

The title of this film has a sharp, simple font, which to me suggests that everything in this film is going to be straight to the point. To start with we hear voices but there aren't any pictures on screen so this is asynchronus sound and creates a picture in the watchers mind of what the people could look like. This also suggests that the people talking are important and something is going to happen between them. There is creepy music which contradicts the happiness of a fun fair and there is deep breathing however you cannot see what is causing the breathing so this gives the watcher a chance to build up their own view of what is making the noise. The shots used are giving the effect of someone watching a house from behind a bush or tree which gives a sense of stalking as does when something sneaks across the screen very quickly as though it doesnt want to be seen. There are screams from the fun-fair as there are screams from the house and there is a red balloon that eventually gets caught up in a desserted place, partly destroyed, which suggests that death is going to be involved.

All of these things from the two films are what I think make an effective horror movie opening as they create anticipation and fear in the watcher.