Opening Sequences In Horror Movies

Tim Burton is easily one of my favourite directors - his style is instantaneously recognizable and his opening sequences always strike me the most and immediately entice me. Burton will never show an actor to distract the audience from producers, screenwriters etc involved within his usually massive productions. Burton will always tell a story within his opening titles played along with the movie's main musical theme. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) shows the process of the "golden ticket" behind packaged and sent across the world to be opened by kids. In Sleepy Hollow (1999) we become aware of the air of ghostliness surrounding the small desolate town of Sleepy Hollow. In class, I presented the opening of Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street - in the opening titles, Burton uses his signature not-real-not-animated cartoonish look to follow the track of Sweeney's victims through the chair and down the shoot, then being cooked and made into pies whilst the blood is washed down the gutter into the River Thames. The blood is shown brightly and sickly sticky on the screen making the audience uncomfortable before the audience ever sees Johnny Depp.

Sweeney Todd (2007) Opening Titles

What Makes Your Skin Crawl?

Horror movies is a guilty-pleasure of mine. I love the skin-pricking thrill of being terrified at the movies, but, what makes a horror movie successful? There is an unnoticable abundance of low-budget-bad-acted horror movies that I can say are not terrifying but soothe the bloodlusting slasher movie geeks. Below is a moodboard of what entices me, what scares me and what makes me fall in love with the horror genre all over again!

Here are a few examples of horror movies that have scarred and shocked me (in a good way) and have upheld the classic and orginiality of the horror movies.

(The Shining - 1980)

(Rec - 2007)

(Psycho - 1960)

(Ils - 2006)

There are three key things that I really enjoy in horror movies right now: the first is the sense of "this-could-be-you" in horror movies. Successful horror movies, in my opinion, have always been set in relatible environments e.g motels, your own home and the city. Making a movie in an environment the audience can recognize (as apposed to the Moon) gives that deeper sense of fear. Another thing that makes my skin crawl is the never revolutionary use of hand-held equipment that gives the camera a first person view of what is happening like the movie has been filmed all on a camera-phone or a camera that has just been picked up. And the final aspect is forgein languages - languages that I do not know adds more of a sense of confusion, Rec (Spanish) and Them ("Ils" - French) adds to the sense of mystery and confusion withint the plot.