Plot of my Horror Film Opening

My horror film opening will start off with 2 girls running through the forest. 1 of the girls gets carried away and the other one keeps running. The second girl stops as something runs across the path in front of her and she falls over.

The second part of the opening will cut to a contrasting happier atmosphere. We were thinking maybe a house party where there are people chatting, laughing and listening to music. Then someone knocks on the door but you can't see their face.

Possible Location Photographs

We took photographs of some possible locations for our horror film opening.

This photograph is of a bridge in a forest. As well as being isolated it is also surrounded by water which could be represented as an element of danger. We chose this location as it is quite open and would enable us to film with lots of space. The lake reminded me of the film "Eden Lake" and the surreal setting of the water and not knowing what is underneath it.

This was another location that we could film our horror movie opening at. Again, it looks deserted and quite creepy with a sense of abandonment. It also looks cold and the mood of the photograph is negative. I think that this location is relevant to the horror genre as it is a traditional out of the way setting with overgrown nature and no one around.

This photograph is of a trail in the woods. We thought that this would be an interesting location as it is quite isolated creating a dark atmosphere and would also provide an excellent trap for predators hiding from their prey, especially in the dark. This is similar to the "Blair Witch Project" setting in my research.

            The photograph on the left is one of our possible locations. I found it very interesting as i connected it with the film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" which the still on the right is from.

This photograph is of a house, another possible location for our horror film opening. We chose a house as it is iconic for the horror genre and is representative of the research i did relating to horror film settings. Again, the house location follows the theme of familiarity making the audience's world more scarier and therefore creating a more effecting horror film.

Horror Film Characters Research

I researched into some typical traditional horror film characters as well as non traditional characters to see if there was any kind of comparisons or contrasts between the characters and what would make a scary character for my own horror film.

Dracula- This is one of the oldest characters in the horror genre and is often portrayed in the same way. This character often has a cape, fangs and authentic antique look. A vampire is seen as a common villain in a horror film as the audience would automatically recognise what they are and the bloodshed they can cause.

Perhaps one of the most unconventional yet scariest characters out of the horror genre is Leatherface, the main horror character out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He chilled the entire British audience and is perhaps one of the most terrifying horror characters. What makes him scary is that we can't tell what he does, it's obvious he is a villain but why? He wears masks made of human skin and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his inbred family. Leatherface never spoke in any of the films, which portrays him as mute. In a way this makes him seem even more scarier as his character is eerie.

Every horror film has a victim, the victim is often female and they are seen as vulnerable and easily targeted. The victim is often covered in blood or has dirty ripped clothing. This victim is from Basket Case.






Overall, i think that unusual horror characters are the most scariest as the audience doesn't know what to expect. My horror character will certainly follow this growing trend and be different. If no sound can be used for the villain then maybe a villain that cannot be seen is also a possibility?

Photographs for the Title Sequence of my Horror Film

After researching the film "Se7en" I decided to make my title sequence similar to that one. I took these photographs to mix in with my title sequence for my horror movie. I thought i could make the title sequence jumpy by adding lots of different cuts and random images. The montage of images and footage would create a sense of confusion and maybe a state of paranoia. This would create a distorted and unusual sequence.

The photographs I collected are relevant to my locations for my horror film.  They are all photographs of places in the woods or things that represent danger or caution to me, this will give the film a sense of foreboding. The audience will recognise the genre of the film and that something bad will happen.







I like this photograph as it shows a sense of confusion that could be running throughout the opening of my horror film. The arrows can either represent that either the audience or the characters do not know what is going to happen.

These photographs highlight a sense of danger which would be running throughout the opening of the film as well as an eerie atmosphere of abandonment. As the photographs also represent places that our opening will be shot in there is an element of repetition in which the audience can draw a state of dejavu from.

Overall, i think that these shots will be successful for transitioning into my title sequence. They capture the mood of the horror genre extremely well as well as highlighting the important aspects of our locations. I look forward to see how the end result looks like.

Horror Film Words

I found a website where if you type in the address of your blog is analyses the text and creates a paragraph of words focusing on the words which are commonly used. I found it quite useful as it highlights the most important words and could help me identify what is key to the development of my horror film.

Study of the "Se7en" Title Sequence

2 seconds- image of a book with the pages open
6 seconds- still image of a book with the writing "new line cinema presents" also on the screen
10 seconds- image of a pair of hands, distorted and in black and white
14 seconds- actors name appears on the screen "Brad Pitt". Black background with white creepy writing
18 seconds- close up of fingers with blood and mud on them and holding a small silver blade
22 seconds- flashing across the screen an actors name "Morgan Freeman"
25 seconds- title "Se7en" flashes over a black screen with white font, fades to black
31 seconds- shadows flash across the screen as well as another actor's name "Gwyneth Paltrow"
34 seconds- close up of a pen writing on paper, 2 images of this image overlapping, so one looks like a shadow. One more actor's name "Richard Roundtree"
37 seconds- red filter over camera, slightly blurry picture with bits of random writing flashing across the screen
41 seconds- image of scissors cutting up photography films and lots of shadows in the shot
46 seconds- small photograph of a child in black and white, this is over more photographs and pages of writing
50 seconds- close up of a newspaper cuttings in a birds eye view, drop of blood splattered on the page
56 seconds- actor's names "John Cassini, Reginald E. Cathey, Peter Crombie"
60 seconds- extreme close up of a thumb smudging ink on a page of black writing
62 seconds- black marker pen crossing out words on a page, POV shot
67 seconds- writing in the background, blood like smudges in the foreground with black marker pen on top of that
71 seconds- black background with an image of a boys face (drawing) in the right top hand corner, black marker pen going through his eyes. White writing "casting by..." in the foreground
74 seconds- red filter over the camera again, boys face in the same place again but completely crossed out this time with black marker pen and red over the top
77 seconds- top half of the shot has a red filter, image of photos (darkroom) bottom half of the image is upside down of a pen writing. Writing in the foreground "music by Howard Shore"
87 seconds- close up of dirty thumbs and a line of tiny hooks, writing in foreground "production design.."
90 seconds- books of writing with a page of handwriting on the top, the page is upside down
94 seconds- photographs in the background, clear filter over the camera which has black smudges, marks and dots all over it. Reminds me of looking through a microscope or splattered blood
99 seconds- extreme close up of dirty thumbs playing with a needle, black background
103 seconds- lots of flashing images and quick cuts
Last 15 seconds- lots more flashing images more writing including "produced by..." and "directed by..."
128 seconds- film starts, end of title sequence

Research of Horror Film Settings

When researching horror film settings, generic or unusual, the idea of setting my film somewhere realistic and relatable would make the opening a lot scarier as it's more personal to the audience. By shooting the opening somewhere where the audience may recognise and relate to, they can therefore place themselves in that setting and situation.

This woods setting is from the film The Blair Witch Project. As the woods expands and can go for miles we have a sense of fear or unknown. Woods/forest is a commonly used setting for the horror genre introduced in the 70s. They provide an atmosphere of darkness and shadow away from civilization. The Blair Witch Project brought the forest setting back with a vengeance. Other films such as Wrong Turn and Cabin Fever have followed this trend, proving that forests are great places to stumble onto inbred cannibalistic families or mysterious flesh-eating viruses.

A setting almost always used in a horror film is a haunted house. This house is from the film The Amityville Horror. I think that a house is the most personal setting that can be portrayed in a horror film as everyone can relate to this type of location. Certain expectations of your house may be shattered leaving the audience fearing their own surroundings. Iconic films such as Physco and The Haunting also use the haunted house setting, it is also being brought back into trend by new horror films such as Paranormal Activity.

There are some slightly unusual settings such as an
island or somewhere that's in the middle of nowhere. This location is from Shutter Island. Other isolated settings include The Wicker Man and Wolf Creek. These isolated places initiate the idea that there is nowhere to run.

One more iconic setting is somewhere that is abandoned, such as a hospital, bunker or town. This abandoned setting is a lunatic asylum from Session 9. When an audience sees somewhere abandoned or derelict they get a sense that something bad happened in this place and therefore sets up an atmosphere and sense of fear and suspense. It's like the darker side to a place can be seen once it is abandoned, or appears abandoned.