Following the course of my pre-production, I watched the opening sequence to Scream, the 1996 slasher film. I watched the opening four times. With every screening I viewed, I made several notes on the following sections:
- Mise-en-scene
- Camera shots
- Editing
- Sound
- Representation
Horror films are designed to entice and frighten the audience. In order for this to work successfully, directors have to carefully analyze all the typical elements that are frequently used within a horror film to strike out the emotion of fear and terror from the viewers. Horror films consist of many conventions. The following are listed below.
- Blood/gore
- Dim Lighting
- Prosthetics
- Eerie music
- Villain/killer
- Weapons
- Victim(s)
- Strange noises
- Screams
- Masks
- Mirrors
- Running and hiding
- Dolls
- Clowns
- Death
- Haunted houses and isolated settings
- Chase sequences
- Darkness
- Ghosts
The horror genre includes many subdivisions (or sub-genres) such as slasher films, psychological horror and gothic horror. Each subdivision take conventions and find ways of amending them and making them more thrilling and exciting for the audience. Wes Craven's Scream provides an example of the slasher format, but also offers commentary on the construction and consumption of the horror film.
Scream is a 1996 slasher film directed by Wes Craven from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson, and is the first of the Scream series. The film tells a story of a fictional town Woodsboro being terrorized by a masked killer who enjoys tormenting his victims with phone calls and movie references. The film takes on a 'who done it' mystery, as many townspeople are fellow targets and suspects. Scream revitalized the slasher film genre in the mid-1990s, similar to the impact Halloween had on the late 1970s.
Scream opens with a twelve minute prologue that introduces Casey, played by Drew Barrymore, an all American girl who is popping popcorn in preparation for watching a video.
From the very beginning of the film, sound is present. Sound is used to entice and frighten the audience. As the film begins eerie music is in the background as Dimension Films slowly appears from the darkness. This is then followed by a loud rumble, almost as if several doors are being shut all at once. While the eerie music continues, the title of the film appears and is stretched out and comes back together with a loud crash. This is followed by a phone ringing, a rapid heart beat, a terrifying scream, a knife slicing into something, and finally more screams. The ringing phone relates to the first scene of Scream, and as the caller picks up, the phone and the music, the beating heart, and the screams all vanish. Another example of sound being used is when, Casey, the victim in the first scene, picks up the phone and talks to a mysterious caller. The caller has already threatened that he will kill her if she hangs up the phone again in which she replies that her boyfriend is coming over and will protect her. The caller responds with, "His name wouldn't be Steve, would it?" Casey stands stunned as a loud boom follows. It emphasizes the last comment even more. The viewer realizes that this is not a silly prank call anymore. As she panics, the music gets louder building up tension as the story unfolds. The director, Wes Craven, is adding layers by adding more tension with each passing moment within the film. In the final shot of the first scene Casey is being chased by the killer who is her mysterious caller. As she runs outside all the viewer can hear is her breathing. Her breathing is rapid, full of gasps and sobs. This again creates more tension.
The opening scene is set at night in what appears to be a country house. This acts as an indication that the place is isolated which adds tension and indicates that something bad is going to happen. Due to the fact that it is set at night, the audience will be expecting a lot of darkness which again indicates that something terrible is going to take place. The house is painted white which symbolizes innocence and purity and Casey is also seen in white throughout the first scene which again shows that she is the innocent victim. The mysterious killer is dressed in all black, almost like the grim reaper. The color black indicates that the killer is evil and wicked. He is also seen wearing a white mask and is referred to as 'ghost face' as his identity is always hidden from his chosen victims and from the viewers. This entices the audience as a hidden identity gives the killer a high psychotic status. The mise-en-scene within the opening scene shows a typical horror element, while Casey is on the phone talking to the mysterious caller, she plays with a knife and also mentions the film Halloween, where the killer uses a kitchen knife as a murder weapon. This shows the viewer dramatic irony.
Props used within the opening scene include knives, popcorn, phone and blood, which again are all typical conventions found within a horror film. The knife shows the audience that is it going to be a slasher film which means that gore and blood will be shown frequently throughout the film as the story continues. The lighting within the chosen place of setting changes as the killer threatens Casey. She often moves around the house lit by lamps which provide pockets of light and shadow. The use of dim lighting and shadows makes the scene even more unnerving and frightening for the viewers as they are expecting something or someone to appear from a dark corner, as the darkened spaces provide places for the killer to hide. From the beginning the house is brightly lit but slowly changes to a dimly lit atmosphere as the mood of the victim changes. Scream includes many typical icons of horror. Knives and a mask are used throughout the first scene to signify that this is a killer. Knives have been known to be an intimate violent weapon, which not only heightens the fear of the chosen victim, but also the viewers, thus frightening and enticing the audience further more.
There are a variety of camera angles and shots throughout the first scene. Firstly, there is a mid-shot of Casey answering the phone. The camera then follows her around as she walks, which gives the impression that somebody is following her from behind and is watching her every move. The camera also pans around the room which shows that she is alone and is vulnerable to danger. The director also uses an establishing shot; this sets the scene and shows the audience where the character is. This shot is used when the audience is shown the garden and then Casey's house. This indicates that the house is miles away from town and is in an isolated area and therefore so is Casey. A long shot view of the house from the outside is given which also shows that Casey is within an isolated area. There are several instances of Point of View shots, for example, when Casey is peering out of her window looking at her boyfriend. This makes the viewer feel as if they are the victim and are apart of the story. As she answers the questions the camera moves closer giving the audience a close up shot of the victim. The camera also slowly moves forward as she moves back. This again shows that somebody is watching her and following her ever move. During the climax of this scene where she is being chased by the killer, the camera follows her from behind and shows that she is bare foot which shows her vulnerability. Finally when ghost face is about to strike his victim, a high angle shot is given as he brutally attacks Casey. This presents his dominance over her and again shows her vulnerability as she is left helpless. Wes Craven has also used an effective technique within the first scene, as he uses a Dutch tilt camera angle. A Dutch tilt is the term used for a cinematic tactic which is used to portray the psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed. This type of camera shot is achieved by tilting the camera off to the side so that the shot is composed with the horizon at an angle to the bottom of the frame. This makes the subject tilted and disorientated towards the viewer and makes them feel uneasy and tense, thus creating the feeling of terror and fear.
Editing is made apparent within the opening scene. As the victim is running away from the killer, it is presented in slow motion as he is just about to brutally kill her. As she hides from the killer, a direct long shot view of her parent’s car comes into view and then cuts back to her. This indicates that she has a way of escaping from being brutally murdered. While her parents are searching around the house for clues as to what has happened to their daughter, a three minute shot of the killer about to strike her with the knife comes back to the screen and then cuts back to the parents. Finally in this scene, a long shot view of her body hanging from a tree outside is given. The camera speeds up as it zooms in on her body and then jumps into the next scene.
Casey could be viewed as a typical representation of a victim within the horror genre. The victim is usually depicted as a young, vulnerable female who is prone to danger and is helpless against the killer.
Casey is a young high school teen who is home alone and lives in an isolated area. Due to the fact that she is home alone, she is vulnerable to danger, making her the perfect victim for the killer to attack. Within the first few minutes of the opening scene, the audience sees that she is making popcorn in preparation for watching a movie to enjoy the rest of her evening. This indicates that the director, Wes Craven, has portrayed her as a typical female teenager. Overall, Scream is aimed at teenagers who enjoy all the gore and blood of a slasher film. Due to the victim being a young teenager this could possibly evoke the audience's inner worst fear and shows how vulnerable they can be to danger.
The killer, 'Ghost-face', is seen as the dominant character within the film. The denotation of this character is that he is wearing a black cloak and a white mask to hide his identity. The connotation of this is that it symbolizes him to look more frightening to his victims and makes him feel superior towards others.
Special effects that are used within the opening scene is blood. This is a typical convention that is used within every horror film and also indicates that Scream is a typical slasher. The denotation of blood is that the color is red and the connotation shows that it symbolizes death and sacrifice of a vulnerable victim.
In conclusion the opening sequence of Scream embodies much of the horror genre as the director, Wes Craven, revitalized the horror genre in the nineties by analyzing the conventions that are used within horror films and evolved each element to adapt to the new generation and preyed on their fears. He has introduced a new villain to the horror genre as the plot of the film involves a psychopathic serial killer, who taunts and threatens his victims before stabbing and killing them. Layers of sound used within the opening scene are effective, as the music gets louder with each passing moment, which builds up tension and entices the audience. Blood and gore is made apparent within the opening scene which already indicates that Scream is going to be a slasher film. Scream revitalized the slasher genre by evolving each element and producing a more terrifying and bloody film which will appeal to the audience and strike fear into their hearts.
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