M.P: Analysing an opening sequence - A Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven, 1984)

Genre 

•   The horror film has sub genres which is Super Natural Slasher horror. In the introduction, there conventions which show off the supernatural side however for slasher, the audience see someone putting on a bladed glove which is suggests murder which relates to slasher horror.
• The audience expect this movie to be scare them from the opening sequence due to the use of props (bladed glove), the sound (Screams, intense loud music, mise-en-scene (lighting is dark)
• The location of the opening scene is set in a building where the main action takes place in the boiler room which is unusual and the audience expect strange things to happen

Film Language    

Mise-en-scene 

• The LS of the protagonist where she is walking/looking around shows her centered in the frame. She has been centered so the audience can see the size of her and where she is to easily detect an uneasiness and that she would feel lost.
• At the beginning of the sequence, they have chosen not to show the antagonist's face but only show his hands and feet to show the action he is doing. This creates a mysterious feel to the opening sequence and leaves the audience wondering what he is doing which is seen as unsettling as he is handling sharp items. 
• Much of the lighting of in the sequence is dark which is generic for a horror movie as it creates a more frightening atmosphere. 
• The use of costume for the female protagonist is there to represent she is in a dream. She is wearing a nightgown which indicates that if she were to be attacked, she would not be able to defend herself due to her unsuitable clothing. It also makes her look vulnerable and weak. 
• The use of costume for the bladed glove is an unusual weapon which immediately grabs the audiences attention and causes them to feel nervous. At the beginning where we see the antagonist preparing the bladed glove, one of the sharp blades is turned around making the audience notice it so they can see how dangerous the weapon is. This causes tension and nervousness. 

Sound 

• There isn’t much dialogue in the sequence until the end however we can assume that the man with the bladed glove is the antagonist and will carry on being the antagonist throughout the story due to a) the weapon he has b) the fact he come up behind the antagonist with a clear intention to murder her. 
• From the dialogue at the end, we can detect that the female protagonist is shy and has had problems due to her mother saying she needs to stop dreaming horrible things.
• The non-diegetic sound used is high pitched which creates uneasy listening and the volume increases at different parts where it is supposed to be more scary. There is also the sound of growls of the the presumed antagonist who is not present on screen. This creates a nervous atmosphere as we realise she is being watched.
• The diegetic sound used is the sound of breathing from the antagonist and protagonist which is loud and fast paced therefore showing an uneasy feeling. Also there are high pitched screams which cause a jump which helps to build up the scare factor and tension.

Camera

• There is a long shot where we see the protagonist walking/running while looking around. This conveys that she is confused and lost. 
• There are Close up's of the preparation of the bladed glove. This puts emphasis on the bladed glove to show it will be an important part of the film
• There is a POV shot of the boiler room from the antagonist and you can very subtly see the protagonist on the ground floor of the boiler room surrounded by steam and metal work/frame. This adds the to tension of the sequence as the audience are fully aware the antagonist is watching the protagonist. 

Editing 

•  The presenting titles appear at the very beginning when we see the antagonist making the bladed glove. The font colour is in white and rounded font. The opening sequence is dark therefore the white on dark is easy to read and makes it more tense as it reinforces how there isn’t much light coming from the actual sequence.
•  The title of the film comes onto the screen after we see a scene of the antagonist making the bladed glove. The actual title of the film appears on a black background with the words “A Nightmare” in red and a very big bolded font with “on elm street” in normal font in white. The red connotes blood which can be interpreted that the film will feature a lot of blood.

Narrative 

• In the sequence, we see someone who starts to make something that includes sharp items. We are not presented with his face but it soon revealed he has made a bladed glove. A woman is then on screen seen running down a wide hall looking confused. She runs around a place that looks like an abandoned building and a she is being watched. When she is confronted with the thing that is following her, she wakes up to imply she dreamt it all and her parent walks in to ask if she is okay and tells her she needs to stop dreaming such things.
• The tension in this sequence begins when we see the hands of the supposedly antagonist starting to make someone that involved sharp objects. The tension is maintained through the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.

Representation & Ideology

• A female protagonist is being featured in this extract. Her character reflects dominant ideologies of women being weak and the damsels in distress as she is seen frightened in the horror by screaming and running away. She is also shown in her nightgown which suggests vulnerability and stupidity as she is seen walking around an unsafe place in a nightgown. The audience feel that she would need saving and would not be able to stand a chance defending herself to danger. This reinforces stereotypes and beliefs of women in film always needing saving and being the weak character. However, the film is an older film from the 1980's where this kind of representation of woman would be the norm for all films as well as horror. This means the female audience, who may have watched this film at the time, would not find the way the female is presented as that bad due to it being normal for them. 

Media Audiences

• The target audience for this movie would be older teenagers to adults ages 15 – 25 years of age and male.  As we are presented with a sharp weapon and we see the antagonist come up behind the protagonist intending to kill her, it is clear the film will be bloody. This age group and gender are more likely to appeal to the blood factor of the film.
• As a teenager, I can easily detect that the film would appeal to this age group and gender due to the opening sequence implying there will be more blood shed in the film. The way I have read this opening sequence causes me to think that the film’s scare factor will be blood and murder and can guess that a big part of the film will be involving the bladed glove as the main weapon. Also the music for the opening sequence automatically makes it obvious for me to know it will be a scary film.

Institutional Context

• At the time this film was released, the actors in the film were not classed as A list actors but since then, they have become more famous overtime due to starring in this film. An actor in the film who is considered an A list actor today is Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp portrays a character called Glen Lantz.
• The film is an independent film that was produced by Media Home Entertainment and Smart Egg Pictures. The budget for the film was $1.8 million and the box office was $25.5 million.
• The film had a limited theatrical release and was considered an instant commercial success
• It can be detected that this film is independent due to the actors not being well known