A nightmare on elm street (2010) Essay analysis of opening sequence

A Nightmare on Elm street opening sequence analysis:

The use of the establishing shot shows us the setting straight away, which is a diner that seems to be at a roadside stop, which could make it have a sense of false security due to the fact that most people associate diners with good food and happier thoughts but it is placed within the opening sequence for a horror film creating an aspect of enigma. This setting isn’t very predictable as most horror films won’t have it begin in a diner or other such public places. The audience straight away wonder the purpose of the diner within the film and its significance. It then has a cut straight afterwards leading us to the explanation of the diner and also leading to the introduction of the main character, this use of a cut throws us straight into the storyline after the setting has been established. The use of dark backlight creates a sense of mystery for the audience and enigma as it leaves very little to be seen with a lot of shadows cast meaning that the audience doesn’t see much of the setting and the dark backlight also could show the immediate presence of evil which shows the genre of film, but also the semiotics of the lighting and rain could show that something bad is going to happen as the darker lighting is a connotation of horror films and represents a villain or foreshadows a bad event while the rain is generally something that represents darkness and sadness. The main colour seen through artificial neon light is red and the colour associations with red are danger and also pain which straight away show that something bad is going to occur.. The fact that it’s raining could also evoke pathetic fallacy as that is generally a connotation of a darkness and a miserable mood. From the very start we hear ambient sound as the rain is quite heavy outside while the camera is focused on what is occurring inside the diner.

This medium shot of the clock could signify that time is passing due to the mise en scene being a clock in the middle of the wall. The denotation of the simple clock has the connotations of a sleepy style as the music makes it seem like a dream/ trance state. There is a non diagetic contrapuntal eerie style of music playing which overall creates a sense of fear and confusion due to the fact that the high pitched type of the music is matched with the waitress walking through the diner, this  is seen in stereotypical horror openings to connotate something bad occurring as such a music style added with seemingly innocent actions leaves the enigma of why the music is put in the scene and what is it’s meaning. The fact that there is a subtle flashing could show a sense of urgency when the clock is looked at creating a rushed feeling about the shot. There is also a small sidelight which casts a shadow, this could show the darkness contrasting with the light, showing that there could be a presence of evil with the shadow’s connotations. The colour on the wall are green which has the association with nature and quite safe/neutral leading the audience into a false sense of security. The fact that no characters are shown in the first few shots could show that it is proairetic as it could be building suspense. The cutaway shot and short shot length shows us that it is building suspense as these are stereotypically used when something is going to happen and signify a build-up. The audience is left to decode the meaning of the clock left in the second shot that the producer has surrounded with an enigma. 

This over the shoulder shot introduces the Proppian antihero, due to his demanding tone when talking to the waitress. The side lighting shows half his face in darkness by casting a shadow which could connote the idea of a split personality or a moral dilemma. The camera zooms in to the over the shoulder shot could show the social status of the character, as he is alone, which could also cause us to form an opinion on him, which is that he is lonely but also quite rude and selfish from what we see of him early on. The non diagetic music seemingly gets lower in pitch as he starts to speak, this semiotics creates a representation of a flawed hero. The contrapuntal sound makes the audience wonder the significance of the character in the rest of the film due to the fact that the tone changes when the camera goes on him which shows his seeming importance .As well as this the fact that the dialogue seems quite firm in tone and pitch is deep could connotate that he is rude and quite insistent. The shot shows the rule of thirds as the key protagonist is seen in the very centre of the screen keeping a balance within the shot. This film could be seen as predictable due to the fact that the main character being male which is what is stereotypically in horror films. The fact that the main character is predictable means that they can develop the character fully and create an engaging storyline as the target audience may appeal more to these stereotypical horror conventions. This opening sequence outlines the main character type and sets the scene for the rest of the film.

Extreme close-ups are used mainly in horror films with short shot length to show action or something gory, the connotations of fire is danger which could foreshadow future events to do with our un-named protagonist which are not positive. The semiotics build up an overall depiction of a stereotypical horror film with danger lurking and the previous shot being the protagonist investigating a problem. The function of the opening sequence is to introduce the key protagonist and show his personality, which is shown here due to the fact that he is inquisitive yet quite rude which is also a stereotypical character type in horror films of the anti-hero.   This shot shows the audience tunnel vision/ distorted camera effect could connotate a dreamlike state which could infer that the character is a daydreamer, this would appeal to the aspirers due to the fact that the hero searches for materialistic answers through his searching in the kitchen. Through Barthes theory, we can see that the fire could be a warning sign for the main character to try and ward him away. There is the the ambient sound of the fire, due to the fact that it is the background sound could represent that the main anti-hero doesn’t seem bothered by impending danger which could also foreshadow future events

.The fact that there is a shallow focus, makes us concentrate on the hand which in the rule of thirds is central in the shot. This could establish a villain due to the fact that there are knives on his hands which has connotations of harming and danger. This backs up the previous few shots which evokes the signifying of danger. There is a low key  backlight which casts a shadow upon the hand which in turn creates an enigma surrouding the villain but also the connotations of shadows being evil and darkness causing the association of darkness to be with this character.The distorted sound of the villain rubbing the knives together creates an eerie diagetic sound which creates the overall assumption that they are the main antagonist. This shows the Levi Strauss of the good vs evil of the man vs the man with the glove on. As well as that, the sound of the knives rubbing together is pleonastic as the sound is exaggerated to make the audience feel uncomfortable, leaving the connotation of being uncomfortable with that character/villain. The shot is a low angle to show that there is more power in the villain and the fact that the mise en scene has fire in the background coud have the audience associating the fire/ danger with this villain. The lighting is also dark which combined with the mise en scene due to semiotics builds up this opinion of the villain being dangerous. This will appeal to the horror target audience as it shows the stereotypical villain (but not showing their face) and the semiotics leading to him being a villain and this is nearly always seen in a horror film making it seem to an audience, quite a predictable storyline.