The Conjuring is the inaugural film in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Thanks to the success of this film, The Conjuring has spawned several related films and sequels.
The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film. I decided to analyse this opening sequence as I became fascinated by the way Becker Design draws audiences in a series of through unsettling images.
Throughout the film opening, there are clear visual and audio codes with connotations of the theme of horror. To begin with, the production company have clearly made an impressive effort to create effective enigma throughout: from mise-en-scene to sound, it leaves the audience with many unanswered questions. To begin with, this opening does not follow the usual conventions of a film opening as there are no production or distribution companies named, instantly suggesting there is something abnormal about this film.
The opening starts with two images of ‘The Perron Family’. Instantly, the audience would be wondering why this family has been displayed in two separate pictures? Possibly this suggests that this family are disjointed and have issues. However, as the opening progresses it seems that perhaps these issues are not between the family, but between something deeper and darker. This is represented through the clever use of mise-en-scene and the absence of narration and character development. Firstly, the whole opening sequence is shown in black and white; this clearly reflects the time the film is set in, 1970s. Nevertheless, the colours are constantly inverted to create mystifying and eerie scenery, portraying an essence of abnormality.
Furthermore, enigma is added as newspapers are shown, with articles on ghost stories. Then, there is a black hand occasionally appearing on screen, turning over these mysterious newspapers. This allows the audiences imagination to kick in as they are left wondering whose hand this is, and why they have a collection of news articles on the supernatural. Moreover, the hand appears to be adding layers, indicating that the plot may have multiple layers to it, implying that everything is not as it seems. The use of archival imagery re-enforces the conundrum of this opening.
Finally, the audio codes are used to enhance the enigma created, there is a creepy drone played throughout, constantly developing louder and quieter; showing a lack of control and that chaos is going to break lose. Furthermore, the music is also very slow, this has intentionally been done to allow the audience to absorb the simplicity of the compositions and the content, also to scare the audience. The music is extremely atonal adding to terror of this film opening.
The most significant convention used in 'The Conjuring' for you is the enigma narrative code, created by the monochrome treatment and the sound codes. Thoughtful work.
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