The Others: Opening Sequence Analysis!

The Others (2001, directed and written by Alejandro Amenábar) is the second movie that I have decided to analyse for inspiration. A personal favourite horror movie of mine,  it was also referenced a few times in my Survey Monkey research as a favourite horror movie of my target audience.

 The rating for this movie is a 12 making it more accessible to an audience younger than my 16-24 target audience. However, 34.6% of people who completed my survey claimed to enjoy the supernatural sub genre most. Furthermore, the jump scares in this movie would provide the thrill that teens seem enjoy (as expressed in my target audience interviews).

Non-diegetic string music opens the film as suggested by one teen during my interviews. White-gold sans-serif typography fades on screen slowly and ominously revealing the title of the movie. The style is sophisticated and anchors the time period in which the movie is set. However, many teens feel that modern mise-en-scene is more relatable and enjoyable to watch; therefore I will most likely not emulate this style in my own opening.

Simplistic and easy to read serif typography (with some names capitalised) reveals the credits. A woman’s non-diegetic voiceover eerily whispers a biblical story (again religion is a convention of horror also used in Jennifer’s Body). On screen we can see the illustrated pages of a bible story by flickering candle light (the idea of fire links to hell). Low-key lighting (casting shadows and silhouettes) is another stereotypical convention of the horror genre also mentioned by my target audience. 

The off-key non-diegetic music sounds almost like a nursery rhyme. Again this links to the idea of children often being portrayed as evil characters in horror movies. The illustrations suddenly seem to depict some of the frightening events that will take place throughout the movie. For example, we see an old hand clutching at a broken child’s doll. Dolls are often seen as scary objects and are stereotypically used in horror movies (e.g. The Women in Black and Chucky). Furthermore, old women are often portrayed as sinister and creepy (e.g. The Women in Black). However, I am reluctant to use both children and older people in my own piece for I feel that my movie must be relatable for a youthful target audience

As the credits end, a sketched establishing shot is brought to life. This is a clever technique and one that I may consider using in my own work.  We see a mysterious old building (a stereotypical setting for a supernatural horror movie). I aim to find a similar setting for my own opening. 

Typography fades in informing the audience of the date in which the movie is set. Immediately the viewers realise that this is a period movie, not set in modern times. The mise-en-scene reflects this throughout the opening and no modern items, clothing or landmarks can be spotted.

Suddenly, this peaceful and picturesque long shot is interrupted with a piercing diegetic scream (screams were highlighted as an important convention during my research interviews). This is shocking, providing a jump scare for the audience. The unease created by this is emphasised with a shaky hand held shot. The camera then slowly turns 45 degrees and symbolically becomes more stable signifying the main characters, a pretty, blonde young mother, return to reality as she leaves the horrifying world of her dream. 

The young mother is perhaps a little relatable for the older members of my female target audience. Also, the fact that the main character is played by a well-known and attractive actress creates further appeal for viewers. Here, the mise-en-scene is very obviously in keeping with the time period. The plain white bed sheets and rollers in the woman’s hair relate to the styles of the time, perhaps not relatable enough for the teenagers and young people of today.

A cross fade eases a movement in time (a technique that I will consider using in postproduction) and keeps the pace slow.

 We see a long shot of servants approaching the house, all in costumes fitting with the time. They mainly wear black to connote death and fear (something suggested in my target audience interviews). 

We see an over the shoulder shot of the Mother peering down at the servants, the door open just a crack. The audience are almost seeing the world through the main characters eyes, helping them to empathise and connect with her (I plan to use POV shots in my own piece to achieve a similar effect).

As the characters move inside of the building the lighting is once again low-key. Through diegetic speech and conversation we are introduced to the main character and her new servants. I feel that this is an effective way to subtly reveal information about characters to an audience. Viewers learn for example, that Nicole Kidman’s character is extremely particular about housekeeping when listening to her lecture her maids. Similarly, we also learn that one servant is a mute. Mental or physical disorders are often the focus of horror movies. Perhaps this is because the unknown or unusual evokes fear. Silence, as pointed out in my target audience interviews, is also extremely eerie. However this is something I do not wish to emulate in my own piece. My target audience made it clear that they wanted to see ‘normal’ characters on screen.

The servants are taken on a tour of the dark, candle lit building filled with props again in keeping with the time period (e.g. grandfather clocks and old portraits). The shots remain stable and slow moving.  Simple straight cuts are used. Unlike Jennifer’s Body there is no sudden action or death scene to keep an audience gripped. The opening focuses on getting the audience familiar with character and place. 

However, some things are left unexplained and the audience are confused by the women’s ominous request: that all doors remained locked at all times. As suggested during the interviews, some information is withheld from the audience to give them reason to keep watching.

The piano music becomes frightening and frantic as the women’s children are being introduced. We hear the diegetic sound of prayer being chanted by high-pitched innocent voices. The camera moves around the servants as they stand waiting, their facial expressions reflecting the fear of the audience as the tension builds. However, the audience are relieved when they realise that the children are perfectly normal; it was a false alarm (this technique is often used in horror movies e.g. Orphan, creating a false sense of security during the next build up). The Mother goes on to describe that her children have a physical condition, making them sensitive to sunlight. Again, conditions create fear for those ignorant. Similarly this acts as an explanation for the constant eerie darkness, even during daylight hours.

The opening of this movie is significantly quieter and less eventful than the first. The main aim is to introduce central characters. However, I feel that I would like my opening to be more eventful to capture audience interests immediately. In some ways this opening is similar to Jennifer’s Body. The piercing scream heard during the opening of The Others is later explained when the dramatic final twist is revealed. The women did not have a bad dream but rather had shot herself and entered the world of the dead. I like the idea of events at the beginning of the story linking back to the ending, giving the plot a rounded feel.

 After comparing this opening to Jennifer’s Body I can see some significant differences between the two. Mise-en-scene contrasts massively due to the time period that each movie is set (Jennifer’s Body is modern whereas The Others is post World War Two). Also, the structure of the openings differ. Jennifer’s Body began at the end of the narrative, the aim of the rest of the movie to reveal the events that lead up to this point. The Others, on the other hand, has an opening aimed at introducing character.

I feel as though I need to analyse a few more openings aimed at a young teenage audience. The Others was not set in modern day and is therefore not at all relatable to today’s 16-24 year olds.