Analysing Opening Title Sequences
Ghost Ship
The opening sequence for the Ghost Ship is unusual and differs from most horror films as it starts out as happy at first, with the premise here being a fantastic cruise, but has a plot twist upon its ending. The music doesn't suggest that anything horror related is going to happen in the beginning, but after 2 minutes and 45 seconds into the clip a certain movement changes the whole situation. The woman's singing fades into the background after this point, which follows with shots of the ship from different views being showed. Some shots, like the one of the people dancing, are slowed down to clearly show to full effect that they are going be the victims. Just before the wire is about to be cut, a mid-shot neutral view is used, putting us on the same level with people and showing that these people are definitely going to have something happen to them. None of the passengers see it coming, and until that one angle, neither does the audience.
The Woman in Black
This opening sequence for The Woman in Black demonstrates how the use of camera and music can create a mysterious and creepy horror opening. The clip starts out with three girls having an imaginary tea party, with the camera angles and shots neutral and the music quiet and minimalistic to show that nothing is currently wrong. However, the camera changes to a high angle shot to suggest that the girls are about to lose power; they are shown to look to where a "spirit" (i.e. the Woman in Black) is supposedly standing, then turn and face the window. As they walk towards the open window, the music intensifies a little to show that something is not quite right, as do the close up shots of the girls and their hands, shoes and faces. The music suddenly stops as the three girls jump from the window, leaving the audience in suspense as they wonder what has happened. The cries of the girl's mother can then be heard, with the camera cutting to a close up shot of one of the dolls the children were playing with as the mother yells "my babies". The doll is left alone in the room, which suggests that the girls have died and therefore lost their own babies (the dolls). Finally, the camera cuts to a shot of the empty room to show the audience that the girls are no more, also leaving them in suspense as they think about why the girls stepped out of the window.
The Conjuring 2
The Conjuring 2's opening sequence firstly introduces us to one of the main characters, Lorraine, while she is investigating a haunted basement. The tense music playing faintly in the background, dimly lit environment and the heavy breathing creates a tense atmosphere early on in the scene. A child then giggles and runs out from behind a sheet to another part of the room; the woman investigates but the child is nowhere to be seen. The camera angle suddenly changes and goes 'off kilter' to emphasise that something is not right or is going to go wrong. The character walks in a semi-circle and the boy and three other children appear from behind her out of nowhere with shot wounds which confirms to us that they are spirits and tell us how they died. They all quickly look over at a mirror covered in a cloth, the camera slowly pans over with the characters movement and quickly pans back with the children disappeared. This camera movement makes the audience feel more involved and understand how much tension is in the room. When she looks in the mirror a nun creeps up on her until they are face to face and the nun starts to strangle her, which then stops suddenly. A pile of chairs are knocked over and an anonymous person is killed. This causes the character to scream and 'wake up'. A male character grabs her and calms her down, she explains the event as "the closest to hell she ever wants to get".