Genre: Horror and Thriller

Horror and Thriller are examples of a genre of film, these genres aim to create fear and panic for the audiences by portraying their worst fears and nightmares on screen. A lot of horrors are based around an evil force or being or involve a mythical creature such as zombies or vampires.

A lot of horror films use the feature of sound to create suspense or an eerie atmosphere, this can be done with a squeaky door a loud bang or even silence can be very effective in creating a tense atmosphere.

Another typical feature of horror films is the use of symbolism and imagery for example a haunted house, chainsaws, blood, and graveyards. All of these images are commonly used in horror films and aid in creating a scary atmosphere. Setting is also created using certain objects and locations to create vulnerable situations such as night time and abandoned warehouses.

A common feature of horror films is the use of point of view shots, showing the scene through the killer or the victims eyes, putting you in their shoes and bringing the audience into the action, this aids in creating fear and panic in the audience.

The following clip is from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and shows the opening scene. "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"  is a thriller and is rated 18 by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). This film contains sexual abuse and is based around an unlikely pair uncovering a serial rapist and murderer. This opening scene is very different to other film openings as it uses a realistic animation style rather than actual actors. This is very effective in creating a tense atmosphere and along with the music overlay and mis-en-scene makes it clear to the audience that this is a thriller. I chose to show this clip as it shows an un-typical feature used in horror movie openings and shows a contrasting idea and technique.

In contrast this opening scene from "The Women in Black" uses actors. However much like the previous clip it uses a music overlay that is non-diegetic that juxtaposes the mis-en-scene of little girls having a tea party to create and eerie atmosphere and create the suspense of something bad that might happen. This music overlay shows the viewer that this is a horror movie. The use of getting the girls to do things in sync creates the idea that they have been possessed which adds to the scary atmosphere and helps to create fear in the audience.