Opening Analysis: 'Oculus'

Opening Analysis: ‘Oculus’

(analysis begins at 1:20)

The opening begins with eerie music to set the scene. It brings the audience into a false sense of security and helps to build tension. Using spooky music is a typical convention of the horror genre. The credits are appearing on the screen during this time and the black colour as the background for them connotes death and other negative emotions. As soon as the screen cuts to the opening shot, the music cuts out. This mixture of non-diegetic sound and visual help to make the audience aware of some sort of action which is about to take place. There is an extreme close up of a door opening and revealing a child’s face behind it. The choice of using a child as a victim shows how, firstly they are already weak and vulnerable so are easier to exploit and secondly, they are commonly used in the horror genre so helps to establish the film. She has blood on her face which is, yet again, another typical convention of horror. Blood connotes death and danger, and the colour red also links to anger, which may be relevant within the film.

There is then a shot from inside the room where the girl is and we can see the view that she is looking at. By restricting the audiences view to what the girl can see, it puts us in the shoes of the character, making us feel uneasy and also leaving us with an enigma code due to the unknown. The shot captures a man walking along with a gun, which is a typical weapon to see in a horror genre as it has a clear link to death, blood and gore. There is low key lighting (typical in horror) which creates a sense of fear for the audience as darkness always links to the unknown, in which many believe anything can happen. There is then a cutting on action shot as the camera focus back onto the girl behind the door, looking out. This then links to a medium close up of the gun with a shallow focus. This suggests to the audience that it is a key element of the film and holds some sort of significance. It makes the audience feel on edge as you can predict what is going to happen, but suspense is built as we don’t know when, so puts the audience on the edge of their seats. The shot slowly pans after the man carrying the gun until it is out of view and focus. The benefit of using a man as the criminal is that he already appears to hold power due to his gender, and already has a larger build physically, so appears superior and in higher authority, whilst appearing threatening.

The shot then cuts back to the girl behind the door and we hear the first diegetic sound of her taking a breath. This contradicts the result of the scene as it begins with a common notation to life, and is predicted to end with death. The audience can also relate to the character as she takes a sharp intake of breath due to it being common for someone who is in shock or scared. The shot cuts back again to match on action as we see the man with the gun walking away again into darkness. Again, the use of ‘fear of the unknown’ created by low key lighting puts the audience into the shoes of the character behind the door. The girl then emerges from behind the door and the shallow focus on her then switches to deep focus of her younger brother in the background. This makes the audience feel empathy as they see that now two people are in danger. When a young person is put in danger, the audience are naturally more upset due to such a young life potentially being lost. They run out holding hands, which shows their close relationship and also that the boy is so young, he can’t take control of the situation himself and isn’t trusted to know what he is doing. Their costumes look like pyjamas which again shows it is night time and adds more information to the scene, producing more understanding for the audience.

The shot tracks them and keeps at the same pace running with them. The use of a tracking shot makes the audience feel more involved with the scene and that they might actually be present there running with them. This sudden action shows that there is some sort of desperation for the characters survival. There is then a cut on action shot as they hit the door simultaneously to realise its locked. They turn around which shows to the audience that something might be chasing them and there is a medium shot of the characters facial expressions which demonstrates fear and hopelessness. The younger brother steps back away from the door and a medium shot is used to capture his expression as he is looking longingly in fear at something. There is then a wide angle shot of a creepy girl standing in the centre of the image. She appears possessed by the use of her typical to horror genre flowy dress and messy hair. The boy then exclaims his sister’s name loudly and she leaps on him, wrapping her hand around his mouth. This sudden movement shocks the audience and makes them jump. Furthermore, it shows the fear that he is in as he is willing to put their lives in danger for the sake of making her aware of the spooking girl in the room.

There is then a medium shot of the pair as she holds her brother, hiding his facial expression but his wandering eyes show that he is in fear. Her face is screwed up as they realise they have drawn attention to themselves. The setting to this scene is significant as the door is right behind them and they are so close to freedom but they just can’t achieve it. There is then a medium shot put from the waist down, which is uncommon, to capture the movement of the gun swinging in his hand and reflecting the light. There is then another medium shot of the girl stepping in front of the younger brother and putting her hands out, demonstrating dominance and protection. Her facial expressions and clear panting shows that she is in fear through a medium close up. This is followed by a match on action shot of a gun being raised in front of the girls face. The focus is moving which shows confusion for the audience that the character may be experiencing. The focus then shifts towards the holder of the gun, and for the first time, his identity is revealed. This is when the enigma code is solved. The shots continue switching from one point of view to another, capturing their facial expressions and fear within the girl. The focus is shallow on the tip of the gun, representing its significance and importance. The trigger is pulled and the sudden increase in lighting and sound all work together to make the scene clear to the audience. A single moment later and the shot converts to one of the murderer in what looks like a hospital room. This dramatic change from dark colours to light colours, and low key lighting to high key lighting and a real gun to a fake gun made out of his hand juxtapose one another to show how he may be mentally effected by the experience. The significance of his clothing being white suggests innocence which leaves the audience questioning – did he have a choice in killing those children? Was it forced upon him? Was he possessed? Questions that will inevitably be answered within the rest of the film.