Opening Analysis: 'The Purge'

Opening Analysis: ‘The Purge’

The beginning of the opening starts with a close-up shot of an i-pod playing music. They have used shallow focus to show that it is a key part of the film. They then capture the song as it changes other into another song. This is then contradicted by a panning shot of blood covered scissors and knives so makes the audience feel unsafe. In the blurry background you can see the feet of three other people. This creates an enigma because we want to know what they are doing there, who they are etc. The use of low key lighting is a typical aspect of horror genre so maintains the codes and conventions. There is then a close up of someone and the shift of focus only allows us to see different parts of their blood covered person at once. It then cuts to a medium shot so we can see their facial expressions which show them crying to one another. They have stuck to the typical genre conventions through use of ropes to tie up victims. The use of a tilted camera demonstrates to the audience that this is something different as this is an unusual camera angle. It makes them feel on edge because it is an uncommon view. We then get another panning shot of the masked man and the environment he is sat in. It then cuts to a medium shot of one of the 3 people on the sofa crying, this allows their facial expressions to be seen. There is then dialogue coming from the masked man as he verbally tortures the victims. It is the first bit of dialogue the audience hears so we know it is important. There is then a shot to reveal 4 people sitting on a blood stained sofa all tied up together in a much damaged room. The shots then continue cutting between the masked man and the people sitting on the sofa. The music you can hear is contrapuntal to the situation. It is achieved well which is normally quite hard to do successfully. The focus continues to shift between focused and unfocused. This could demonstrate the confusion of the victims. The masked man then announces the ‘next game’ and the characters reaction to this is an on-screen diegetic scream.