Titles
- dark green titles fade and grow on the left of the screen while the background is black. This means the audience can focus on the sound and the black screen builds tension as it could quickly cut to a distressing scene which links to the sound.
- A common convention of horror is the phrase 'Based on a story' being used at the beginning of the film to make the film more realistic and scary as it makes it seem as though it is a real event
- The film title fades onto the screen over close up shot of blood dripping from a barbed wire fence. The red typography links in with the blood which is a common convention.
How is it appropriate for genre?
- Before you see anything, you can only hear music and sound effects which create tension and this, plus the music style fit the genre
- The first shot we see that is not a black screen is a close up of a barbed wire fence dripping with blood. Blood is a common convention of horror and the barbed wire is a sharp, dangerous object so it stands out in this shot against the light background
- The opening of the film shows pumpkins on a field which are often associated with Halloween which is a very common and coincidental time for a horror film to be set.
- There is a small jump scare where a establishing shot showing a figure dressed in dark clothing walking towards an isolated house cute to a extreme close up of his shoe breaking an icy puddle, the loud crunch causes the audience to jump, this is a common convention of horror.
- The low saturation of the film shows it is old fashioned and fits with the autumn, winter theme as it is cold and dark
- An establishing shot shows the house is quite isolated and the inside is also quite dark, conforming to conventions of creepy, old fashioned houses in isolated locations
- A priest walks out from the room where Emily is which shows religion which is also a common convention of possession horror
Narrative/Enigma
- Due to the distressing cries and music at the beginning of the film, it is clear that there is disequilibrium at the beginning of the film which does not comply with Todorov's narrative theory as films usually start with equilibrium (everything is normal and everyone is happy)
- The man knocks on the houses door however there is no reply, we assume the sounds heard in the opening titles were coming from the house so this creates enigma as the audience wonder what happened to the people and why they aren't opening the door.
- The man enters the room and a police officer closes the door which restricts the audience view of the situation which poses questions and again creates enigma as the audience want to know what is happening in that room,
- The slightly off centre composition in the majority of the opening shots represent disorder and disequillibrium as what is going on is not normal
- There is a wide shot of lots of people sitting in the kitchen together, one crying and other comforting each other, this supports the disequilibrium as it shows that what appears to be a family being upset
Sounds
- There is low pitched music with a continuous high pitched metallic sound which is quite harsh and fits the genre well
- A repetitive distressing, ab-human scream is then heard, it sounds like the person is in pain however you cannot see the victim so this creates an enigma.
- A woman cries 'Emily' followed by a scream which links with the films title so we already know something bad has happened to the main character the film is based on
- When the man enters the house a repetitive clock ticking is heard, which reflects a heart beat, adding tension to the scene this is also juxtaposed with the situation as there has been a death but the ticking still continues which contrasts
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