Evaluation of horror films opening scene

The Exorcist Opening Sequence

Scene 1 - The Exorcist’s opening scene is with an establishing shot, helping to set the scene of the film. In this particular shot, the house in my opinion looks quite scary with the windows blacked out and the two single lamps just outside the front door. The director has purposely filmed this house during the night to make it seem more frightening appealing to the codes and conventions of the horror genre . The non-diegetic soundtrack playing also adds to the effect because it is eerie which adds added tension. 

There is a religious statue. Religion is prevalent in horror, with themes around life and death, spirituality, man playing god, man fighting demons, good versus evil.  The statue creates a dramatic feel to the opening sequence. It looks freaky especially as it uses a close up shot and smart side lighting or short-side lighting where the subjects face is lit from the far side of the camera to create a dramatic effect.  At this point the soundtrack continues to add an ominous feel to the film, adding tension.

The titles then appear. The soundtrack begins to get louder and the pitch gets sharper and higher which helps us to identify that the film is of the horror genre. The font is simple but also gives effect. The colour red is associated with evil and blood which  is also used on many horror films.