G321 - Film Opening Analysis - Horror: The Texas Chainsaw Masacre - The Beginning

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Beginning (2006)

The opening sequence of this film does not include the institution logo. This decision could potentially have been made to further establish the genre of the film as it allows the audience to fully focus on what is happening in the opening without creating an initial judgement on the content by seeing the institutional logo. 



From the opening of the film it is evident that the genre of the film is to be horror. This is due to the generic conventions of low key lighting, dramatic and eerie music and the extreme close ups on words such as "mutilation".

The targeted audience of the film appears to be young adults between the ages of 18 and 30. This is due to the horror genre previously discussed and the presentation of small children in the clip which are presented as though to have a big input in the narrative of the film. It also comes across that the film would be targeted at the middle class due to horrors having a bigger impact in cinemas and tickets costing a lot more nowadays.

The narrative of the film appears to be based around a man called Tom, shown through the display of the name "Thomas Hewitt" and a non-diegetic voice over saying "Don't worry about it Tom". There also hints towards mental deformities within this protagonist shown in the exposition through the documents telling of "tendencies towards mutilation". However, for the most part the narrative remains quite ambiguous, allowing the mystery behind the horror to become the key aspect of the opening. 

The opening of this film appears to be passing on a message about the protagonist, more than a message for them to follow. This is shown through the focus on what appears to be Thomas' childhood and his problems. This adds to the development of genre as it allows the reader to focus on the narrative rather than contemplating the message being put across.
 

The atmosphere of the opening sequence is one of anger, regret and potentially self-hate. This is done through the destruction of the memoirs such as photos and the flashbacks to different moments in the protagonist's life. It appears as though the person destroying the photos etc. is the protagonist themselves and this therefore creates the portrayal of self-hatred.  The dark colour palette emphasis this idea and creates a sense of anger and sadness, thus helping to foreshadow the remainder of the narrative.

The setting of the film is established as being in a desolate place in Texas, shown through the shot of the newspaper with the headline "Texas Town Dies". It seems that this has been done to add to the mystery and suspense within the setting to be shown in the remainder of the film as it is believed to be empty and therefore foreshadows the significance of the setting within the narrative of the film. The use of this location makes it appear that the film has a high budget as it would cost a lot to take equipment to and from a desolate area throughout the duration of filming.

The themes made evident from the opening of the film include that of violence, murder, death, and fear. This is done through the newspaper headlines shown, the references towards weaponry (such as the chainsaw) and the low key lighting.

The opening of the film reveals very little about the characters that will be featured in the film. This is significant as it adds the mystery and tension created in the opening and prevents the audience from creating any emotional connection to any potential characters which helps to present as the film as a horror.

The different shots used within the opening help to portray the horror genre of the film due to the close ups on important information and the sepia toning of many of the shots helps to emphasis that the aspect of the narrative being portrayed is from the past. The lack of shots on the protagonist helps to build up mystery and therefore allows for a bigger fear impact later in the film. 

The non-diegetic sound creates an eerie atmosphere within the opening therefore helping to accentuate the genre as being horror. Further to this, the non-diegetic voice over has an odd, creepy tone to it and therefore adds to the build up of tension and mystery. 

The editing within the opening is discontinuous, creating a sense of unease and mystery. The events depicted all appear to be linked but the way in which they are connected remains ambiguous. It is therefore possible to infer that this connection will be explained within the narrative and that this discontinuous editing style will be replicated for the remainder of the film.

The lighting in the opening sequence is very unnatural and low key which allows the audience to create an idea of the potential horror aspects of the film due to the darkness connoting lack of understanding and mystery.
 

The opening represents a troubled protagonist in a remote and desolate Texas town. The use of the fire in the opening connotes destruction which appears like it will be a key feature of the narrative. This could help to attract the audience due to the ambiguous opening with very few representational aspects in terms of character and location. 

There are very few titles used within the opening which creates an ambiguous atmosphere as there is no information on the creators of the film or the film title itself. This is unusual and therefore creates an uneasy atmosphere and could potentially risk losing audience members. 

From the evidence provided I have come to the conclusion that this opening contains many aspects to aspire towards when creating my film opening. The most prominent aspect of the opening I would avoid when creating my own film opening is the lack of titles. However, the portrayal of genre and the way atmosphere is created in this opening are both extremely clever and I aspire to be able to do the same with the opening.