Deconstruction: The Possession Film Opening

Film Opening Deconstruction: The Possession 

Opening Titles:

• When the titles begin a slow piano melody begins. It is low pitched which creates a dark, mysterious effect. 
• The titles are simple and grey scale. There are shadows present on some of the letters which creates the thought of something coming out of the dark. 
• A slow, quiet voice begins to sing after “the following is based on a true story” appears. The singing is of a high pitched woman whispering which creates tension for the audience as the screen is predominately black therefore unknown. 
• The voice increases in volume so the audience can recognise that the singing is of another language, creating enigma around who the voice is and what it has to do with the story line.

First Scene:

• The first scene is used to set the location of the film opening. A left moving tracking shot is used to show the contents of the hallway.
• The walls are lined with photos in pictures frames. The photos are old, and contain mostly families – a common convention with horror films.
• The music stops as the camera reaches the entrance of the living room. This is to create suspense for the audience as it usually signals that something is going to happen. 
• There is a slow zooming in shot of the wooden box creating an emphasis around the connection of the box and story line. 

Between the possession and the first scene there is a scene in which the woman turns on music through a tape player and picks up a hammer. The music is old, could be from the 60’s, it is quite fast paced with a male singer. I didn't include this part in my deconstruction as it does not contain any common codes or conventions of horror movies which is what I am analysing.

The Possession:

• As the woman approaches the box with the hammer, diegetic voices begin to increase in volume. The whispers are similar to those in the beginning of the opening but more demonic and that of a deeper voice.
• The voice sounds hoarse and has a more serious tone to those in the beginning.
• A jump cut from the box shows a close up of the woman who begins to shake and her face begins to drop. 
• A low bass rumble begins non-diegetically as her face continues to drop and bruise. 
• The woman gets thrown backwards onto the floor and then is moved around in multiple non-human positions. This is a common way to represent a possession in horror movies as lots of camera angles can be used edited together to make a good effect.
• An eerie, fast paced screeching begins, increasing in volume very quickly until it over shadows all other sounds. This continues for the whole of the possession. The only sounds that can be heard over the screech are bones breaking and smashes as her body is thrown around the room.
• At the end, the woman falls face first onto a glass table, at this point the screeching stops immediately. All that can be heard after the screeching stops is the original music from the tape player.