The first 10 minutes of the 2004 film ‘Dawn of the Dead’ contains many features that suggest that the film will be a film from the horror genre.
One of the most obvious is the actual titles, which are written in bold red writing on a black background. Red symbolises blood, which is a prevalent feature in horror films and red is also a colour that represents danger and the black background on which it is written makes it stand out and suggests that danger is imminent.
The sound that runs over the first part of the tiles also adds to the effect. The music is creepy and haunting and makes the audience tense whilst also giving the feeling that any moment, the film will burst into life when the audience is least expecting. Again, this helps create suspense and tension.
Intermittently placed during the fist titles are quickly cut images of terrifying things such as a tortured man which gives the audience a sense of what to come and the quick cuts mean that the audience cannot relax for one second as they are likely to be caught unawares. It is this suspense that creates horror films.
A particular emphasis is put on the word ‘Dead’ in the titles. This reinforces the fact that the film will be about death and death is a subject that almost all horror films focus on and this gives the audience a clue about what will happen eventually in the film and that they should not take their eyes off it throughout the film.
Also featuring at the beginning is several minutes of a man talking at regular intervals throughout the titles. The expression on the man’s face is one of a terrified man and this again helps re-emphasise the fact that the film will be scary and that the audience should come to expect sporting the same expression throughout the film.
In addition to this, during one of those scenes, the man is asked a question of whether the villains in the film are dead or alive. His unsure response also adds mystery to the film. Mystery is one of the features that create suspense and the audience just does not know what is coming. This will put the audience on edge throughout the film.
This also allows the audience t relate to the characters as it is clear that neither the audience nor the characters know what will occur in the film and this gives the impression to the audience that they will live through the story along with the characters and this makes them feel part of the story and more in touch with the characters and the characters feelings and emotions.
Stereotypical scenes of horror, such as war and riots are also used and these give an idea to the audience that graphic scenes will be used throughout the film and that the films producers have taken no prisoners in the creation of the film and the film will be genuinely scary.
Explosions also present during the title sequences show that the film could ‘erupt’ at any moment, transforming the film from being merely haunting to genuinely terrifying. Again, this will create suspense amongst the audience and the explosions of the red titles result in the titles dripping from sight. This is to represent blood and to show that during the film, there will be bloodshed and scary moments that contain a certain amount of gore.
Overall, the combination of colours, characters and cutting techniques set the audience on the road through an extremely scary film and the first few minutes set the scene and makes the audience tense and gripped on the film already.
One of the most obvious is the actual titles, which are written in bold red writing on a black background. Red symbolises blood, which is a prevalent feature in horror films and red is also a colour that represents danger and the black background on which it is written makes it stand out and suggests that danger is imminent.
The sound that runs over the first part of the tiles also adds to the effect. The music is creepy and haunting and makes the audience tense whilst also giving the feeling that any moment, the film will burst into life when the audience is least expecting. Again, this helps create suspense and tension.
Intermittently placed during the fist titles are quickly cut images of terrifying things such as a tortured man which gives the audience a sense of what to come and the quick cuts mean that the audience cannot relax for one second as they are likely to be caught unawares. It is this suspense that creates horror films.
A particular emphasis is put on the word ‘Dead’ in the titles. This reinforces the fact that the film will be about death and death is a subject that almost all horror films focus on and this gives the audience a clue about what will happen eventually in the film and that they should not take their eyes off it throughout the film.
Also featuring at the beginning is several minutes of a man talking at regular intervals throughout the titles. The expression on the man’s face is one of a terrified man and this again helps re-emphasise the fact that the film will be scary and that the audience should come to expect sporting the same expression throughout the film.
In addition to this, during one of those scenes, the man is asked a question of whether the villains in the film are dead or alive. His unsure response also adds mystery to the film. Mystery is one of the features that create suspense and the audience just does not know what is coming. This will put the audience on edge throughout the film.
This also allows the audience t relate to the characters as it is clear that neither the audience nor the characters know what will occur in the film and this gives the impression to the audience that they will live through the story along with the characters and this makes them feel part of the story and more in touch with the characters and the characters feelings and emotions.
Stereotypical scenes of horror, such as war and riots are also used and these give an idea to the audience that graphic scenes will be used throughout the film and that the films producers have taken no prisoners in the creation of the film and the film will be genuinely scary.
Explosions also present during the title sequences show that the film could ‘erupt’ at any moment, transforming the film from being merely haunting to genuinely terrifying. Again, this will create suspense amongst the audience and the explosions of the red titles result in the titles dripping from sight. This is to represent blood and to show that during the film, there will be bloodshed and scary moments that contain a certain amount of gore.
Overall, the combination of colours, characters and cutting techniques set the audience on the road through an extremely scary film and the first few minutes set the scene and makes the audience tense and gripped on the film already.
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