Research into Horror opening scene

 

I will be researching the Horror genre. In order to do this I have decided to analyse the opening scene from the horror movie IT (2017), made by Warner Bros. Studios, directed by Andy Muchetti. The main cast includes Bill Skarsgard, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis and Jaeden Martell.

From the narrative given to us, we can expect the genre will be horror, this is because there is a clear representation of genre, we, as the audience, know that the clown in the sewers, Pennywise, is the antagonist and murderous, there is a mention of the older brother, so we understand that the clown may be trying to kill people and the brother will be imperative to the victory against the murderous clown. The target audience for the film is people over 18 year old. Young people, no specification of gender, but since it is horror, would have an already existing audience.

Besides the shot-reverse-shots in dialogue, the shots are long and leave a lot of negative space in frame, which is a classic convention used in horror to create tension. There is also eerie high-pitched non-diabetic music which is in a minor key, and there is use of pathetic fallacy as the weather is pouring rain. Georgie hurts himself midway through the scene which foreshadows his venerability and is further established because he is continuously filmed from a high angle.

 

Pennywise - The use of high camera angles on Pennywise subverts our expectation, which makes it creepier as the audience knows that the clown is the antagonist. The shadows over his face and body hides his identity from the audience which creates distrust in the character, and makes him appear cynical and mysterious. The lack of diabetic circus music as the clown talks about it further creates the spine-chilling idea that the clown isn’t sane, and is putting the young boy, Georgie, in danger.

Brother - The brother is only seen briefly, but as the audience can infer, he will be vital to the plot because he is then mentioned again in dialogue, he is filmed from a higher angle than his brother, showing his protective gaze over him and the change in lighting, from the warm lighting, to the blue, cold lighting of the outside. Were given the idea that he and Georgie are very connected through the use of props, and the walk-in-talkies which allow them to communicate. 

Georgie - Georgie immediately stands out in his surroundings because his bright yellow coat contrasts the blue lighting and setting and the bright red used in Pennywise’s makeup. This makes him vulnerable, because he can’t blend into his surroundings. 

I think this scene does a fantastic job of showcasing a seemingly innocent scene and making it chillingly creepy through non-diegetic music and a complex soundscape. The long shot durations and use of tracking shots and camera angles creates a sense of negative space and subverts out expectations of what horror would do, building suspense within the scene. The shot-reverse shots in dialogue are made creepy through the use of highlights and shadows, hiding things from the views of the audience. The sound effects used to jump scare the audience, which helps create the fear meant to be perpetuated by the genre.