Evil Dead Deconstruction

Evil Dead Deconstruction

The opening begins with the production companies, as usual the main large company goes first, in this case TriStar.  Next is the smaller companies of Film District and Ghost House Pictures.  Ghost House obviously specialises in horror films as it features a skull in the title.  The companies are shown again on a black screen with blood red, bold and worn out font, which is conventional for a horror film.

An establishing shot of the woods is in low-key lighting with silhouettes of the trees and thick fog. All together this creates a creepy, ominous atmosphere as the trees look very menacing and as there is limited light, the fear of the unknown is very apparent. There is a slight build up of non-diegetic, low, string music which cuts off when the opening begins which helps to build tension and suspense.   

A mid-shot framing the back of the woman's head is also silhouetted which creates a sense of mystery and the dark colours are typical of a supernatural horror.  There is silence for most of the beginning of the opening which is successful in conveying the emptiness of the woods and builds suspense.  

 A close up shot of the woman's feet walking increases the tension as the audience begin to wonder who she is and why she is walking through such a scary, strange woods.  The grass is dead and dark which connotes death and decay, synonymous with the horror genre.  Diegetic sound of the crisping grass under foot breaks the silence but makes the scene seem more realistic to the audience.

A close up shot of her hand, dripping with blood, is very ominous as it suggests previous violence and danger, key themes in supernatural horror.  The continual use of back lighting keeps the sense of mystery going throughout.

A mid shot frames the woman in the distance whilst a black figure rushes past the camera.  The speed and surprise of the shot makes the audience jump and increases the suspense and feeling of danger.  A parallel non-diegetic sound of something rushing past, almost like a quick, strong wind makes the audience jump and the tension rises. An accompanying diegetic sound of the woman gasping conveys realism within the scene to the audience.

An over the shoulder shot of the woman and a mysterious, silhouetted figure in the distance makes the tension rise dramatically as you still cannot see much due to the low key lighting and fog.  Diegetic sound of the woman breathing heavily conveys her feeling scared and threatened.  Non-diegetic high pitches string sound increases in volume and tempo as the figure comes into view.   

 A series of mixed close-ups and mid-shots framing the woman trying to run away are used using fast straight cuts and a sense of disorientation is conveyed using a shaking hand held camera.  A mid shot of the woman framed against a tree with a scared expression on her face increases the tension as the straight cuts slow down to lead up to a jump.  

 The straight cuts then speed up again as she is attacked by a rabid looking man wearing cut off dirty clothing to which shows he lives in the forest and is maybe not as evolved as the woman.  A mid-shot of the two of them struggling on the floor shows his dominance and violence. A loud, sudden non-diegetic sound of strings is made when the attack begins to make the audience jump and become scared.  Loud orchestral non-diegetic sound is played 

throughout the attack to convey the danger as the 

strings are very fast which is in parallel to what is happening

on screen. Diegetic sounds accompany this of chocking from the woman and grunting from the man to show there positions in the attack.

 The opening ends on a long shot of the two men hitting the woman on the floor.  The location is still scary and ominous with the dark trees and fog.  As the second man hits the woman to knock her out, a loud non-diegetic sound of high pitched string music plays to accompany the diegetic sound of the woman being hit to put more emphasis on the moment.

I feel that this deconstruction has inspired me with our own film opening as it takes place in the same location as part of our opening.  In the editing process of our film I will look back on this film and use ideas from both the diegetic and non-diegetic sound to put the best effects on our opening.