Analysis of Opening Sequence Insidious The film starts when a family moves into an old house where the

protagonist, Dalton, has fallen into a coma as he has become a vessel for ghosts after looking at something in horror in the attic. He is then returned home from hospital after three months where disturbing events start to occur. His parents, Renai and Josh, with the help of Elise, a paranormal investigator, are on a mission to return Dalton back to the human world in every way they can. The film is directed by James Wan and he uses a clear narrative structure to portray the narrative in a chronological order. The film sets off when the audience is shown an old woman in a house which creates an enigma that gives the audience a sense of mystery; questioning why the old woman is present and if she is intending to cause harm to the characters. James Wan uses props to symbolise and foreshadow later events that may happen in the film for example; a bloody hand print on Daltons bed that could insinuate a murder or killing during the film. He also includes typical thriller conventions such as using mirrors to see the demon, low key lighting that creates shadows, photographs as a way of the demon getting to the character, tense music and obtrusive editing. The film also includes a variety of shots such as an establishing shot and wide shot are used to highlight the house the family is moving into. Also, the film portrays zoom from mid shot to close up to portray the feelings of Josh so the audience are able to gain insight to his emotions. When facing the demons, a close up is used to portray his bravery as he is looking for his son. Also, when using a close up, the focus point is the main cha racters face therefore the viewers are unable to see the background which adds to the fear and frightening atmosphere when the scene quickly cuts to a shot of the ghost behind him. Point of View shots are also included to allow the audience to see what Dalton is seeing; creating different perspectives of a scene to entice the viewers. Continuity editing has been used throughout the film to flow the scenes together and portray the movement of time going forwards. Shot-reverse-shot is used between conversations with characters such as Renai and Josh when concerned about Dalton. Also, two shot and eyeline match is exemplified to create an understanding with a relationship between the characters and what they are looking at. Credits stating the actors names, director and editor are declared at the beginning as well as the end to credit the people working in the film. Throughout the film, diegetic sound has been used such as dialogue, to convey the thoughts and feelings of each character and to develop the movie further and give a suggestion as to where the characters are from through their dialect. We can understand that Elise is a professional as when she is talking about Dalton, she seems to have a great understanding

with the paranormal and how it works; making the viewer believe in that reality. Ambient sound is also projected to make the atmosphere realistic as when the ladder breaks, the sound can be heard. Also the score music during the tense scenes creates apprehension and suspense which can scare the audience. When the music turns dark and heavy, the audience foreshadows something bad is going to happen or associates the character as being evil. The make-up and clothing on the ghosts and demons can emphasise their deaths and the time in which they had died, for example, a ghost had a Victorian gown on which suggests to the viewer that the woman has been dead for a long time. The white make-up and blood stricken face can dehumanise them and set them apart from the other human characters such as Renai and Josh who wore casual clothes, relating to the time, to exemplify their normality.