THE

EXORCIST
(1973)
SOPHIE

The opening to this film begins with an establishing shot of a

house. We presume that most of the film is going to happen in this
house because it is the first thing that is shown to us. This shot
supports the main conventions of horror films due to the darkness
around the house which suggests the darkness of the narrative
and setting.

The environment outside the house suggests that the family living
there have a lot of money to be living in a built up area and are
perhaps popular in the community because their house appears
as bigger than the rest on the street.
In the background there are non-diegetic sounds of slow music
that sounds slightly creepy which can make the audience feel
disturbed. Also, the diegetic sounds of the bushes by the house
rustling show it is very windy and bad weather is a common thing
we associate with horror films.

During this shot the non-diegetic sound gets louder which

suggests an eerie atmosphere.

Having a close up of a particular religious statue can suggest that

it has some sort of significance within the film and may be
involved later in the film.

The scene then goes to credits and then the name of the film.
During this, there are very high pitch sounds which can appear as
synthetic screams. The red writing is symbolizing danger with a
black background giving the audience a sense of the unknown.