Unit 10 final evaluation

For this unit, I was required to make a short opening scene for a horror film. This had
to be no longer than 3 minutes and use the codes and conventions of the horror genre.
I chose to make an opening scene based around the home invasion sub-genre, as it is
one of the more popular and well-known forms of horror. In this evaluation I will be
discussing to what extent this scene met these requirements.

Originally, I had planned to have the narrative based around a girl who was being
followed home from school. However, during the planning process, I had realised that
my original actor would not be suitable, so therefore I decided to change the whole
film idea so that I was able to film from home using my family members as actors.
This ended up being the best decision, as I was then able to film with ease and use
different locations.

When creating my scene, I thought about and considered the technical codes of the
horror genre. My opening scene was set during the day, which meant that natural
lighting could be used. Having the main character think that he is alone in the house is
effective due to the home invasion sub-genre having a heavy theme of isolation and
loneliness.

The main character of my film was a young teenage school-boy. Having the
protagonist as a young boy increases the emotional effect for the audience as he is
seen to be vulnerable. At the end of the opening scene, the masked killer first appears
and remains masked so that his identity is not revealed, which is very common for the
horror genre as it creates enigma. This is effective because by not having a visible
face, it dehumanises the killer.

I considered the narrative of other similar horror films when making my opening
scene so that the audience’s expectations were met. For example, being home alone is
a common convention in many other horror films such as “Scream” and “The
strangers”. I also considered iconography from the horror genre such as knives and
masks. This is what makes the horror genre easily recognisable.

I used a non-diegetic soundtrack, which I sourced from YouTube. This was to

enhance the suspense and tension within the scene. I also used diegetic soundtrack
from “the flash” theme song when the main character turned on the TV, which made
the scene more realistic.

There were elements of continuity and discontinuity editing used in my opening

scene, however in order to improve, I would like to make the scene more continuous
as it would flow better.

Overall, I feel like the production of my opening scene was a success as it effectively
demonstrated the many of the codes and conventions of the home invasion horror sub-
genre. I was also able to change some of the narrative to subvert the audience’s
expectations, such as the protagonist not being a white girl, but instead being a mixed
boy.