Saturday, January 31, 2026

Research- How Horror-Thriller Targets Its Audience?

Hello guys! It's me Sherjil. Today we will take a look at what is the target audience for a horror thriller. I will be utilizing real data, and then linking this on how production companies market these films.

Horror films tend to attract a slightly younger audience, predominantly towards those under 25. It is said that roughly 42% of horror audiences are women, with 58% being men. Horror fils are tend to interfere with thrillers in the way that viewers seek out a certain thrill/scare by diving into a world which is not their own. Younger audiences tend to be more engaed with with seeking out this feeling, hence why horrors do not nesccarily appeals to elders.

The general intention for a horror film is for the audience to feel scared and feel a sense of panic. These films portray our worst fear to get that feeling of being involved in the story and the horror.

A survey from Yougov also shows how the audience likes to experience fear: horror is often a social genre (47% prefer watching with other people), and most viewers prefer watching at home (55%) over theaters (17%). This changes how the studio markets, which they sell horror as a "group reaction" experience, but they also focus more on streaming and online platforms. Plus, horror grows in October in Nielsen charts indicated how horror movies were rising as a share of total movie viewing in October, peaking at 15.8% in October 2024. We can assess how studios time their biggest marketing pushes when audiences are already in the mood.

From the audience being dwelled from a younger generation, and audiences that watch with other people snd at home, this will allow for me and my team to build an opening that creates tension through sound and suspense that is effective even on a phone or TV screen. Since horror grows in October, we can make the film opening more mature by hinting at deeper themes like trauma, secrecy, or danger inside "normal" settings to make it more realistic.

Target audience also deals with teasers and trailers. A teaser is to build mood and mystery by not revealing the full plot, and the trailer helps to build stakes and delivers a few controlled "scare beats" for the audience. Research in Frontiers in Communications found that audience response to trailers and how consistent the messaging is across multiple trailers is linked to opening box office performance, which is why studios obsess over the trailer strategy. Horror campaigns can often go beyond trailers into "you can't ignore it" stunts. For example, the movie "IT" used a guerilla approach in Sydney with red balloons placed near stormwater drains, which turned the film's symbol into a real world sighting people could photograph and share. Smile used a viral stunt by placing creepy "smilers" at baseball games, something that can spread because it looked real and made people uncomfortable in public.

Posters of horror films also work to target the audience because they are known to be the "instant identity" of the film. The reason for this is its fonts and visuals that instantly communicate the film's mood before the audience even watches the trailer. Horror thriller posters often use high contrast colors, unsettling imagery, and sharp or distorted typography to signal danger and tension right away. This helps the audience feel the genre in one glance. The font is a big point since it provides meaning of rough, scratched lettering that can imply violence or instability, while clean but spaced out text that can create an eerie empty feeling. The visual design helps control what the audience expects by using a memorable symbol or image to build recognition and curiosity

Here are quick examples:

Figure 1: The movie IT uses extreme negative space and a single bright symbol, such as a red ballon shown to make the poster look instantly readable from the text dissolving away. The title is huge and aggressive, so the audience immediately can expect something intense and iconic, which is perfect for teens/young adults who respond to recognizable symbols and shareable imagery.

Figure 2: The Blair witch Project: This cover leans into realism such as grainy/dark visuals and minimal text that makes the cover feel more like evidence rather than a polished movie ad. This documentary tactic helps target viewers who like thriller mystery because it helps suggest the story could be real.

Figure 3: The Conjuring uses classic horror thriller design that cues a muted, grim background with a single light source known as the match that helps draw your eye. The clean formal title font makes it feel serious and story-driven (thriller). The target audience for this can relate to a mature young adult audience of those who like imagery that involves a signal of danger and dread known as horror.

Studios also utilize marketing to teens/young adults (Gen Z) by combining brand collaborations with TikTok/Instagram first promotion, since younger audiences spend a lot of time on these platforms.

For collabs, Fanta partnered with Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions on limited edition packaging featuring horror icons that tie up to upcoming releases that turn the movie's marketing into something people can spot, buy, and post.

Another example is Popeyes launching a limited-time "Freddy Fazbear Crunch Menu" to promote Five Night's of Freddy's 2 to make the campaign feel more collectible and shareable, not just an ad.

On social media, a TikTok post from Warner Bros promoted the trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux by highlighting suspenseful moments that grab young adults' attention and create curiosity about what happens next.

Smile used the "creepy smilers" at baseball games stunt that spread widely online, including Instagram, boosting curiosity and conversation before release.

Reflection: From what I learned, the target audience for a horror thriller attracts those who are young teens since there are more jump scares and anticipation involved. I am glad I got to learn different marketing techniques such as teasers, trailers with different font scaling and colors, and marketing collaborations that help build up momentum for fans from across of social media to be invested and excited of what the horror film will offer. My demographic for my film opening will target those audiences that teens that will like the experience of the horror thrillers with violent props involved such as weapons and an antagonist that is known to be deadly and a mature audience can handle. From the target audience research, this perfectly matches my description. Now that I got a knowledge, we will now discuss color theories help attract these audiences. Our research is almost wrapping up and we are close to reaching the mark of planning our film opening. Day-by day from researching the genre, I am happy to excite you guys of what ideas have made to unfold for when the time comes.

Till next time, we will meet for our next journey.

Sources:

Reference list (APA):
Gilbey, A. (n.d.). Horror film research [PDF]. Weebly. https://cmpalexgilbey.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/8/7/38878453/horror_film_research.pdf

Gilbey, A. (n.d.). Horror film research [PDF]. Weebly.

https://cmpalexgilbey.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/8/7/38878453/horror_film_research.pdf

YouGov. (2025, October 6–9). YouGov Survey: Horror Movies [PDF].

https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/documents/Horror_Movies_poll_results_jW30H9F.pdf

Nielsen. (2025, October). Happy Halloween! Horror movie TV trends this spooky season. Nielsen.

https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2025/halloween-2025-horror-movie-trends/

Kampani, J., & Nicolaides, C. (2023, January 20). Information consistency as response to pre-launch advertising communications: The case of YouTube trailers. Frontiers in Communication, 7.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.1022139

Mumbrella. (2017, September 12). How Mr. Glasses guerrilla marketed IT with less than $10,000. Mumbrella.

https://mumbrella.com.au/how-mr-glasses-guerrilla-marketed-it-with-less-than-10000-470959

Collis, C. (2022, September 29). Smile director was worried no one would notice crowd “smilers” at baseball games. Entertainment Weekly.

https://ew.com/movies/smile-baseball-viral-marketing-campaign-horror-parker-finn-interview/

The Coca-Cola Company. (2025, August 27). Fanta® teams up with Universal Pictures and Blumhouse to bring together infamous horror icons for the first time in a global partnership [Press release].

https://investors.coca-colacompany.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1140/fanta-teams-up-with-universal-pictures-and-blumhouse-to-bring-together-infamous-horror-icons-for-the-first-time-in-a-global-partnership

Popeyes. (2025, November 17). Popeyes announces limited-time-only Freddy Fazbear Crunch Menu to celebrate the release of Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 [Press release].

https://news.popeyes.com/blog-posts/popeyes-announces-limited-time-only-freddy-fazbear-crunch-menu-to-celebrate-the-release-of-blumhouses-five-nights-at-freddys-2

Internet Movie Poster Awards. (2017). It [Movie poster].

https://www.impawards.com/2017/it.html

Internet Movie Poster Awards. (n.d.). The Blair Witch Project [Movie poster].

https://www.impawards.com/1999/blair_witch_project_ver1.html

Internet Movie Poster Awards. (2013). The Conjuring [Movie poster].

https://www.impawards.com/2013/conjuring.html

Warner Bros. (n.d.). Joker: Folie à Deux | Official Trailer [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OKAwz2MsJs

Research- Two Examples of Horror Film Openings

Blog Introduction

Hello everyone, we are finally back with another blog! Last blog we reflected on some elements that are included in a mise en scene. After researching, we will now shift towards analyzing two horror film openings by discussing their mise en scene with aspects like technical conventions, representations, and camera movements.

Film 1: The Conjuring (2013) – Directed by James Wan

First film we will talk about is a horror film, The Conjuring. This movie was released in 2013 and was directed by James Wan. The movie became highly successful and gained major attention for its supernatural horror style. The movie had a budget of around $20 million and made over $300 million worldwide, showing how popular horror films can be with audiences. The movie had received many awards, such as the best horror/thriller movie for the Critics Choice award. I chose this film because it is known for building suspense through mise en scene, lighting, and sound rather than relying only on gore.

The Introduction of the Film Opening

The film begins with non-diegetic sound while displaying the distribution logos of Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. The background behind the logos is darkly lit, which makes the audience expect the film to be scary or unsettling because of its gloomy tone. For example, the typography in the Warner Bros. logo appears dimmer to match the dark background. In comparison, the original Warner Bros. logo is usually gold and bright, set against a sky-blue background. The logo of New Line Cinema seems to be darker, while compared to its original, the text is usually brighter with a black display background. The use of the dark, lit theme creates an effect that allows the audience to build up suspense, as this movie will correspond to something scary or very frightening. The use of non-diegetic sound, applying a low-frequency drone and sudden stinger, helps connect the film’s theme to build up the horror mood. The theme makes it feel more unnatural and threatening, which fits the description of horror.

The horror version of the logos presented:

Orginal version of the logos:

Then, when the intro was concluded, there is a fade out to a black screen with a sound bridge being applied. The sound bridge demonstrates dialogue between characters discussing a scary experience they had, and thinking about it makes them feel more frightened and makes it seem unbelievable to be true. The display of the dark screen represents a sense of suspense and realism of how this is a scene of a horrifying story that unfolded from a scary experience. This brings realism for the audience to be prepared for how this story unfolds. The black screen was concluded with the guy stating, “tell me how it started off.”This indicates to the audience that the movie is starting to narrate the beginning of the story.

Mise en Scene (Setting, Props, Lighting, and Symbolism)

Mise en scene is used to create realism while making the environment feel unsafe. For example, the living room setting is shown to be ordinary and domestic, with a couch, curtains, and pillows, which makes the story feel realistic.

However, the low-key lighting and shadows remove warmth from the space.

The lighting represents the characters to be shown as darker and dimmer. This represents how fear can be created in a normal setting, such as a home. The characters are grouped closely together on the couch, and their tense posture and worried expressions show their vulnerability. This positions the audience to take the story seriously

Another example we can explain is when the girl shifts in the storytelling of the scary incident. This scene shows how the two girls were entering an apartment where the whole hallway was very dark and isolated in a narrow position that made the hallway longer. The only light visible was the doll.

Here are other mise en scene examples I found that were fascinating from the film opening:

The lamp’s light flickers to indicate to the character that this apartment is haunted and makes the audience feel more curious and frightened to see what will happen next.

The room shows things on the floor, such as a broken lamp that is flickering (it is the only reason where some light is visible) and pictures. Then there is a roll of a red pen that rolls inside the room.

The lady picks up a note that says “miss me,” and sees it again inside another room with red coloring to make it seem like a person has died here or been frightened.

Props: The doll acts as the key prop, and since dolls are typically linked to childhood and innocence, its disturbing appearance represents innocence being corrupted.

Camera Movements/Shots (Analysis)

Close up shot is utilized to get a close range of the character, which is known to be a doll. The close-up shot helps bring greater detail of the doll, by looking at the description of the face being very creepy and the doll staring at the screen. There are also details of red scars around the doll’s face to make the audience think the character is very dangerous and threatening. The framing also treats the doll like a character rather than just a prop, which is most common in horror films because it makes the ordinary object feel it has agency or a presence. The close-up shot is also being utilized in the film to talk about how the creepy doll moves around itself and how its facial structures were different than what is now.

Over the shoulder- The shot utilizes POV style framing from behind two characters staring at a long, dark, isolated, and narrow hallway where there is no light, except the intention is at the doll. This creates tension for the audience to be forced to share their viewpoint. The hallway creates strong leading lines that pulls the viewer towards Anabella, where it is shown to be a small figure sitting at the far end, and the distance feels more isolated and unnatural, as if it is mysterious or does not belong there.

Two-shot- This shows the two characters inside the room being frightened of the whole room’s structure of the broken glasses and the lamp light flickering. The purpose of the two shots in this specific scene was when the characters heard an object that was rolling around, and the characters were scared by the noise. As they felt that the doll was alive and was coming to get them.

Slow tracking dolly movement- The movement is shown down the narrow hallway from behind the characters, as if the camera is following them forward into the darkness. The forward movement creates suspense because it feels like the audience is being pulled toward whatever is at the end of the corridor.

High angle- There is another scene of the film where it shows an overhead shot of the dumpster/alley, which shifts the audience from a character-level view to watching from above perspective. In this overhead shot, the camera gradually zooms in slowly while slightly drifting to keep the dumpster and the doll centered as the character reaches in. The slow push in helps center it to feel tense and unavoidable. This shows how the lady is frightened and locks the doll in the dumpster and runs away. This makes the audience feel forced to focus on the doll and anticipate that something is going wrong before it happens.

Dutch Angle- The camera uses a high angle with a subtle Dutch tilt, making Annabelle look small but disturbingly present, as if she’s been “caught” in a wrong, unnatural moment. For the audience, the canted framing creates disorientation and unease, signaling that normal rules don’t apply and danger could come from anywhere in the frame. Looking down on her also produces a false sense of control viewers feel briefly superior , before the horror of her stare and stillness flips that comfort into dread. Overall, it heightens suspense by forcing the audience to anticipate movement or threat even when the character is motionless.

Editing and Pacing

The transitions are slow and controlled, such as the fade to black after the logos (as we mentioned earlier). This delays visuals while maintaining tension through the sound. The film uses lingering shot duration on the doll and the hallway, which forces the audience to sit in discomfort rather than quickly moving on. The editing also includes uses of cuts that include parallel editing, when the two girls walk into the room and the camera shows random detail such as pictures that are broken pictures, flickering lamps, many broken details, and a sign that is hanged up on the roof that says “Miss me?” This builds suspense by making the audience able to scan the environment and wonder how this apartment is haunted and what minor details are important that corresponds to horror. This slow pacing editing is a horror convention because it makes the audience anticipate a movement or a sudden reveal, when nothing is displayed.

Sounds

The overall opening of the film consists of non-diegetic sound that involves sharp strings to intensify fear and suspense. For example, in the hallway scene, the tense string stingers and low-frequency drone build anticipation as the camera focuses on the doll at the end of the dark corridor, making the silence feel unsafe and forcing the audience to expect a sudden reveal. In the room scene, the soundtrack stays uneasy while small, random sounds are emphasized—such as the flickering lamp and objects shifting—so when the camera cuts to broken pictures and scattered details, the audio makes those visuals feel suspicious and connected to the haunting with random piano movements.

Here is an example:

Film 2: Insidious (2010) – Directed by James Wan

In comparison, the second horror film I will analyze is Insidious. The movie was released in 2010 and was directed by James Wan. The opening also uses horror conventions to build suspense early, but it creates fear in a different style by relying heavily on atmosphere and an intense soundtrack. The opening begins with dark visuals and horrifying typography during the opening credits, which immediately makes the audience feel uneasy. The scene transitions to the dark scene of the guy in the shadow, it transitions to a red text “Insidious,” which brings visuals of the movie to be horrifying for the audience. The movie transitions in the opening credits where it shows red text in the bottom right corner with pictures of the house in a haunted version and other props that will reveal the horror genre. This brings suspense and realism to the audience of how the movie will be fearful.

Mise en Scene

In the film opening of Insidious, mise en scene uses props and costumes to make the home feel more realistic but unsettling. For example, the child’s bedroom includes him sleeping in a bedroom with a dinosaur blanket that includes toys such as teddy bears and horses, and a night lamp. These props are typical of a regular boy’s bedroom. But the scene of the boy is represented to have low-key lighting that makes the room unsafe and uncomfortable. This makes the audience feel as if there is certain danger or a threat that is going on in the house or anticipated. Then there is a shallow focus when the boy’s bedroom is shifted to the kitchen, of a shadow that shows a guy walking to a room where the scene transitions, then it enters a room with a guy surrounded in the dark with a creepy face holding a candle. The shallow focus of the shadows brings the audience’s emotional engagement and controlled audience perception of the frame. The overall scene of the guy holding the candle makes the audience think he is the antagonist of the film that causes danger and horror of the house. The whole dark scene of just showing the guy staring and holding a candle brings suspense and fear of what the movie will expose next. The lighting is dark in this scene, which limits the characteristics of what he looks like besides the face.

Cinematography

The cinematography of the film uses controlled camera movement to build suspense rather than action. The opening begins with mostly static framing during the credits, which keeps the audience focused on the unsettling typography and atmosphere.

Instead of using a hard transition or cut, the text fades and dissolves smoothly into a shot of a ceiling lamp. This makes the opening feel continuous and uneasy.

The camera then tilts down from the lamp to reveal the boy sleeping, and the slow reveal controls what the audience sees, turning a normal bedroom into suspense.

Then the shot consists of continuous system editing where the scene has no cuts involved; rather, it tilts to the next scene by push-in/zoom in to a dark kitchen and nothing there besides a shadow, which makes the scene feel more intimate and threatening because the camera is moving close even when nothing is visible.

The camera uses a slow tilt that zooms in to reveal the shadowed figure holding a candle, with bringing a close-up shot to bring more details and brightness of the character holding the candle. The movement is gradual, with the close-up making the figure feel more threatening because the audience is forced to wait for the full description of the character.

Compare and Contrast

Both film openings use technical conventions to make the audience feel suspense early.

Both have utilized low-key lighting, dark visuals, and non-diegetic sound to establish a horror mood.

Both films also use domestic settings to create realism, which makes the horror more effective because it reveals fear invading a place that should feel safe.

Differences

However, The Conjuring builds fear through detailed props like the doll, broken pictures, flickering lamps, and the “Miss me?” note, while Insidious relies on creating fear through an eerie atmosphere and the way the ghostly figure is represented through a dark creepy face with a candle displayed.

The Conjuring also utilizes camera movements such as slow tracking and POV style shots to delay the reveal, while Insidious relies more on creating fear by transitioning by tilting down and horizontally to the next scene to build more fear and creating a supernatural presence inside the home.

The Conjuring has more dialogue involved where in the beginning of the movie it was a narration of a story of where they found the creepy doll and how this situation happened, where Insidious has no narration and strictly only involves non-diegetic sounds that matches the horror atmosphere where everything is silent to bring more suspense and question the audience to feel what will happen next and to explore the details of the dark haunted house.

Reflection

Analyzing these two films has allowed me to understand how horror films use technical conventions to control the audience’s emotions before the main story even begins. By focusing on mise en scene, sound, camera movement, and editing, I learned how small details such as low-key lighting, props such as the doll known as Anabelle or the bedroom toys, and the slow pacing can help build suspense without needing gore or a jump scare. This benefits me for creating my film opening because I can plan my setting, lighting, and props more intentionally to represent danger in a normal environment, and I can utilize camera shots like close ups, over-the-shoulder framing, and slow movements to delay reveals and keep tension high.

Overall, if I were to choose which film will fit best for me from the two I analyzed, I would go based on The Conjuring, as it is more effective and brings more suspense of the creepy doll. I liked the aspects of the narration that was involved to tell the story, and the scenes of the two characters frightened of the doll with its horrifying props and sounds. It helps me bring more creative inspirations based on that. Maybe I would like to include a scarier atmospheric opening that is based on a doll.

Well, that is a wrap! After, all the research conducted on how this film works. I think it is time for the next post to be about what target audience is involved for this horror genre.

See you guys in the next post!

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIcs_qOjDBQ

https://youtu.be/ifkoOl4RGXc?si=_4-nkSDY3Erc2qsf

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Research- MISE EN SCENE Elements

Hello everyone, welcome back to another blog! Last post, I discussed technical elements that are used for a blog post. Now, we will be shifting our gears towards Mise En Scene. Mise en scene consists of aspects the audience can visualize in the frames, and what those visuals can communicate about people, identity, power, and social meaning. Today, I will go through how these concepts are applied in horror thriller, and how horror uses iconography and negative space to position the audience to feel fear.

Props:

The most common props that are included in horror films are murder weapon that varies from the basic slasher weapons like the machete, chainsaw, and knife to more complex weapons such as voodoo dolls and the insane, disturbing traps from the chainsaw. The more violent the weapons are, the more kills are complemented with a better reaction for the audience. The more uncommon weapons, like the traps from the Chainsaw, affect us as the audience in a way that disturbs us. As this is something they have never experienced it considers the character's perception of pain throughout the film. When we see horror characters like Michael Myers, we see things like a knife that instantly makes us escape the safety in the real world, despite knowing that these objects are only present in the movie, not in real life.

Other props may not always be used for killing, which is mainly to build the horror in the scene. Aspects such as rocking chairs, paintings, and balloons all create a creepy effect within the setting. For example, a shot from the movie “IT” greatly represents a shot that shows a character named Patrick. He ventures into the sewers and comes across Pennywise, where the red balloon floats towards him. This indicates the suspense of danger and brings a momentum of creepy feelings. The red symbolizes things like blood and death, which links to color symbolism. This makes the audience personally feel scared as we sense the killer is lurking in the shadows watching us, and it uses negative space because the darkness makes us scan the frame for threats.

Now, let's delve into the costumes applied in horror films. Oftentimes, the villains of horror don more simplistic costumes. With Pennywise, however, the opposite is considered to be true. As the clown’s persona, it is ranked higher and over the top, so they will need a costume that will match perfectly with the aspects of their vivacity. Costume designer Janie Bryant is the woman who is responsible for bringing Pennywise in the 2017 version of Stephen King’s IT. As I was diving into the aspects of costumes used in a horror film, I figured that costumes that correspond with clown clothing help design the frightening look for the clown. This will be a great idea to consider for my film opening, as I will utilize my inspiration and apply it in my opening by making a villain have this same type of persona. The purpose of costumes in a horror film is to provide that organic, caterpillar-like feeling with iconic masks, visceral gore, and subverted innocence to help create fear, which is also part of horror iconography. This can all apply to being used as dupioni silk as the primary fabric for Pennywise’s ensemble, washing and distressing it in order to achieve that vintage look. This also shapes representation, because costume can instantly communicate who has power, who is threatening, and who is meant to look unnatural.

Lighting:

In film and visual storytelling, lighting often functions as a narrative device. This helps reveal or conceal information that guides the viewer’s eyes, establishes tone, and shapes character dynamics. The high-contrast lighting leads to create tension or unease, while warm, directional lighting can build intimacy or highlight emotional distance. These conventions help define the atmosphere of a scene long before any dialogue or movement occurs.

In the first image, the lighting follows a chiaroscuro convention, where the bright illumination on the cabinet shelves contrasts sharply with the central darkness. This dramatic contrast heightens suspense, as the middle section becomes a void that immediately draws the viewer’s eye. If you look closely, a faint face emerges from the shadows, turning the darkness into a site of tension rather than emptiness. The lighting doesn’t just reveal objects; it strategically conceals, using shadow as a narrative tool to create unease and suggest that something unsettling is lurking within an otherwise orderly domestic space. This also links to representation and power, because the hidden figure looks like it controls the space, while the audience feels powerless because we cannot fully see what is there.

Overall, the purpose of lighting helps control what the audience can and cannot see, and filmmakers shape tension, vulnerability, and fear. Whether through harsh contrast, dim naturalism, or selective shadow, lighting becomes one of the most powerful tools in crafting the unsettling atmosphere.

Setting and Location:

Setting and location in horror thrillers are never considered as "background". They show the importance of controlling the audience's fear by controlling space. Filmmakers often use isolated places like a remote house or an empty street so characters feel cut off from help. This makes them look more vulnerable. These locations also use dark corners, basements, and long hallways to create negative space. This forces the audience to scan the frame and imagine what could be hiding. In The Conjuring, the farmhouse feels unsafe because ordinary rooms become unsettling when they're quiet, dim, and full of unseen areas. The purpose of this is to make the audience feel trapped with the characters and to build suspense before anything is revealed.

Performance:

The emotions of these characters in these films are a very important task. Protagonists are usually portrayed as worried and afraid. Whereas the antagonists can be portrayed as aggressive and determined. They could also use an iconic, creepy face for the antagonists to help create fear for the audience. These faces include a frightening smile or even a laugh. This image shows Chucky smiling at his knife, creating a devious emotion coming from him.

Another example I researched was a scene from Five Nights at Freddy's. Near the end of the opening, a worker at the pizza restaurant is kidnapped and blacks out, then wakes up chained to a chair in a dark room. A machine-like device moves toward his face, making the threat feel unavoidable and building instant suspense. This moment positions the character as powerless and confused, which pushes the audience to share his fear and ask why he’s been trapped. The antagonist is represented as a mysterious, emotionless animatronic presence—mechanical and unpredictable—so the scene creates tension through helplessness, darkness, and a delayed reveal.

Here is the example of that scene down below:

Conclusion:

Mise en scene plays a crucial role in shaping the emotional and psychological impact of horror films. Through props, costumes, setting, and lighting, filmmakers craft a visual language that helps communicate fear, suspense, and deeper symbolic meaning. These conventions can help me plan to apply these elements in my film opening with intention and purpose. The props will be planned to subtly signal danger, such as an old toy, a flickering lamp, or a worn‑down tool that hints at a hidden threat without revealing it outright.

I have also learned that the lighting in the Parasite scene showed me how low beams of light help highlight moments of suspense and fear. I found it fascinating how, if you look closely into the dark, there is a man visible. This seems unique because I never had an idea of how the purpose of lighting can bring the momentum of suspense and fear. By learning these concepts, my film opening will not only establish its tone from the very first frame but also immerse viewers in a world shaped by fear, atmosphere, and visual storytelling.

For now, in the next post, we will analyze two film openings of horror movies, where I will examine how the camera movements, mise en scene, and technical elements are applied. This way, I can take notes and gain more inspiration to make the best film opening that will be needed.