Sinister Textual Analysis

In our group we chose to analyse the opening to the film 'Sinister' to gain inspiration and further ideas for our own production. When the film begins, an establishing shot of the setting is shown. The audience is shown a scene with four people, who appear to be standing under a tree. This opening scene is very slow paced, which allows the audience time to think about what might take place in the scene. As the audience is already aware that it is a horror film, this creates a sense of foreboding for what might be about to happen. The whirring noise that can be heard in the background of this opening scene connotes that it is filmed on an old camera and creates the idea that it is a home style video.

This leaves the audience wanting to know why someone would be filming this. This scene also appears to be in some sort of forest behind someone's house which could be considered a conventional setting for a horror film. The opening scene to Sinister creates a creepy atmosphere, especially as the scene progresses and the audience sees that the four people are being hung from the tree and you see the last moments of their lives. This leaves this audience wanting to know more as they want to know why this has happened. This sort of opening is conventional for a horror film as it establishes the plot but leaves the audience wondering what will happen later on. Once the people have been hung, a clicking sound is heard as the screen goes to black which connotes that the camera has now been switched off and that the narrative strand is about to change.

The plot now flashes forward, showing the audience that the plot is non-linear as it is not taking place in chronological order. The audience is now shown scenes with what appears to be a happy family consisting of a father, a mother, an older boy and a younger girl. This is another example of a conventional opening to a horror film because everything appears to be fine but this creates a sense of foreboding for the audience as they know something bad will happen to this family. The cardboard boxes that are in this scene connote that the family are just moving into this house. The house that they are moving into appears isolated which connotes that they may be vulnerable there. It is also clear in these scenes that the narrative is in third person as we are able to understand the events through the character's dialogues towards each other. We also get the impression that there are either double or multiple strands as there is the initial opening, and then the scenes with the family and then later on other home style videos are shown, which could be considered as multiple strands. The way that these strands are presented to the audience connotes that they are intertwined. Once the family are inside the house, more dark colours are used which is conventional of horror films and also connotes that something significant will take place in this house.

However, when there are scenes inside the house where the whole family are together, there is more light on them which connotes the importance of this family unit. This also connotes the contrast in happiness between the family and the setting. Most of the opening of the film is slow paced which connotes that the film may have a slow build up but then suddenly go into the action.

In terms of representation, the man appears to be the most important character which could be seen as a stereotype because men are usually presented as the dominant characters in many films. His wife appears to be more of a secondary character which connotes that she is not the most important and may be a stereotypical character in films that doesn't have much importance to the plot. However, they do seem to be fairly equal in terms of their relationship dynamic. The house is represented as a typical American house in a typical American neighbourhood. In this film, a stereotypical family unit of a father, a mother, a son and a daughter is presented rather than a more diverse family unit which more people may be able to relate to.

Sinister is rated as a 15 which suggests that it would appeal to more of a mature target audience. The film uses many conventions that are typical of a horror film which means that it may be easier for the audience to understand and it may have the things that they are looking to find in a horror film. On the other hand, the inclusion of these typical conventions may mean that the audience may find the film to be predictable as they may want to be shocked when they watch the film. For our own production, we may choose to use some conventional features of the horror genre like having a slow, climatic build up to the action. However, we may choose to subvert some of the generic conventions as these sometimes make the film predictable and it may not have the impact on the audience that we want it to have if we stick to all of the conventions. Straying away from conventions may surprise the audience as it is not what they would typically expect from a horror film, so they may be more engaged in the plot.