Blog 4 - Analysis Of Opening Sequences

Looking at the opening sequence of 'Jennifer's Body' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCSzYioSeT0 you can see there is a typical 'Teen Horror' setting, a house in the middle of the woods at night time. It was very dark and mysterious with lots of shodows, you then you find a young girl in the house by herself with her windows wide open leaving her very vulnerable. It was set in a little town called Devil's Kettle Falls, Minnesota, USA not many people know of the town and they don't usually get many outsiders. Jennifer was a very pretty, popular cheerleader who was liked by everyone all the girls wanted to be her best friend and the guys wanted to date her. Jennifer usually wore very girly clothing that was very revealing and sexy, but her bestfriend 'Needy' was the opposite. 'Needy' was a geek, she wasn't as pretty as Jennifer and she didn't dress as well as either, she was seen more 'cute' than 'sexy'. Jennifer would also wear alot of make up so she would have big black eyes and deep red lips, 'Needy' on the other hand wore no make up but had big round glasses on, a complete contrast. 'Jennifers Body' appeals to its target audience of males aged 18-29 because the cast are teenagers around the same age so there easier to relate to. It's also the perfect film to get away from reality, the events in the film are never going to happen in the veiwers lives. The type of language used in the film was more 'teen speak' than formal language, they used words such as 'salty' rather than good looking. This would appeal to the viewers because its language that they may use when there with there friends. Using young teenagers in my film would be a good idea to attract more male viewers to watch my film. Starting it off at night with a dark surrounding and a single house would be a good idea because it shows they are excluded from any interaction with others if they need help. Using girls as the main characters is popular with teen horrors because they are easily vulnerable, both male and females like to watch films with a female cast but boys are less likely to want to watch a film with a majority male cast. Having a few scenes that are unrealistic in my movie could also be a good idea because people like to get away from reality sometimes but it shouldn't be to unrealistic otherwise it may not be scary any more and become cheesy.
I also looked at the opening sequence of 'Sorority Row' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXhea0Y1pQ8 there is a very simular setting, a lonley house in the middle of the woods at night time. There is a college Sorority party going on with lots of screaming/shouting and glass being broken. The college girls weren't wearing much clothing dancing around on the tables and doing cheer leading routines. Pillows are being thrown around and feathers are flying everywhere making it hard to see. The mother of the Sorority house is in the dark kitchen by herself with scary music playing like it was building up to an event when two boys burst through the door drunk. Then there is the scene when Megan, one of the Sorority girls, tricks her ex boyfriend into thinking he killed her with 'Roofies' which backfires when they take the prank to far and he ends up stabbing her with a tyre iron 'to let the air out her lungs' they have to dispose of the body and tyre iron in a mineshaft. The film was set in Pennsylvania, USA so there locations aren't very far apart. All the Sorority sisters are young, slim and pretty girls, they wore short shorts and little vest tops, they all wore make up. 'Sorority Row' appeals to it's target audience of males aged 18-29 because they would like lots of girls running around the house without much clothing on and the storyline is again not very believable so they can have a sense of getting away from reality. The language used in this film isn't as much 'teen speak' as 'Jennifer's Body' they haven't made any words up in the dialogue. A party is a good setting for this target audience as it is something most teenagers this age would do on a regular basis. Girls wearing little clothing is also a good idea because a majority of boys like seeing girls in revealing clothes and girls usually resent them. Pranks are also a good idea as teenagers are often pulling them on their friends in real life, taking a prank and turning it into the plot is a very good idea.