Insidious

Insidious genre codes and conventions

 The opening scene of Insidious has a variety of typical codes and conventions used within the horror genre. The film begins with the standard production companies as well as who the film is associated with. As the title first appears the audience will straight away know the film is of a thriller/horror genre as the titles appear in red which connotes blood and danger. The first shot in the scene is a long shot of a little boys’ room which can be clearly seen within the mise en scene in which his duvet is colourful and has a teddy bear in his room which denotes that he is young. In the background, there is a non-diegetic sound, with long suspenseful notes and a sort of ringing sound which gives off an echoing sound. This type of sound is a well-known convention in horror films, as it causes the audience to feel tense as the scene is unraveled. Whilst this is in the background there is a young child sleeping in the bed, the lighting is low-key from the lights being turned off. Horrors tend to use low-key lighting as the conventions adds a sense of mystery.

With the camera at a long shot showing the bedroom, the camera then slowly pans to the right to go through the rest of the room, showing toys and a lava lamp which emphasises the innocence of the boy and connotes a sense of safety with the light. The non-diegetic sound then changes to a high-pitched violin playing fast as a shadow occurs from the window. This a common convention seen in horror films as the fear of the unknown is an enigma code creating the audience to feel intrigued yet panicked at the same time. As the person’s shadow is seen this causes a sense of fear making the audience feel on edge. The camera then does a swish pan to the next room which reveals an elderly lady wearing a veil and holding a lit candle. Her face is pale white with the conventional demon-looking crusty skin and crazy hair which denotes that she is the antagonist within the film. The fact that she is the antagonist is also shown in her dark attire with the black veil that connotes evil and death. The audience not knowing who she is and what she is capable causes the women to be perceived as even more scary.

The camera then proceeds to stay on the elderly women for a few more seconds which gives the audience an indication that she is the main character within the film. The title (Insidious) is then suddenly put on screen which is again, written in red which connotes blood and danger. After this, we see a long shot of a large house which signifies that the people living there may be quite wealthy and gives the audience an idea of where the first scene took place, as the credits start too roll on the screen. The shot is also in black and white which makes it look more ghostly and quite haunted. There is then another long shot of inside the house which contains boxes implying that the family has just recently moved into the house, which this good moment for the family is contrasted by the black and white edit and eerie tension within the scene.