Sinister

Sinister genre codes and conventions

The genre of Sinister is horror which is clearly seen from the codes and conventions within the opening scene. The opening of the film starts off with the standard production titles and the films associations. After this, it is cut to a black screen with non-diegetic fuzzy sounds in the background and the typical spooky music normally associated with horror films. This intrigues the audience as it causes mystery indicating that the scene to come may be tense. It then proceeds to cut to a tape rolling with 4 people within a forest being hanged from a tree with the tape constantly flickering creating a eerie mood. The 4 people look like a family with what looks like a father, mother and two children insinuating that they are a normal family. The fact that they have brown backs over their heads symbolises that they are hostages. 

Regarding mise en scene, the large tree is located in a forest with mist surrounding the area which is a typical convention used in horror films to give the scene more of a gothic edge and to add tension. Also, the lighting is quite dim which is another convention as it emphasies the dark nature of whats happening within the scene, creating fear and suspense with the audience.  The fact that they are wearing casual clothing such as jeans and a top denotes that they are normal people which furthers the realism of the scene which adds more intensity creating the audience feel fear as the scene unravels. As well as this, the 4 people This also creates an enigma code with the audience as they will be wondering how the 4 people were put on the tree and why.

 For the film to start off with a murder this is a clear indication that the film is a horror as murders is a well-known convention within horror films. Not only this, but as this is the opening scene the audience now expects the upcoming scenes to be filled with terror. The colourful clip of the scene is contrasted with the dark aspect of the scene which may confuse the audience, however the mysterious sound effects cause the basic clip seem even more terrifying to the audience. As the people a squirming about to die, there is a sudden crackling sound which is a jump effect commonly seen in horror films which creates tension within the scene. As the sound effects gets louder, with the lead up to the death of the 4 people then adds even more intensity too what is occurring.