Nightmare on Elm street opening analysis
Nightmare on Elm Street
Slasher/thriller
Sound
In the very beginning of the film the audience sees the antagonist, Freddy Krueger, creating his iconic claw like hand that he uses to kill the teenagers in the film and this creates a very scary feel from the outset. Diegetic sound of machinery and clanking and screeching of metal is very effectively used as this all adds to the disturbing feeling of dread, danger and the eerie setting. The iconic theme tune begins to play, which is instantly recognisable and adds to the creepy atmosphere. The high pitched notes indicate the dream like feeling accompanied by fear of the unknown. Freddy Krueger stabs his hand through a sheet of fabric and rips it creating an unnerving sound, which could be related to ripping skin and this makes the audience feel uncomfortable and casts an horrific image.
Wes Craven subtlety adds a sound of a sheep when Freddy was laughing at Tina and this links to the sheep used earlier in the opening. This is one of my favourite parts of the opening sequence as Wes Craven has used the imagery of a sheep to play on the myth 'counting sheep to get to sleep', which is ironic as Freddy Krueger kills you in your sleep, so it highlights how sickeningly horrible the antagonist actually is. The only dialogue used is the echoey calls from Freddy to Tina implying that Freddie has the power and dominance in this situation as he is teasing the protagonist with her life as he knows she is vulnerable.
Camera
One of the things that interests me most about this film opening is that throughout the whole thing, the audience is only shown a few snippets of Freddy's appearance, leaving the rest up to your imagination until later on in the movie. This is extremely effective because it further adds to the mysterious aspect of his nature and entices the audience in so that they want to watch more. The opening shot is a slow pan that follows Freddy Krueger's feet, which is a subtle way to introduce the characters traits. It makes him seem quite sinister and more mysterious. The next shot used is a 'birds eye' shot to show the worktop, with knifes, tools and other sharp objects creating a feeling of extreme danger. By using this shot doesn't give much away as you only see Freddy's red jumper and burnt hands, yet we are still given enough information to understand that this character is not pleasant and is perhaps out to get revenge. Before the opening title, all of the shots are close up showing in detail the creation of Freddy's terrifying hand. The use of the close up shots allows the director to show the audience the importance of the scene, and for the audience to ask the question what are his intentions? This close up shot is also shown when Freddie pierces a piece of fabric with his claw- like hand.
The costume of Freddy Krueger is very recognisable, which is key when you want to create a villain. And Freddy Krueger is by far one of the most iconic villains in movie history. Even though we do not see his full appearance in this opening sequence, the audience is still made to be extremely scared of him, making this antagonists character even more effective in frightening us. As well as his terrifying hand weapon, his black and red jumper was chosen as these colours are bad for people who suffer with colour blindness as they cannot distinguish between the two. In addition to this, black and red are colours that often symbolise death with red representing blood and black showing evil and darkness. This further adds to the evil nature of the character.
The make-up of Freddy Krueger is very significant as his burnt appearance plays a important part to the story of Freddie Kruger. The burnt skin is truly unpleasant to look at creating an iconic movie villain and is very scary. The lighting is low key throughout the entire opening as it exaggerates shadows and lines making everything appear more intense and scary. The dark nature adds to the frightening atmosphere in this dream world.
Conclusion
I really like this movie opening as i think it we could definitely add some elements of it into our own. If we were able to find a setting similar to this factory/industrial building then it would be perfect for a slasher film. There are also great special effects used and this could be added such as the makeup of the antagonist and the fact that we never actually see their full appearance.
Slasher/thriller
Sound
In the very beginning of the film the audience sees the antagonist, Freddy Krueger, creating his iconic claw like hand that he uses to kill the teenagers in the film and this creates a very scary feel from the outset. Diegetic sound of machinery and clanking and screeching of metal is very effectively used as this all adds to the disturbing feeling of dread, danger and the eerie setting. The iconic theme tune begins to play, which is instantly recognisable and adds to the creepy atmosphere. The high pitched notes indicate the dream like feeling accompanied by fear of the unknown. Freddy Krueger stabs his hand through a sheet of fabric and rips it creating an unnerving sound, which could be related to ripping skin and this makes the audience feel uncomfortable and casts an horrific image.
Wes Craven subtlety adds a sound of a sheep when Freddy was laughing at Tina and this links to the sheep used earlier in the opening. This is one of my favourite parts of the opening sequence as Wes Craven has used the imagery of a sheep to play on the myth 'counting sheep to get to sleep', which is ironic as Freddy Krueger kills you in your sleep, so it highlights how sickeningly horrible the antagonist actually is. The only dialogue used is the echoey calls from Freddy to Tina implying that Freddie has the power and dominance in this situation as he is teasing the protagonist with her life as he knows she is vulnerable.
Camera
One of the things that interests me most about this film opening is that throughout the whole thing, the audience is only shown a few snippets of Freddy's appearance, leaving the rest up to your imagination until later on in the movie. This is extremely effective because it further adds to the mysterious aspect of his nature and entices the audience in so that they want to watch more. The opening shot is a slow pan that follows Freddy Krueger's feet, which is a subtle way to introduce the characters traits. It makes him seem quite sinister and more mysterious. The next shot used is a 'birds eye' shot to show the worktop, with knifes, tools and other sharp objects creating a feeling of extreme danger. By using this shot doesn't give much away as you only see Freddy's red jumper and burnt hands, yet we are still given enough information to understand that this character is not pleasant and is perhaps out to get revenge. Before the opening title, all of the shots are close up showing in detail the creation of Freddy's terrifying hand. The use of the close up shots allows the director to show the audience the importance of the scene, and for the audience to ask the question what are his intentions? This close up shot is also shown when Freddie pierces a piece of fabric with his claw- like hand.
The next scene shows Tina and an extreme close up is used to show her reaction of confusion and terror. The next camera shot is wide to establish the scene. By using an extreme close up, the audience is able to establish a connection with this character from the outset and understand how she is feeling, which makes it much for effective when she dies because we are shocked and saddened by her death.
Wes Craven uses a medium shot which slowing zooms in indicating a 'jump-scare' is about to happen. Point of view shot is used to show what has scared Tina; by using this shot creates empathy towards the protagonist as you are routing for her to survive.
Another really effective shot is when Tina is investigating the factory. The camera tracks the characters movement giving a you a more realistic view point.The final shot in the opening is a medium shot of Tina. Because the medium shot is from the hips and above, it is perfect for a scare, so when Freddy Krueger jumps up into the shot behind Tina, it concludes the dream as she wakes up just as he reaches her.
Mise en scene
Wes Craven uses a medium shot which slowing zooms in indicating a 'jump-scare' is about to happen. Point of view shot is used to show what has scared Tina; by using this shot creates empathy towards the protagonist as you are routing for her to survive.
Another really effective shot is when Tina is investigating the factory. The camera tracks the characters movement giving a you a more realistic view point.The final shot in the opening is a medium shot of Tina. Because the medium shot is from the hips and above, it is perfect for a scare, so when Freddy Krueger jumps up into the shot behind Tina, it concludes the dream as she wakes up just as he reaches her.
Mise en scene
The location of Tina's dream is in a warehouse/ factory which holds large amounts of machinery. When she first steps into the dream the wide shot shows that she has come from light (as the white background implies) and is walking into the darkness and danger. The factory has been chosen as they are not meant for children and would be considered dangerous. This makes Tina feel vulnerable and out of her depth, which makes Freddy's character even more disturbing.
The costume of Freddy Krueger is very recognisable, which is key when you want to create a villain. And Freddy Krueger is by far one of the most iconic villains in movie history. Even though we do not see his full appearance in this opening sequence, the audience is still made to be extremely scared of him, making this antagonists character even more effective in frightening us. As well as his terrifying hand weapon, his black and red jumper was chosen as these colours are bad for people who suffer with colour blindness as they cannot distinguish between the two. In addition to this, black and red are colours that often symbolise death with red representing blood and black showing evil and darkness. This further adds to the evil nature of the character.
Tina is also wearing white, which symbolises her being pure and innocent-- the complete opposite to the antagonist. This differs from the typical conventions of the slasher genre because the white shows innocence, but usually the innocent characters survive, so this contrasts to the final girl theory. However, later in the film we discover that Tina has a boyfriend and this therefore means that she must be killed.
The make-up of Freddy Krueger is very significant as his burnt appearance plays a important part to the story of Freddie Kruger. The burnt skin is truly unpleasant to look at creating an iconic movie villain and is very scary. The lighting is low key throughout the entire opening as it exaggerates shadows and lines making everything appear more intense and scary. The dark nature adds to the frightening atmosphere in this dream world.
Conclusion
I really like this movie opening as i think it we could definitely add some elements of it into our own. If we were able to find a setting similar to this factory/industrial building then it would be perfect for a slasher film. There are also great special effects used and this could be added such as the makeup of the antagonist and the fact that we never actually see their full appearance.
Georgia Heria-Warrick
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