The Strangers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLDdPW5yfR4

• The beginning of this horror/thriller film starts with black screen titles to establish who produced it, whilst playing quiet creepy music to enhance the build up of the film. There is then non diagetic sound of a man talking, whilst writing comes up on the screen saying "What you are about to see is inspired by true events." By putting this here, which proves some of it is true; it intensify's the horror experience for the viewer due to the reality of it.

• The man then says when the event happened and to who, which makes the audience tense as they can put themselves in the other persons shoes as they known when and where it happened. Also by saying 'brutal' it shows what happened to the people would have almost killed them, or killed them entirely. It also warns you of what the film is going to be like.

• There is then the sound effect of a car starting up although the screen is black, which suggests the people are about to leave home to set off to the wedding reception. The scenes then fade in and out as the people in the car are passing houses, which could suggest that we are seeing their journey as they pass many houses. Also it looks as if it is filmed from inside the moving vehicle. 

• It also shows the gaps inbetween houses, as they start off close to eachother, then trees and big gaps come between them which shows they are going further and further into the countryside, and leaving a busy town, which is effective as the audience assumes they are going to be somewhere completely empty like the woods, and no one will be able to help them if something bad happens. Because the audience may think this, it makes the atmonsphere more tense and you want to continue watching the film.

• You then hear a distressed 911 call from what sounds like a young boy over a black screen which shows that they have discovered the people and all the events have already happened. You then see a car with a smashed windscreen, whilst the boy says he is in danger, which makes the audience think that the bad person/people are still there waiting to strike again. The scene then goes to what seems like the end of a corridor, and watches two young boys walk in an open door. Because the door is portrays to the audience that the bad people have done what they wanted to do, and just left the door open so someone will see what they have done - in a way like they are proud of what they have done. 

• There is then a close up of a bloody knife, which leads you to believe that the people have been stabbed, and their blood is all over the knife, so they are probably dead, which makes the audience want to continue watching to see what has happened to the people. You then see a blood spat all over the wall, which could suggest that someone got shot as well as stabbed as a knife wouldn't usually do that. This is scary when you think back to when it said it is based on true events as this could have happened to the people. 

• The gun is then showed which backs up the audiences assumptions, and makes them frightened as to what happened to these people. The scene then goes black again, although the 911 call hasn't stopped all the way through the different scenes and still carries on, which suggests to the audience the extent of it, as the call has to be so long as the boy is so frightened. 

• The opening 3 minutes of 'The Strangers' is effective as it does make you want to continue watching, as you see all the mess the bad guy's have made, but you don't see who they have done it too and why the people aren't where the weapons are. Also because the boys find them after the bad things have happened, it suggests that the film will be showed different, so that the present is shown, then the past of what happened, then the present again. 

'The Strangers' could help with our film making, as we could use the idea of showing the audience what has happened after it happened, then go back in time to show them what happened, as it was happening. Also the idea of an emergency call could be good as it can show the fright a person feels towards something bad that has happened that they have discovered.