The scream draws us in straight away but quickly contrasts to the blonde girl at home picking up the telephone. Her being alone in her house tells you she’s vulnerable. The first call seems innocent which we figure will change. I think what makes us scarred for her is the tone of this unknown man’s voice. He is calm yet sounds sinister and clearly calling her was no accident, she is trying to get rid of him politely which makes her seem more innocent, therefore creating the victim role. One moment I found drew me in was the camera angle, using the rule of thirds, where she is on the right-hand side of the shot on the phone and the majority of the left side is a glass door showing her reflection, this is where the audience becomes aware something could be watching her and we suddenly feel anxious for her.
The scene begins inside this girl’s house we can assume is somewhere in America due to her accent. She is in her kitchen and the camera follows her various movement through the house as she becomes more stressed. From the first scene we can guess it is set in the 90’s as was filmed in 1994 but also has a lower picture and sound quality than present day movies.
(Following the horror theme: she even references a famous horror movie whilst pulling out a knife and harmlessly playing with it, making the audience feel uneasy)
Immediately we know it’s a horror movie due to the use of ominous music and dissonant strings playing with non-diegetic screams, a thunder crash, and knife sound effects. The font of the title “scream” stereotypes a classic horror film opening and tells the audience a bit about the movie already. The sound bridge into the telephone ringing highlights an everyday object being made scary. The tone gradually builds as the telephone rings more and more and the creepy, male voice behinds it becomes more persistent. The tone of the opening also has an eerie silence but the dialogue from the man is being overly friendly and asking her personal questions like ‘do you have a boyfriend’ and ‘you never told me your name’. The tone then takes a turn when he says ‘because I want to know who I’m watching’ and there is a zoom in
The opening title “scream’ clearly shows you’re watching a horror movie with the red, dramatic letters along with the sound behind it.
The camera shot and duration on the popcorn as the scenario grew more intense as she got more terrified. There was a shorter shot duration between; her, the popcorn, where she was running to around the house (locking doors etc) which exaggerated her panic. We also connote home as a safe place and the sequence turned that into vulnerability.
For the girl’s character, she is the stereotypical blonde girl, a vulnerable target. She seems simple and sweet and tries to be polite “take it easy” when rejecting the man on the phone. Although we never see the man on the phone, we can tell he’s the villain, the threat in this movie. His voice is deep and unfamiliar - maybe he’s a stalker or has followed her home but we imagine he’s watching her inside the house.
Based off what we’ve seen, the narrative could be set on how the girl escapes this man on the phone. Maybe he finds a way into the house and torments her. It could be about how the man behind the phone does this to more than one victim and that’s where the ‘scream’ theme comes in.
I believe they have build the tension of the opening scene successfully. And it clearly represents the horror movie genre. It's not terrifying or gory but definitely gripping and that way it can reach a wide audience.
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