angrod14
Member
Horror is a mistreated genre. But every now and then you can find jewels that stand out and prove it can provide an experience no other type of movie can, while also having so much artistic merit and cinematic flair.
Today I wanted to discuss 3 examples that, to me, feature not only some of the best openings in the genre, but in general cinema.
3. IT COMES AT NIGHT (2017). Dir.: Trey Edward Shultz.
Throwing the audience right into the middle of a situation, and without an ounce of exposition, the opening to this film already shows you everything you need to know to get into the story. You deduce many things right from the start without the characters having to explain a single thing: there's a widespread disease or infection, and it's evidently incredibly dangerous and letal, to the point people have to put down their silblings and even burn their bodies afterwards. The scene is brutal in its minimalism, as you simply witness someone having to accept her dying grandfather being killed in such a violent and inhuman manner. Flawless acting and photography, with no CGI, no try-hard bullshit, no jump-scares. Just something that, for all we know, could've been filmed in a backyard.
2. 28 WEEKS LATER (2007). Dir.: Danny Boyle.
While the rest of the film was made by another director, to my understanding Boyle directed the opening.
The first time I watched this, I felt my heart was pumping so hard it was going to go through my chest. Absolutely incredible set up and execution. But what really elevates the scene is the moral dilemma it presents when Carlyle's character abandons his wife. A split second decision between his own life and his loved-one. The flight response kicks in, he runs, watching her get brutalized while seeing him not even trying to save her. The movie doesn't try to make him a hero, it shows him human. Could he have done something else? Should he have fought for her and at least die with dignity instead of living with the burden? Was he a coward or pragmatic? How would YOU have reacted?
1. MIDSOMMAR (2019). Dir.: Ari Aster.
A shame the first minutes are missing in this clip because they really set the tone. Anyways, the rest of the movie I could take or leave, but man there's no denying that opening. The moaning, the camera slowly following the hose and the firefighters as you try to guess what happened. The murdered parents, the face reveal. Pugh's gut-wrenching portrayal of grief is the stuff of nightmares, and then the title reveal in the snow. This is how you fucking do it, THIS is how you open a movie. Aster at the peak of his powers.
Today I wanted to discuss 3 examples that, to me, feature not only some of the best openings in the genre, but in general cinema.
3. IT COMES AT NIGHT (2017). Dir.: Trey Edward Shultz.
Throwing the audience right into the middle of a situation, and without an ounce of exposition, the opening to this film already shows you everything you need to know to get into the story. You deduce many things right from the start without the characters having to explain a single thing: there's a widespread disease or infection, and it's evidently incredibly dangerous and letal, to the point people have to put down their silblings and even burn their bodies afterwards. The scene is brutal in its minimalism, as you simply witness someone having to accept her dying grandfather being killed in such a violent and inhuman manner. Flawless acting and photography, with no CGI, no try-hard bullshit, no jump-scares. Just something that, for all we know, could've been filmed in a backyard.
2. 28 WEEKS LATER (2007). Dir.: Danny Boyle.
While the rest of the film was made by another director, to my understanding Boyle directed the opening.
The first time I watched this, I felt my heart was pumping so hard it was going to go through my chest. Absolutely incredible set up and execution. But what really elevates the scene is the moral dilemma it presents when Carlyle's character abandons his wife. A split second decision between his own life and his loved-one. The flight response kicks in, he runs, watching her get brutalized while seeing him not even trying to save her. The movie doesn't try to make him a hero, it shows him human. Could he have done something else? Should he have fought for her and at least die with dignity instead of living with the burden? Was he a coward or pragmatic? How would YOU have reacted?
1. MIDSOMMAR (2019). Dir.: Ari Aster.
A shame the first minutes are missing in this clip because they really set the tone. Anyways, the rest of the movie I could take or leave, but man there's no denying that opening. The moaning, the camera slowly following the hose and the firefighters as you try to guess what happened. The murdered parents, the face reveal. Pugh's gut-wrenching portrayal of grief is the stuff of nightmares, and then the title reveal in the snow. This is how you fucking do it, THIS is how you open a movie. Aster at the peak of his powers.
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