In the opening scene for the women in black it begins with a close up shot of a children’s tea set with some diegetic music playing the background. The music used sounds creepy this creates a mysterious atmosphere that implies an event is going to take place. In addition, there are multiple close up shots of worn out scary looking dolls. This is a common convention in most horror films as they usually include props that are old looking and from the past era.
An establishing shot is used to introduce 3 young girls who are throwing a tea party for their dolls we know this because the dolls are placed around a table in a circle. The children can be seen brightly smiling and happily playing together in order to capture the characters facial expressions two shot and close up shot is used. Children are common characters in horror films usually the victims either they get murdered or are manipulated and possessed by a greater evil. In society children symbolise innocence and purity. However, the children in horror films subvert the general representation and are portrayed as possessed, ghosts, evil and killers.
Through the use of mise en scene the audience are able to recognise where the film is set Edwardian period in Britain. This is because tea is a typical British connotative symbol and costume worn by the children wad traditional clothing from the Edwardian era. Furthermore, the dress worn by the characters has monochromatic colour schemes white, gray and begin. The monotone colours connote pure, youth and innocence.
Further into the opening scene the children suddenly stop playing and turn to the camera positioned in the corner of the room. From the camera shot, the audience gets to see a clear image of the setting for the first time. The room that appears to be an attic that is very minimalistic and empty. However, the setting has props such as an old pram and a rocking horse to suggest to the audience it’s a playroom/nursery. The lighting in the room is low key with the window being the only source of light. Low-key lighting is conventional in the genre horror to create a mood that is eerie and ghostly.
Looking, towards the window the children stand up and begin to walk. Synchronous sound and numerous close up shots are used in the scene to capture the moments where the children step and break their toys placed on the floor. This creates curiosity in the audience minds because the 3 girls went from having a child like behavior to strange/unusual behavior as if they were possessed. In the background, the non-diegetic music gradually gets louder and is emphasised, as the children get closer to the window, which makes the scene dramatic and intense.
To show the 3 girls are approaching the window a medium shot is used. Furthermore, the shot also shows the children have no facial expression this suggests that they are unaware and not in control of their own bodies. Once the 3 girls jump out the window the background music fades away into complete silence while the camera zooms out. A final establishing shot is then used to inform the audience that the children are no longer there.
Lastly, in the right hand corner part of a black silhouette appears. This implies that she was the murder (women in black) that possessed the children to kill them self.
Despite that death in the opening scene is typical in horror films as it captures the audience attention making then engaged in the movie from the beginning.
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