The Descent

I decided that watching the opening to the horror film 'The Descent' would enable me to analyse what the audience would derive from watching the first 5 minutes and whether they would be able to guess what genre film it is. The film is a horror and as a group we decided that we would choose the genre horror for our piece of coursework.

First off we start with the credits of the film, which are shown one by one in a spotlight effect that fades across then clears in one motion, on a black background. The spotlight effect emphasises the actors and actresses names that may show a light in a dark place, reflecting the image of what the film may be like.

Afterwards it cuts into a long shot of a clear blue sky and the tops of trees. Also we here the diegetic sound of laughter and shouting which then immediately cuts into a mid shot of three women white water rafting. While the women are rafting it cuts to a high angle shot of the rapids that the women are going to face next, which look rough and distressing that might hint that there will be an accident or something bad going to happen to the women. While the women are rafting it cuts to a mid shot of a little girl and which seems apparent, her dad. The girl shouts down “mummy, mummy” to the women showing us that one of the women is her mum, and the girl and dad wave down to them all.