Analysis of two thriller film opening sequences

The Shining opening sequence

The opening scene to The Shining seems to go against the conventions of a psychological thriller as it does not make it clear to what sub- genre the film is e.g. low key lighting, mysterious characters. Instead, the scene is quite bright, showing a landscape setting the scene. The powerful soundtrack is the only convention that I can recognise to be associated with this genre; it creates a suspenseful and tense atmosphere that makes the audience feel on edge and want to know more.

Shutter Island opening sequence

From watching the opening sequence of Shutter Island, we can immediately tell that this psychological thriller is following the usual conventions in order to make the audience tense from the offset. It features a very dramatic and suspenseful soundtrack and the scenes feature very low key lighting. It gives off a sense of claustrophobia and captivity due to scenes of prison cells and dark places. Even the title sequence adds to the tense nature of psychological thrillers as the music gets louder the title of ‘Shutter Island’ moves towards the camera, maybe giving a sense of uneasiness as it intrudes the audience’s space between them and the screen actions. The title credits are also in a bold red font that commonly interprets as danger. Due to the iconography that we can see from the first minute, we can tell that the film is going to be a serious thriller maybe involving murders, as there is men in suits, guns, blacked-out window cars & prison cells.  

Andrew Wilson