Film Openings Within Genre

 For the film opening project, (after thinking long and hard) my group and I have come to the conclusion for our genre. Drum role please... Mystery! Well, it is technically a sub-genre of mystery and crime. In order to really understand this genre, research is a key factor to being successful. To do this, I researched three film openings within the mystery genre.

Gone Girl (2014)

Gone Girl's film opening begins with a woman lying in bed. Right from the bat, there is a creepy feeling. The music adds to that, as well as the low point lighting. Then, while the credit sequence is being illustrated in the bottom left corner, a town is being shown through multiple angles. When the credits are completed, a character is introduced. Then, a small text is shown "July 5th" "The Morning of" These words add to the mystery. The  morning of what? Why do they show this date? What is going to happen next? In my film opening, I hope to have the audience asking questions like this because it adds to the mystery. Overall, this film opening provides the audience with a true mystery.

The Weekend Away (2022)

This film opening begins with the sound of water seconds before what seems to be a dead body floating in the ocean is shown. This very scene has me very intrigued because of what a mystery it is. It definitely makes me want to keep watching to see what led to that point. The title of the movie is then shown along with somber music which adds to the creepiness of this particular mystery. As the credit sequence begins what is later on said to be Croatia is shown in its full beauty. This adds to the mysterious vibe because it really made me think, what so terrible can happen in this calm, beautiful place?

Woman of The Hour (2024)

This film begins with a calm windy sound. It then shows the setting taking place on beautiful mountains. "Wyoming, 1977" is then shown to dedicate the exact state and year. This made me wonder why? Why did they show this? Is this going to be an important factor later on? As the opening progresses, a man is shown photographing a woman. As the woman talks to the man, she is letting out personal information like, how she recently went through a breakup. The man creeps up closer... then as the lady thinks he is comforting her, he chokes her. We then see her "dying." I thought that was the end but then he gave her mouth to mouth?? Why did he do this? Is he trying to torture her? What does he have against her? This opening was left as a mystery to me and I genuinely wanted to keep watching. 

Overall, I think watching other film openings within the mystery/crime genre helped me develop ideas, techniques, and things to look out for when creating my own.