Specific Film Opening Research - Even More Gothic Horror Revised 14/10/10

The Devil Rides Out by Terence Fisher 1968 [IMDB]

• Terence Fisher is an Auteur within this genre
• The film conventionally begins with the company logo
• The music is played over polysemic shots of satanic symbols to create narrative enigma
• The preffered reading of the snakes, the goats head, the cross and the stars is satan
• The use of red smoke signifies ritual
• The titles are in sans serif font this is typical of the genre
• The film opens with a long shot of a plane signifying wealth
• Then pans down to a two shot of the binary oposites of a rich man signified by his suit and hat and his servant signified by his grey overcoat uniform.
• The use of the old fashioned car and 1920's costumes signifies the past

Decadent Evil by Charles Band 2005 [IMDB]

• This film uses medium shot of a Vampire who has long black hair a black cloak a pale face  which is stereotypical of the genre however he is young and modern also he uses a sowrd which is counterypical of the genre since vampires don't need them.
• The vampires are also in a castle this is shown by a tilted low angle shot which also signifes their power
• The voice over signifies the ptoaganist and provides exposition
• Later on in this film the piece uses female vampires which is countertypical but apeals to the male gaze

Quatermass and the Pit by Roy Ward Baker 1967 [IMDB]

• This film begins with orchestral Music and a picture of a skull on a black background to signify death
• The sans serif white typography appears to the side to sginfiy a documentary style film
• The orchestral music is typical of films of the time
• The policmens uniform signfies the past though this preffered reading would have only have been understood by an english audience who know the modern uniform
• Foreign audiences may denote that the setting is London from the use of the sign "Underground"
• Presenting britain in the past is a stereotypical view of britain
• The use of fog and darkness is stereotypical of the genre.
• The begging shots use high angle shots to signify vulnerability