Specific Film Opening Research - More Gothic Horror (Vampires) Revised 12/10/10

Dracula Prince of Darkness by Terrance Fisher 1966 [IMDB]

• The red gothic sans serif font signifies the genre 
• The picture is surrouned by a smoking frame this signifies that we are looking into the past the smoke also signifies magic and power
• The castle what we origninally see is a strong signifier of the genre often used as this is with darkness, storms and lightening.
• The castle also signifes this film is stet in the past
• The use of an orchestra is more commonly used in pre 1990 films while more modern films have a few intruments and commonly high pitch piano notes
• The orchestra chrashendo's as the action climaxe's
• The villain is stereotypicaly dressed in black, tall, male has slick backed hair, is pale and being male uses violence to control the situation which is also stereotypical.
• Dracula is signified as the protaganist because he is the first character seen.
• The voice over provides exposition.
• Religious imagery of a cross is juxtaposed next to the violence and gore as a shock cut religion commonly used in gothic horror.
• The film uses special effects that a modern audience would not believe because they're used to seeing special effect's that are more advanced. 
• The next scene begins with a female dead which appeals to the male gaze because she is attractive and the woman crying after her is also stereotypical and represents the view of woman at the time.  

Blood Rayne II: Deliverance by Uwe Boll 2007 [IMDB]

• This film begins with a slideshow of sepia images of the wild west 
• It focuses on train pictures and farming pictures to provide exposition although this is still polysemic to create narrative enigma.
• The warm colours and realistic cheerfull pictures is countertypical to the genre.
• When we enter the main set we pan down into a village. 
• They use the binary oposites of a scruffily dressed muscly  cowboy man in a cowboy hat and thick jacket and a suited  fat man with a birefcase and a bowler hat stepping in all the pudles. 
•  They past is signified by the use of sepia pictures at the begining, the use of candle light and their costumes which are formal and invlove hats.
• The use of a setting in the past and a dark candlelite setting is stereotypical to the genre

Twilight by Catherine Hardwicke 2008 [IMDB]

• The scene begins with a voice over signifying that they are the protaganist
• The voiceover is countertypical of the genre because it is a female voice which signifies rom com.
• The use of daylight is also countertypical of the genre but signifies the title.
• The use of a forrest is stereotypical of a genre.
• The dear is an intertextual reference to Bambi.
• The take to begin with is long and pans down onto the dear to signify vulnerability.
• The takes then become shorter as it is chased to signify action.
• They use a flash cut between this and the next scene to signify memory or a cut in time.
• The camera zooms in then on the protaganist in a mysterious setting of the destert.
• The camera pans over to the husband of the protaganist's mother as it's said to signify the camera is her thoughts.

The Satanic Rights of Dracula by Alan Gibson 1973

• It uses upbeat cocktail music to appeal to the audience of the time.
• The typography is sans serif and gothic to signify the genre.
• The trumpets crashendo with the title Dracula.
• The begining shots are of famous landmarks of London to clarify the preffered reading of the setting to a large audience.
• There is an editing effect of a shadow which increases in size.
• The first shot is a long shot of a mansion with a light with a blue filter shone on it to signify horror.
• The arial shot of people in cloakes stood around a star signifieas, satanicness, religioun and the past.
• However this shot is juxtaposed next a shot of a guy in a controll room to anchore that it is the present.
• In the satanic ritual involves a female victim to appeal to the male gaze this is stereotypical of woman and signifies it is for an adult audiecee because it contains nudity.

Brotherhood of Blood by Michael Roesch 2007 [IMDB]

• Begins in a cave to signify the genre.
•  There is a female victim whic is stereotypical and apeals to the male gaze because she is blonde.
• The candle light also signifies horror.
• The use of scruffy clothing signifies the villains are outcasts.
• The use of a blowtorch signifies power.