Analysis of thriller opening (Final Destination 5)

Final Destination 5 is a horror thriller movie and always leaves the audience questioning what will happen next. The opening 4/5 minutes shows a lot and what we have in store for us.

There are many close ups used in the opening sequence as this is a horror so as a audience we will want to know how the characters react to the events in the movie. In this case the boy who has the vision is left distraught at the end and wondering whether its true. So as the audience we also question whether its true. There's a good use a quick pan of the characters when they are trying to run away from the danger, we can clearly see where they are running and there isn't a lot of space behind them. The frame was set well when the girl was trying to cross the bridge as it was a birds eye view we could see the consequences of falling and we could see her destination. A wider shot has been used in this opening scene to emphasize the chaos going on the bridge and has a more dramatic feeling to the scene.

There's been a good use of sound effects used from the very beginning, we can hear the builders working, then it leads to the cracks in the bridge, and slowly we can hear and see everything fall a part which causes the gap in the bridge. We can also hear the cars screeching and crashing which indicates a accident and danger. As the audience we are horrified to hear the screaming, it indicates danger. We can hear all sorts of sound effects, when they are running quick and breathing quick, when the glass smashes of the coach, we see it as a big impact. We are left in silence when there was a crucial moment, when the girl was trying to cross the bridge, it was silent because we didn't know whether she would cross safely, we left in suspense, all these sound affects are a good use of non-diegetic sound, also the mood of the background music which is non-diegetic as helps set the scene and create a mood and atmosphere within the audience. We also hear diegetic sound which comes from the characters voice, it helps tell the story and create more emotion- when we hear the screams we sense fear.

A good visual effect that has been used is the blood that we see, knowing that the events scene aren't shot as the same we see. The extreme use of blood makes the audience horrified and left wondering what might be next as it happens so early on in the movie. Most of the filming of this opening scene is probably CGI (computer generated imaging) because the scene we watch would be impossible to create as we cant actually physically break a bridge and cause this much commotion in real life. It also helps create a horrific scene, something the viewers may find disturbing but will still want to continue watching as they are intrigued by the effects used.

The scene is set on the bridge, which can be a dangerous as its so high up, so we get a sense of fear. Most parts in the opening scene we are always left in suspense not knowing what will happen next but also the atmosphere is fearful and danger, fearing for the characters. The clothing the characters are wearing make them look like normal, everyday kids you see going on a school trip, they all seem innocent- which is the main objective of a thriller, its something we will never understand. The villain going after innocent people without a meaning, and this idea about thrillers is presented well in Final Destination 5.

There are many good usage of cut away shots, for example when the characters are looking at something bad, we are cut away to see what they are seeing. Looking at the opening scene I would assume that majority of the filming has been done over a green screen and most of the effects have been edited. For example when she falls on the pole and it comes through and their blood gushing out everywhere- it would be definitely impossible to create in real life with editing in effects. Each shot has been correctly selected and been put a correct order so that it leaves us anticipating for more and as each shot leads to the next event.