CK : Title Sequence Analysis - The Mist (Darabont, 2007)

 

• Mise-en-scene is used in this clip to give an eerie and unsettling tone to the beginning of the film.
• The clip is set at night, and there is a storm going on outside the house in which the scene is set. The night, and the aural motif of the storm are typical conventions of horror and so it already creates a feeling of unease within the audience.
• There are paintings of monsters on the wall of the house, which appear to be coming through doorways. The idea of monsters coming through doors is very relevant to the film because this is what the plot is based around.
• In the last few seconds of the sequence we see the family descend into what appears to be a basement or cellar, which are commonly associated with cold, darkness and horror films in general.

• Sound is also used in this clip. At the start of the sequence there is diegetic old fashioned Jazz music in the background, which actually has a very unsettling effect because it is quite upbeat and happy and so it contrasts and is asynchronous with the creepy atmosphere of the scene.
• As well as this when there is a power cut and the music stops the silence is all the more ominous and effective.
• There is also no dialogue in this sequence, which helps to add an eerie tone.
•  When the family are walking into the basement the sound their footsteps can be heard on the creaky floor boards, this is also a typical convention of horror.

• Camerawork is used to slowly reveal the set at two points in this sequence.
• Firstly when the camera crabs across a room to reveal the painter and secondly when the camera tracks out from the outside to reveal the family looking out of the window.
• The way that the scene is revealed so slowly creates suspense and tension within the audience.