Ghost Ship Intro Scene Analysis

In lesson 4, We started to learn about analysis of films and scenes from movies. We fully analysed the first scene of the horror movie 'Ghost Ship' and how the director created the opening scene to grab the audience's attention and keep them gripped to the film:

1. The title screen is very deceiving , making the film appear as a light hearted romance rather than a scary horror film.
2. This opening scene features a lot of intertextuality , where one film references another (blatant titanic references with the ship)
3. This opening scene features a lot of pathetic fallacy with the dark and dreary clouds.
4. The camera doesn't stray from the lighting for 4 shots in a row, foreshadowing the deaths at the end of the intro.
5. The woman wearing red connotes danger and violence, stands out and is elevated above everyone on the stage, foreshadowing that she is one of the killers in the film. There is also a mural of a siren behind her, the greek mythological creature which lured men to their deaths, foreshadowing again that she is a killer.
6. The eyeline match between the woman in red and the man in green foreshadows that they know each other and are working together.
7. The man in green is at the centre of the shot, showing he may be a main character or antagonist with his demeaning nature and physically threatening appearance backing this up.
8. The camera follows the man in green for very long, keeping him in focus and in the centre of the frame to show the audience that he plays a key role in the narrative .
9. The slicing of the camera by different actors and props foreshadow the way everyone dies in the ending of the intro to the film.
10. Flowers appear in the shot where we see the little girl for the first time. This shows the innocence and youth of the little girl. As well as this , she is playing with a toy , the ultimate symbol of innocence so when we see her get injured or died, we will feel a lot more passionate towards the death.
11. The camera shot doesnt stray away from the top deck of the ship, foreshadowing the deaths on top of the deck.
12. The gold , warm lighting quickly turns to blue , cold lighting to foreshadow the deaths happening soon and to show the life draining from their bodies.
13. The Wide camera angles rapidly change to close up shots of passenger's faces , to focus on their facial expressions as they go from joy and happiness to realisation and horrific pain
14. Shots are very quick and rapid, amping up the tension and atmosphere till the climax of the intro.
15. The music and singing of the woman in red is muffled to build up tension and to focus on the harsh and unpleasant sounds of the killer starting the killing.
16. The camera focuses on the wire, foreshadowing how everyone will die before the deaths, and the next time we see the wire in focus is after all the deaths.
17. The red blood on the wire gives us another hint that the woman in red is part of this killing as the only other red we see within the opening scene is her red dress.
18. The camera dips below the water once again like it started, making the scene full circle.