Horror Genre Reasearch - Titles

 

Horror Genre - Titles

 

 

The purpose of a title sequence is to credit all of the cast and crew from the film in a short sequence at the beginning of the film. These often work by playing a short sequence of the film, introducing the key themes and characters, while text plays across the screen, with all those involved in the film being shown by name and their job. Horror films use these in the same way as other genres of film, but they also use this sequence to introduce some of the key themes and characters of the film, as well as the over all tone.

A key example of this type of title sequence is seen in The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980), which reveals very little about the plot and characters of the film itself, but helps to establish the dark and sinister tone of the film, as well as the themes of isolation and seclusion seen throughout it. This is done with the wide angle tracking shot following a car driving through the mountains, with deep ominous music playing in the background, setting the tone to the audience from the opening scene. While this continues, the names of the cast and crew appears on screen, as well as the company's involved in it.
      

Another example of a horror title sequence is The Cabin In The Woods (Drew Goddard, 2011), which uses a different approach, introducing all the key characters in this time, with the text coming across the screen also. It begins with animations of demonic rituals, which are being covered in blood, while menacing music plays in the background. This is then abruptly cut to a sequence with all the main characters being introduced, helping to give context to the audience, while also setting the tone from the menacing sequence at the beginning.  

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-cabin-in-the-woods/