Opening sequence analysis - Tucker and Dale vs Evil'

Opening sequence analysis on 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil'

Opening sequence analysis on Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Camera - shots and angles: In the opening sequence of Tucker and Dale vs Evil, various camera shots and angles are used such as -


Close ups - Within the first 40 seconds of the opening sequence the audience sees two close ups, one of the killer and one of the deceased. These close ups show how much ruthless damage has been done and shows the killer who looks very dirty, bloody and angry.          

                                                                                            

Medium shot/eye level - In the 58 second of the opening sequence, the camera zooms out to capture the all the people in the car, this middle shot is shot from the waist up, this shows the audience more detail as to who they may be. The same shot also shows eye level as the audience can feel like they are actually sitting in front of the actors.

Extreme Long shot/high angle/Establishing shot - In this shot, the audience is able to see a long shot as a bigger picture is seen of a wide open range of land as well as a high angle as the audience can see from a higher view point where the car is going. This can also be useful for the audience to establish where the scene is shot.

Low Angle - This low angle shot is taken to emphases to the audience about where they have come (gas station) shows a more creepy angle of the place they have come to. This also helps the audience to understand that the group of teens may not have come to the right place.

Wide shot/long shot - This shot has been done to show the full bodies of the people in car as we do not get to see them in full while they are sitting down, this then gives the audience a bigger picture about who they might be.

Editing - 

• At the start when the man gets hit over the head, he drops the camera and the camera makes a fuzzy sound and look, this is done by editing so that it can create a realistic feature of what would happen if you were to drop a camera in real life, that is if it breaks.

• When the title appears, blood is splattered onto the title to create a horror/scary effect on the audience. This is done by editing for special effects to create that authentic horror connotation to the start of the movie.

• When both cars are passing each other, a slow paced tracking shot is used to create tension and fear between the group in their car towards the two in the truck. This also makes the audience seem as though they are also in the scene looking at the two men in the truck meaning that they are able to almost feel the tension themselves.

• Basic editing of scenes being cut into each other creates a nicely flowing scene meaning that the audience won't get bored and are always watching something different in each segment of the scene.

Sounds - 

• Low banging at the start with an eerie buzzing creates a sense of something slowly coming towards the audience. This will then get the audience hyped about what could happen next.

• screaming, running footsteps and the sound of a hit across the head also gives a shock value to the audience and makes them wonder what other surprises there could be and who could it be?.

• muffled and scratchy sound when the camera is dropped makes it seem real towards the audience as that is what generally happens when a camera is dropped. But when dropped you cant necessarily hear the muffled sound and is generally just used a special effect meaning that this is something new that the audience can hear.

• When it says 3 days ago, there is very happy music being played. This maybe to connote that the bad part is still yet to come and that the audience is very slightly getting eased into the scene. this can also be used to get the audience excited about the best bits.

• enigmatic music when the two cars pass each other connotes that something is not right and so the audience can understand that immediately.

Visual: Mise en scene - 

• A presenter is holding a camera, recording the women in a setting of an old abandoned shack, This already signifies conventional features of a horror movie as abandoned shacks and using cameras are highly conventional for horrors.

• Blood is dripping from the man killed in the start of the opening sequence, this connotes that unpleasant surprises are still yet to come and so the audience are on their feet waiting for the next one.

• A non verbal communication between the killer and the audience denotes that he is not playing around and that he may have some sort of dangerous mental problem.

• Low key Lighting is used as it is quite dark most of the time which is very conventional for horrors. The audience 

• props such as weapons, watering pump and old pick up trucks are used to set the scenery perfectly of a southern outback state if America, presumably Texas. The audience can recognise these features and then link it to a southern background and find out where the scene maybe set.

• Modern costumes are worn by the teenagers whereas overhauls and checkered shirts are worn by the "hillbillies", this is so that the audience can understand the characters backgrounds.

Ideologies - 

In the opening sequence, the representation of teens in society carries an ideological perspective that is very conventional. Teenagers representation of misbehaving, having fun, rude is constructed to reflect the values, attitudes and beliefs of society and will impact the ideologies of the target audience.

This representation of teens as rude and misbehaving people connotes that the movie's institution believes that their target audience will be ideologically aligned with their own ideology as the audience will pay to see this movie due to the strong language and adult humor.

Genre - 

There are many elements in the opening sequence which signify the horror genre. elements such as objects; a camera is a conventional use as it creates a more real life feel towards the audience, and weapons such as the one used in the first few seconds of the sequence connote murder and blood. Colour; a very dark black is used in the opening sequence which connotes danger and evil, green in the trees connote quite a mysterious feeling about everything e when the cars pass each other. lastly the location is perfectly set as in the first few seconds the audience is watching two people in an old abandoned shack and also further into the opening sequence the scene is set in the middle of nowhere in quite a western location so that the audience can sense something is not right.

Audience Reception - 

The uses and gratification theory explains the ways in which the audience may take the opening sequence into consideration. This opening sequence could allow the audience to be thoroughly entertained as there is a lot of narrative enigmas and interesting parts which engages with the audience so that they keep wanting to watch on. The audience could also see if some parts such as the teenagers, fit into their identity/form as sense of their own identity, and lastly those that love and engage with the movie can interact with each other meaning they can have more to talk about.

Narrative - 

In the opening sequence of 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil', the audience is able to see that the company has signified possible narrative structures such as todorov's narrative structure; the audience can see that the sequence starts with a disruption and then moves on to a equilibrium signifying that todorov's theory is not correct. The company has also signified that the two "hill billies" may be the protagonists and the teens are the antagonists giving reference to propp's character type. Lastly, many narrative enigma's have been used including some i have mentioned above, such as who are those "hillbillies"?,where are those teens going? 

Here is the trailer of the opening sequence of 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil' -