T.M. The Ring (2002, Verbinski) Opening Sequence Analysis

The Ring (2002, Verbinski) Opening Sequence Analysis

Genre

•  The American adaptation of ‘The Ring’ is in the subgenre physiological horror.
• The movie also includes elements of supernatural, suspense, thriller and mystery, which are evident during the opening sequence; for example its conventional increase of built tension through the use of silence and the audiences’ expectation of impending doom.

Form and Style of Opening

• The scene opens with an establishing shot with very low key lighting. Although the dark tone is stereotypically chilling, the homely environment allows the audience to have a false sense of comfort and protection. This technique then allows suspense to be constructed because the audience have a sense of foreboding due to the knowledge that an inevitable scare is expected, however it cannot be anticipated when the shock is coming.

Film Language- telling the story

• The two characters clothing suggests innocence and vulnerability from their school uniform. Ideologically easy targets for potential antagonists within a horror film. 
• The location of the opening scene is set at the protagonists’ home, which encourages the audience to feel relaxed, due to the reassuring environment. However the lack of white noise, accompanied by just dialogue and rain then emphasizes the intended enhanced sounds such as the ringing of the phone, unsettling the audience and creating tension.
• As tension builds with in the scene, the shot variation increases, finalized with an extreme close up; showing exaggeration of the female protagonists facial expressions, which conventionally portrays a feeling of dread and fear. 

Narrative 

• The audience are positioned with the two female protagonists, Katie, in particular. She is given screen prevalence, and we experience occurrences through Katie, such as the discovery of the mysterious video tape and the liquid running from under the upstairs door. 
• The tension during these scenes are maintained through the numerous false foreboding stock situations, for example Katie's scare on her friend by clutching her neck, as well as the ring of the phone, resulting in the call being from her mother. This constantly puts the audience on edge  due to the unpredictability of when the unavoidable horrors will arise. 

Representation & Ideology 

• The opening scene represents the two protagonists as stereotypical females within the horror film genre. The ideological discourse of women being vulnerable and powerless holds true during this film from the supernatural force which is menacing the teenagers. 
• The teenagers activities are represented as a very residual ideology, for example the girls both sit on the bed and tease each other with horror stories whilst discussing their promiscuity. 
• Their topics of conversation are again, a dominant stereotype of teenagers as the impression is given that the characters live a hedonistic lifestyle. For instance 'Me and Josh saw it last weekend.' 'I thought you were with your parents!' 

Media Audiences   

• The specific target audience for a psychological horror films tend to be male teenagers because of their curiosity and daring nature, resulting in wanting to watch this genre of movie due to their mystery and adrenaline factor. However The Ring generated an audience of mostly females. This was likely due to the female lead (Naomi Watts) in the movie which may have alienated men.