Scream Opening

The opening of scream is has a huge instant impact on it audience, mainly because it breaks Syd Fields narraticve structure theory so blaintantly. Drew Barrymore during the marketing, for example in the poster, was set up as the main character of film especially as she was the most well known actress in this production. However, the fact she dies in the first 10 minutes of the film is very unconventional and therefore shocking to the audience. It is "scarier" due to the facdt that audiences would not expect there to be a death in a thriller movie in the opening scene, allowing this movie to create added fear due to a break of conventions. The film does however stick to some genre conventions as she is a blonde sex symbol, who screams for her boyfriend.

The actual scenes are very scary but also very possible. Having someone break into your house, and then not being able to escape is something that could happen to anyone, and as the events are plausible and domestic, there is a certian realistic atmosphere. The fact the killer is not seen, as for the first part of the scene we only hear his voice over the telephone, is also distressing as we do not know what to expect, thus making his first entrance even more shocking.

The comic aspect of the film can be seen in the dialogue, and quips about the thriller genre. The most effective part of this opening sequence in my opinion is how the credits are not shown at all in the opening scene, allowing the audience to focus solely on the action and the horror