Todorov's Narrative Theory

Todorov believed that every story started with an equilibrium, this means that it is a stable condition in which contrasting forces cancel one another, therefore it is balanced. However, this would soon be interrupted by an event which would then lead on to other events occurring. Eventually there would be an attempt to resolve it so that this will lead onto a new equilibrium. 

Codes and Conventions of the horror genre and sub-genre

Conventions of the horror genre

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The purpose of a horror film is to make the audience feel disconcerted and so therefore this is done through the conventions of a typical horror film. Whilst watching horror films the audience will experience an adrenaline rush because the horror genre creates anxiety and shock; it summons the audiences' fear onto screen because the inconceivable is happening right in front of them. Moreover, horror films also tend to end in an unforeseen way that would astonish the audience and so this therefore is another convention that attracts audiences to the horror genre. Screaming is also an effective convention of a horror genre as a character's scream is a signifier of death and therefore alarms the audience because the screams pierces the audiences' ears and this makes them feel even more uncomfortable. Furthermore, in horror films, chase sequences are used nearly all the time as it builds up the terror within the audience because of the fast pace of the chase; during this time the uncertainty of the character's fate is what makes the audience feel nervous.

Opening Title Sequence of Alien

Here is the link to the opening title sequence of Alien: http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/05/14/feature-alien-quadrilogy-analysis/

The title sequence of the film 'Alien' makes the audience feel uncomfortable and they are also kept in suspense, this is reflected in the music, editing, mise-en-scene and the camera movement. 

The music used in this opening title sequence is eery and distorted making it more mysterious. In the background there is distorted high pitch noises this makes it feel more spine-chilling and adds to the affect of a horror movie. As the music goes on the tempo and volume increases; the drums speed up and eventually all the instruments are playing this builds up tension for the film and it is foreboding in a way because the aliens are mysterious and spine-chilling. 
At beginning of the title sequence the audience are presented with stars, a ray of light and a planet from outer space, this gives the audience the clue the film is about something unusual and not from the ordinary world.

During the opening sequence all the names of the creators of the film come from the centre and this is also foreboding because the parasitic pupae of the alien comes from the centre of people. 
Moreover, the name 'Alien' is in big, bold letters and this may emphasise the fact that the film revolves around aliens and nothing else. The letters of 'Alien' one at a time, this is effective because it leaves the audience guessing what the shapes mean because at first the detached letters look like symbols and this makes it more mysterious. 

The use of the white and simple texts gives nothing away. it is very minimalistic; this is very different from other horror films because normally the typography of the opening sequences are in red text. The use of the minimalistic text and the music makes the opening title sequence more mysterious because the audience does not know what to expect. 

In this title sequence there are no close-ups, extreme close-ups, long shots, medium shots; it is only a panning movement of the camera and this makes the audience wonder where to look and where the camera is going to lead them.

Opening Title Sequence of Blade II

The typography of the opening credits reflects a horror film as many horror films has the same red writing in their opening title sequences. Moreover, the voice over explains the background story of the film; the voice is deep and dark sounding, this type of voice creates a mystery. Whilst the character is talking he uses many short sentences and this adds tension to the film because it is straight to the point and it makes the audience listen to him. 
At the beginning of the title sequence, there is a close-up on metal chains, bullets, weapons and the extremely sharp blade, this foreshadows the violence that will happen in the film. When the baby is shown, it is covered in a lot of blood, this is shown at the same time as the voice over says 'half human, half vampire', this reflects the human monster. 
The fast swipes of the blade makes the audience confused as to where to look and this can make them feel scared because the audience may feel like the blade is swiping out towards them. Also, during the whole titles sequence it is mainly dark colours  and the audience is not shown the full picture, leaving them to fit the pieces together, this is typical of most horrors. 

Opening Title Sequence of Dawn of the Dead

In the opening title sequence of Dawn of the Dead the typography reflects the horror in the film; the way the names spiral out can reflect the veins of humans and the red writing could represent the blood and gore of the film. The non-diegetic music of Johnny Cash is too up-beat for the footage and this creates an unsettling and spine-chilling feel for the audience as it is an unexpected choice of music as it isn't the usual choice for a horror film. Also, the sounds of the screams and the news reports show the audience it is a world-wide pandemic and shows how much chaos there is in the world at the time. 
Moreover, the use of the news footage throughout the opening titles makes the horror seem real, and makes the audience feel that they are watching the news themselves and as if it is happening to them. Also, there are many shots where it is blackness, this conveys the genre of horror because it foreshadows that you never know what will happen next. There are also many quick shots during the title sequence, this gives the audience brief pictures therefore making them feel that everything is happening so fast that they have no time to think. 
The close-ups and the establishing shots shows the audience what is happening, the close-up of the zombies would make them feel terrified because it would make them feel very close to the zombie and therefore making them vulnerable.