Introducing Enigma in Opening Scenes - 'Scream'

'Scream'

There’s a man with a deep mysterious voice calling a girl multiple times. This leaves the audience with questions: who is this man? why is he calling? This creates enigma.

In addition to this, the girl who is being called is home alone in a house that looks deserted with no one around which makes the opening more enigmatic.

The close up steady shot of the stove being turned on, the popcorn being made and the wide shot of the knives on the table makes the audience question things such as what’s about to happen next and makes them think about danger. The girl playing with the knives while discussing horror movies with a stranger foreshadows what is to come and creates more enigma and intrigue for the audience. The over the shoulder/tracking shot draws the audience into the scene even more and gives adds more fear factor as its almost like the audience is in the house with the girl, creating more intrigue.

The voice on the phone says to the girl “I want to know who I’m looking at”. This is extremely enigmatic and makes the audience eager to find out what happens next

Sound - there is little to no sound which makes the audience feel more on edge as there could be an upcoming disruption/jump scare. Eerie music starts to play as the girl gets more scared, the audience knows that they’re one step closer to finding out who the man is.

There are so many questions being unanswered which creates more enigma and forces the audience to keep watching the narrative unfold

The narrative has been structured to not unfold straight away which creates more suspense and enigma along the way. The iconography such as the popcorn burning and the knives being played with are all used to symbolise the the narrative and give signs that something bad is going to happen which engages the audience more.