Resident Evil Opening Analysis

By Connor Cummings

Throughout the opening scene of resident evil, the use of camera effects, and sounds help develop meaning and to keep the viewers attention. At the very beginning of the scene, We are only shown a woman’s high heels. The slow, ped up camera shot along with the tense, non-diegetic background music helps create suspense and an eerie atmosphere as it leaves the viewer to guess what could possibly happen next. The use of colour is significant in the opening shot as her red shoes connotes blood and the lines in her tights looks like veins which symbolises a potential threat. It is also a powerful first shot because the audience are shown very little but what they are shown is in detail and this helps to build tension

The music plays a key part in establishing the genre of the film as its eery/tense sound immediately informs the audience that they are watching a thriller. This creates a dark and unsettled mood. The editing is very effective in the beginning scene. When the character in focus is being established, the scenes are constantly being cut to different angles to increase the curiosity of the audience who are trying to see this character for the first time. An example of this is when the slow ped up shot is being shown, the camera reaches the woman’s waist and the camera angle changes to a birds eye shot to further increase mystery on who this person is. The birds eye view shot is effective as it singles out the character even though there are many people moving in the shot. It also establishes the character as being different from others. The umbrellas are a connotation/symbol of protection from the rain and it is significant that she doesn't have an umbrella because she doesn't need protection as she is later shown to be the villain. The meaning that is created by having a solitary female in the middle of moving action and who you only get to see slowly, suggests that in the middle of everything that is ordinary, there is someone that is hidden and possibly very sinister. At first we think this woman is lost and vulnerable however as the scene progresses our assumptions are altered.

The slow-motion in this opening sequence is very effective as it helps to distort reality and gives the female a very sinister presence. The slow-motion also helps to prolong the scene and this increases

the suspense as the audience are continuously trying to anticipate what could happen next. The music by this point becomes very distorted and hard to hear. Its monotonous tone along with the way in

which the female moves, indicates to the audience that something is going to happen. The eye line match shot indicates that she has seen someone and this hints that an individual is in danger. The

director has chosen to use cold colours to add to the eerie atmosphere.

We see a male looking at the woman with concern and this makes us assume that he is in danger. Judging by his appearance and clothing, he is a wealthy man and it could be that she is targeting him for a reason. The cut between each person’s facial expressions creates an effective moment because we feel tension building between the two characters. When the female attacks the man, the action speeds up to represent how everything is spiralling out of control. The closeup on the woman shows her inhuman qualities and this makes us question if she is some type of monster.

The birds eye view shot shows the murder from high up and shows her vigorously bitting his neck. This a very gruesome scene to watch and this impacts the audience because we didn't expect such brutality to come from a woman. Throughout this opening, the director has been playing

tricks on the audience and wants us to decide how the opening will unravel.