‘The Boy’ Opening Scene AnalysisLAURA NEALE

As the film begins, there are a few close ups of children’s toys. However the toys are things like clowns that typically, the viewer would find quite creepy. It is made more creepy by that fact that although there are children’s toys, there are no children playing with them, and so the viewer is already put on edge as they wonder why. The lighting is also quite low in the close ups, again creating an eerie feel. The music is played on a piano in a minor key, helping to create unease and suspense, aided by the violins that come in every now and again.

The scene then changes to an establishing shot of a road, and a black cab drives past. As it goes past the camera, the shot changes to an aerial shot of the cab, followed a long shot of the cab entering a forest. There is also a few shots of the characters in the cab – for example a close up of the driver’s eyes in the mirror. The lady in the cab spots him looking at her, and it makes her uncomfortable, therefore making us uncomfortable as well. The music also carries on from the previous scene, creating a sound bridge.

There is then more shots of the children’s toys, still with low lighting, and the music carries on from the scenes before creating another sound bridge. Then, there are a series of match cuts with the driver reaching for the gate, the gate unlocking, and then him opening the gate.

There is then an establishing shot of the castle, and also a tilt upwards of the castle when the lady gets out of the car.

When the lady enters the house, the non diegetic music is still playing, but we can also hear the diegetic sound of a clock ticking, which adds to the suspense. There is closed framing when there is a shot of her through the stairs, as the bars on the stairs look like bars that are trapping her in. There are lots of long, slow tracking shots of her walking around the house and up the stairs, and there is a close up of her reflection in the eye of a taxidermy animal, which gives the audience the impression that although she seems to be alone, she is being watched.

As she continues walking up the stairs, the music builds slightly, and there are sudden changes in pitch, making the audience feel uneasy. There are lots of slow pans and tracking shots throughout to help build suspense, and the last shot of the opening is of a portrait of a mother, father and a boy, who, we assume, the title of the film ‘The Boy’ is referring to.