Folk Horror Opening Scenes - Detailed Analysis

The first opening scene from the folk horror sub-genre I will be looking at is from 'Midsommar', directed by Ari Aster.

'Midsommar'

• the film immediately starts with ethereal music that suggests something otherworldly
• the first shot is of a detailed, seemingly ancient, tapestry, detailing a ceremony and religious symbols 
• a maypole is included in this tapestry, a prop that is part of the iconography of folk horror films and is immediately recognisable and identifiable to the viewer 
• other props, costumes and symbols on the tapestry reflect the iconography of the sub-genre and hint at the conventional narrative of folk horror films, which inevitably ends with sacrifice
• there is a wipe transition to an extreme long shot of a snowy forest, an isolated setting very typical of folk horror films 
• a mournful ballad, almost like ancient singing, plays over the top of a series of establishing shots of the isolated location
• the final part of the opening scene features audio of a phone call whilst the camera pan's across the rooms in a house where unknown deceased characters are shown - introduces the common theme of death and gives the protagonist a purpose/reason to go on the 'fish-out-of-water' narrative journey

The second opening scene from the folk horror sub-genre I will be looking at is from 'The Wicker Man', directed by Robin Hardy.

'The Wicker Man' 

• the film immediately starts with a sun symbol that has connotations of religion, Paganism or rituals, and is a very typical symbol that occurs often in folk horror films
• the establishing shots of a plane travelling on water are suggestive of the isolated setting, a very typical location in folk horror films
• the opening montage of the plane and the remote location foreground the sub-genre's conventional 'fish-out-of-water' narrative
• the images are accompanied by an ancient Celtic song played throughout the opening sequence
• a series of dissolves are used to show how far away the setting is from the mainland, therefore far from help or regular civilisation

The third opening scene from the folk horror sub-genre I will be looking at is from 'The Blood on Satan's Claw', directed by Piers Haggard.

'The Blood on Satan's Claw' 

• the film begins with a canted framed shot of a rural scene clearly set in the 17th century, the angle instantly suggesting something unusual or untoward to the audience 
• the rural, misty isolated settings are instantly recognisable locations in folk horror films, as are the costumes
• a man and his horse stumble along some bones and an eye buried in the dirt, foreshadowing the violence that is to come, and suggestive of some form of sacrifice, a set-piece typical of folk horror films
• sinister, unsettling music (almost comical in tone) creates a sense of foreboding
• images of animals are shown, typical symbols of macabre nature that are common in folk horror films
• the credits play over images of plants and nature, typical iconography of the sub-genre