The Others is an intriguing, frightening film full of suspense created by Cruise-Wagner productions. The opening scene is from graces viewpoint. The silence then sudden screaming in the beginning is shocking as it was not expected. The glooming fog covering the mansion as we see in the establishing shot suggests that the house contains a mystery. In this essay I will be looking at the opening scene for mise-en-scene, sound ;camera shots and how it creates an eerie atmosphere.
Mise-en-scene
The first thing we see is an establishing shot showing the mansion. The fog surrounding it makes the house dark and gloomy .the denotation is a house in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and fog. The connotation is the fog implies it is holding a secret and the dark , gloomy atmosphere creates a scary feeling. The fog is an example of pathetic fallacy which shows secrecy and a gloomy ambience.
The director put the writing at the bottom to create a more spooky atmosphere as Jersey is an minute island which suggests they are all alone and 1945 is just after the war . The director wants to create a frightening atmosphere from the very beginning to make the audience at the edge of their seats and make them tense.
Sound
The opening scene start with non-diegetic music which sounds like a lullaby and makes the audience relaxed. Grace speaks soothingly making the viewer let down their guard. The sudden blood curdling scream makes the viewer jump and makes grace who is screaming in her sleep an unreliable protagonist and mad. The director has shown this from the very beginning to make the viewer exited, scared and on the edge of their seats. She is probably screaming from the horrible, gruesome, sickening incident of her smothering her children with a pillow and shooting herself.
Camera shots
When we first see Grace the camera is close up to her face. The camera is held sideways to make it look like she is standing up, but the pillow makes you know she is lying down. This creates a disorientated effect on the viewer. The camera rotates so we can see her lying down and zooms out to a head and shoulders shot then to a medium shot. The camera rotating suggest she is coming around from killing herself

All three of these film language make the viewer exited and in the edge of