Opening Sequence 3 - Western/Horror

 

Concept Idea for Opening Sequences

Idea 3

GENRE

The genre for this sequence would be a Western Horror, it's an odd combination but I like the idea of a horror movie in a western setting as it's not a typically 'scary' setting, and that could be fun to explore. The horror aspect is due to the presence of a mysterious killer and suggested disturbing imagery, and the western comes from the setting on a farm supposedly somewhere in the southern states, including typical conventions like horses, cowboy hats, and southern accents.

(a little simpler than this, maybe less cosy)

OVERVIEW

This sequence opens on a young girl leaving her room and going into a living room, she seems to live in a very rural area in a farm due to the style the house is built in, the views from the windows, and the decoration. She cheerfully says good morning in a southern accent to her father, who is sitting at the table having breakfast, he says good morning back in an equally upbeat tone and asks what her plans are for the morning, to which she replies that she is going to check on the horses and feed them, perhaps even going for a ride on one of them later, the father smiles and takes off his cowboy hat to toss to her, which she catches and puts on with a smile - they pretty clearly have a healthy father-daughter relationship and live a happy life. We follow her as she walks to the stables, but as she walks closer, a low buzzing sound begins to be heard, eventually clearly sounding like a large amount of flies. Her facial expression turns slightly concerned as she slows down, she steps into the stable and begins to turn the corner into one of the horse's slots, as the camera turns around this corner following her view, the sound of flies becomes louder and we see a pool of blood begin to appear in the hay on the floor. We now only see her reaction as she turns the corner to presumably see her horse dead, she looks horrified and shocked as she walks a few more steps forward to check on the next slot, only to see the same scene. She quickly puts her hands to her mouth as she gags a little at the smell and sight before running back outside towards the house, she calls out for her father for help to say that something horrible happened to the horses before she quickly slows down again and stops yelling. She shakingly steps towards the house to look through the window, that is now splattered with blood, and at her father at the breakfast table, who is slumped over in a small pool of his own blood completely still. She stares completely frozen in shock through the window just as we see a mysterious tall man turn from around the corner into the shot, his face hidden by the top of the window due to his height. He walks up straight behind her and briefly pauses before snapping her neck (he can just stab/shoot her slightly below the view of the camera if this is too graphic), she falls to the ground, he then crouches down and picks up her hat before placing it on his own head, still with his face just off screen.

THE REST OF THE FILM

The rest of the film would show this mysterious man on his day to day as he terrorises the surrounding towns, slaughtering its animals and residents, stealing distinct items from their clothing. We would mainly follow the small group of authorities from one of the towns trying to discover this man's identity to stop him, the film could cut between the authorities gradually making discoveries about this man or attempts to catch him, and the man's strategies to avoid them and continue his evil deeds.