A Horror Film Title Sequence Analysis

The Omen (1976) title sequence analysis

The Omen was written by David Seltzer and directed by Richard Donner. Many deaths with mysterious circumstances follow American ambassador ‘Robert Thorn’ played by Gregory Peck, all signs point towards his son Damien as being the human incarnation of the anti-Christ.

Immediately the sequence begins with the ominous, non-diegetic sound of high pitched piano notes being played followed by an old fashioned renaissance choir. This instantaneously sets the eerie  tone of the film for the audience and since it start so abruptly it shocks the audience and causes them to be curious of what the choir is singing, and because Latin is a dead language the director uses peoples fear of the unknown to his advantages in order to frighten audiences around the world. The mixture of deep and angelic voices in the choir helps the viewer link the film to religion and the fight between good versus evil or heaven versus hell. This link to religion is also a link to the popular convention of horror, which is making the antagonist a demon, trying to cause havoc and distress in the mortal world    

Furthermore, there is a medium shot of a child shaped shadowy figure slowly appears in the top right corner of the frame matching the rise in volume and fidelity of the music with what is happening on screen. The blood red puddle connotes pain, suffering and death within the film, and the tombstone in the shape of a Catholic cross that slowly appears suggests that over the course of the film events gradually escalate, becoming more horrific and extreme, with a number of mysterious deaths. This makes the audience feel helpless because they can anticipate what is coming but have no idea how, when, where or who and this lead to frustration because they can’t do anything about it and just have to watch the plot unfold to the characters in the film.

Finally, the low key, special effects lighting portrays evils as dominant in the film as blackness consumes most of the frame except for what the viewer can only assume is the antagonist, who is surrounded by dark red with the likeness of blood, suggesting that death surrounds this child like figure. The viewer feels trapped and overwhelmed, like there is no escape from the immoral happenings that are about to take place. There is no bright light at the end of theoretical this tunnel.