Almost every first act of a film is about a character leaving their normal life behind and journeying into an unfamiliar world.
In horror films, that world is full of death, chaos, and madness, and the characters must find a way to survive.
But the descent into the horrifying world of the film doesn’t happen right away. Instead, the first act is all about building tension and dread, allowing the audience to ease into the horror rather than being thrust into it. The power of the initial journey allows the audience to become familiar with the world before we must escape its horror. No horror movie did this better than the horror classic, Ringu.
What makes a successful first act in a horror film? Accented Cinema breaks down the first act of this Japanese horror classic, and how it eases the audience into the horror of the movie. Let’s break it down.
Author: Alyssa Miller
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
