Silence of the Lambs opening scene analysis

In the opening sequence of the ‘Silence of the Lambs’ there is a woman running around a scarily looking and foggy woods. From this atmosphere and the typical low-key thriller music you can tell this will be a horror/thriller. The scene really makes you think she is in danger from the mise en scene.

Through out this first scene you get the opening title’s fading in and out, this is put in so you know who worked for this film, etc. The amplified noise of her breath and feet rushing through the leaves makes a false sense of danger. From this you see that she challenges the typical girly stereotype because she’s very sporty and dominant (to carry on running and not have breaks). You think she is getting followed but then you hear that her name being called and she stops, and a man with an FBI hat tells her to go to n office to see someone. When she see’s this man the eerie atmosphere and music stops and it is apparent that it was only an assault course and not her being followed on her morning jog. She then gets into the building and when she gets into a lift she is surrounded by big men, but it suggests she may be smaller but she still has some sort of power. She then walks past a plate on a wall when she is on the way to the office she meant to be going to which says ‘Behavioral Sciences’. She gets in and she looks round and there is close up shots of her face looking scared when she see’s pictures of a dead body with a lot of gore.

From all of this you can clearly see it’s a psychological thriller and that something might happen to her, which results in her fighting for her life. This scene really sets the scene really well especially with the music and strange shots of the woods.