The Village

The Village (2004) is a very simplistic opening but I think it's effective in that it creates an eerie atmosphere setting a very uncomfortable feeling for the audience by starting with non-diagetic music slowly being played by a wooden flute giving an earthy impression. This haunting high pitched sound accompanies the low angle panning of tree's branches that fades in extremely slowly, making the audience feel inferior and intimidated by the . M. Night Shyamalan straight away introduced the felling of tension and suspense as the pace is tediously slow.
The element of mystery is created as the dark shot of the branches only sets the location as being in the woods which is also an iconic feature to the thriller genre. The tracking of black branches upon the gloomy grey sky appears to be silhouette, being simplistic and shot with dim lighting all adds to the winter cold mood of the film.

The branches have no leaves which signifies autumn or winter, bad weather being an iconic factor on thrillers, but could also be symbolical to death as the leaves have fallen and there's no sign of life. The parallel non-diagetic sound of a drum inflicts a shock upon the audience when the title 'the village' cuts on the screen. The icy cold white text opposes the harsh black background signifying the element of good and evil. The rest of the titles dissolve and appear to be weaving between the branches, along with the different angled shots of the branches implies the feeling to audience that they're lost in the woods, being vulnerable to danger.