'Turf' - Thriller Opening Sequence Analysis

This sequence follows a man wearing a hoodie, through a council flat. The man is clearly determined as he walks up a flights of stairs, carrying a baseball bat, carelessly dragging it along behind him. When he reaches a specific house, he rings the doorbell and waits. As the door is opened he swings the bat and on impact the shot cuts to the title 'Turf'.

From the opening sequence I imagine the film to be set in an urban estate dealing with the rivalry between gangs over their neighborhood and how they assert authority. The man has either been order to do what he does, or is out for revenge. This title sequence suggests lots of violence and conflict between criminals in a low income estate.


I believe the casting was very appropriate, the man appeared old enough to commit such a violent act, yet young enough to be in the crime, gang scene. he looked around 25, made to look slightly younger by the costume with a hoodie. It was believable that this man would be in this situation. His body language and expression conveyed the violence and sense that this man means business and you wouldn't mess with him.


This man is a very mysterious and shady character, he creates lots of enigma, thus drawing us in. As there is no dialogue throughout the sequence just simply ambient diegetic sound of sirens, the baseball bat, and his footsteps. There is no dialogue to reveal anything about this character. We merely base our judgement on his costume, his gesture, and his actions. We can tell this man is violent, and determined. He shows no hesitation whatsoever when making his way to the flat of his victim. This is clearly a regular occurrence in his world and he has little fear, because of it.

The sequence consists mostly of static tripod shots, of the actor, occasionally cutting away to close ups on spider webs, windows and walls in the council estate, illustrating the lower class urban setting. these static shots are very affective in building tension. In my opinion the occasional pan shots featured that track with the hooded character as he turns a corner almost break this tension. cutting from static to moving shots doesn't always work in a sequence such as this. I believe it breaks the realism of the scene, and reminds us that there is someone operating the camera.
I find the go pro shot from inside the bag interesting. It is simply a creative POV shot, that adds another dimension to the scene. The handheld movement conveys an unstable atmosphere, and things are about to turn bad. This is also true for the close up handheld shot at the end of the sequence. We know there is impending danger from the instability and shakiness of the camera.



This sequence features no music, which I believe is an effective decision. It is very real, as we only here the diegetic sound in the scene. The sound of sirens reinforces the bad neighborhood setting, and further builds tension as the sound increases in volume through out the sequence.