Analysis of a psychological horror film opening- The Shining

The film's title sequence opens with a long, establishing shot of a beautiful, picturesque lake, surrounded by trees and mountains. this shot is used to show the location and how isolated everything is; not one house is shown, nor any other cars.
The camera is then moved and positioned at a high angle to follow this one car as it drives in the direction of the mountains, seemingly away from everyone and everything else. There is a sinister note about this following of this car in particular; its as if we as an audience are doing the protagonist's job of stalking whoever is in the car. The use of sound adds to this sinister atmosphere, subconsciously telling the audience that there is something wrong going on here. This contrasts with the use of the beautiful scenery, giving the impression that amidst all of this beauty, something dark and sinister is lurking.
The use of sound and the music used also contributes to the theme of isolation and loneliness, with the hollow, monotonous sounds. However, the monotonous sounds also create a rising tension when the camera is following the car, as the audience can understand that something sinister is going to happen sooner or later.
The opening sequence is shot in broad daylight, which isn't conventional of a horror film at all. a conventional horror film would be shot in a dark setting, maybe someone driving in the dark. But this use of the non-diagetic sound combined with the use of daylight, gives the scene, again a sinister and scary atmosphere, but also creates a sense of security for the audience, as they may not see the following narrative coming.
Lauren.