10 Greatest Opening Shots From Recent Movies
9. X
Ti West's X ensured horror fans knew they were in good hands from its striking opening image.
The very first shot is of a police car pulling up to a Texas farmhouse, and initially it appears that West has filmed the shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio, seemingly in homage to the classic 1970s exploitation films it's cleared indebted to.
However as the cop car pulls up, West moves his camera to reveal that the "black bars" at the side are actually barn doors, and so as the camera exits the barn the full, modern, widescreen ratio reveals itself.
It's a fantastic statement of intent from the outset, and like The Batman's opening shot isn't particularly ostentatious yet has clearly had a lot of thought put into it.
Less genre-savvy viewers could miss it entirely, but if you're a horror buff it surely gave you a chuckle right out of the gate.