Opening credits over some extremely foggy shots of San Francisco.

Jessica Shepard (Ashley Judd) is being held at knifepoint by a man whispering in her ear and groping her breast. At the last moment, Jessica hurls the man to the ground and beats him up, calling for back-up from her partner on the walkie. After handcuffing the suspect, Jessica administers a brutal kick to his face which knocks him out cold.

The opening credits sequence is crucial to any film, and can provide hidden insights in the story to come. In the case of Twisted, we are presented with several dreary, unclear images of San Francisco that not only convey the setting, but give the audience a clue as to how dreary and unclear the narrative is going to be. Some essential elements to note in this sequence:

• Fog - Symbolizing the mystery surrounding this story; for example, what city we're supposed to be in.
• San Francisco - A city known for its gay population; not straight, in other words, "twisted."
• Jazzy trumpet music - Suggesting a classic noir aspect to this film; also, an instrument with a very "twisted" shape.
• Seals - Possible suspects? Consider the possibility of a twist ("twisted") ending.

When we first meet Jessica Shepard, she has a knife pressed to her throat. Seeing as knives (along with cameras and guns) have always been classic phallic symbols in film, it is obviously being suggested that Jessica spends a lot of time with a penis pressed against her throat; this sexual practice could be seen as quite "twisted." Also, since there is clearly a camera on Jessica right now, we can only speculate as to who might be pointing a gun at her right now, but it's probably someone from Paramount Pictures holding Ashley Judd's contract in the other hand.

After appearing to be in mortal danger, however, Jessica easily flips her opponent onto the ground and delivers a crushing stomp to his genitals, indicating her violent relationship with sex. Remarkably, although Judd has built a career on being simultaneously tough and sexy, in Twisted she demonstrates amazing versatility by appearing to have never held a gun or looked in a mirror before in her life.