Thriller Film Inspirations

As part of the research I must conduct, I have analysed scenes from films that fall into the thriller genre and kept note of such analysis as inspiration for my own thriller opening. This will ensure that the final production create will be conventional to the thriller genre so that it is appealing to my target audience. Below are the thriller films I have looked at over time, taking note of what I may want to incorporate in my own production.

No Country For Old Men

The opening scene of ‘No Country For Old Men’ begins with an establishing shot of the setting, showing the location of the scene to be deserted and far from civilisation. This therefore, adds the victims’ vulnerability as there are helpless when under threat of the antagonist as there is nowhere to hide or no one to help. This is conventional within the thriller genre as this makes both the victim and audience feel vulnerable as they are unable to identify a method of escape.

When the villain has been caught by the police, the camera zooms into police officer. The use of cinematography is suggestive of something happening to the police officer as this shot isolates him from the rest of the frame and therefore makes him vulnerable. As the victim is getting closer to the audience, this makes them feel on edge and builds tension. The shallow focus shot blurs the antagonist in the background and therefore the audience are unable to identify what he is doing, building suspense. This shot both highlights the vulnerability of the victim and the potential threat of the antagonist, making the audience feel on edge.

When the antagonist is killing the police officer, there are many straight cuts that have been edited to create quick transitions between them. This creates a chaotic atmosphere and is representative of the antagonist’s mind set as being out of control. The fast paced editing also highlights the struggle and panic of the victim which makes the audience feel uncomfortable. Also, his facial expressions show the antagonist's lack of sanity making the audience feel uncomfortable and threatened by him, as he appears to deviate from what is considered normal, making him more unpredictable.

The antagonist is wearing a black costume, a conventional aspect of the thriller genre. This is because the colour black connotes evil and darkness, representing the character he is. However his identity isn't hidden, opposing the convention of thrillers as this creates an enigma as to who the villain is.

 By analysing the scene from ‘No Country for Old Men’ I have gained research that will benefit the planning of my own thriller opening. I feel this opening reveals the antagonist’s identity too early within the film and will therefore plan to create an enigma for the audience as to who the villain is when creating my own thriller. This is a convention of the thriller genre and I feel it will be effective in engaging the audience to my opening as it builds suspense.

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Shutter Island

From the long shot used, the audience are able to establish that the location of the narrative takes place on an isolated island. Isolated locations are often used in thriller films as it intensifies the characters that are there, as there is a lack of human interaction which appears irregular and disturbing as it appears that everything external or civilised is cut off. Isolated locations are also key in limiting chances of escape and therefore entrap the victim, thus making them more vulnerable. This encouraged the audience to build a relationship with the victim and therefore the audience are prone to feeling vulnerable themselves when the victim threatened.

In the scene in which the protagonists are entering the complex on Shutter Island, diegetic sound is used when the doors of the mental hospital open. By using such sound, this creates an eerie atmosphere as it suggests to the audience that is isolated and desolate. In turn, the location appears more peculiar as it suggests that there has been a lack of human interaction within it, thus making the characters isolated as well. The sound itself is very high pitched and spooky, which may disturb the audience, making them feel on edge. This is inspirational to my own production as the film has incorporated a convention that effectively manipulates the audience’s emotions, thus making them engaged in the narrative.

Shutter Island uses conventional iconography as weapons are evident as well as blood. Such iconography is used for two main reasons; to reflect the violent narrative and to make the audience feel uncomfortable. Blood and weapons suggest to the audience that the narrative is violent, which in turn makes the audience feel on edge due to the suggested threat on the victim.

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