History of thriller films
Definition of the genre thriller
The thriller genre consists of many elements, such as literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, building up high levels of tension and anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced.
A thriller is meant to provide sudden rushes of emotion, excitement, and exhilaration that drive the narrative aspect of the film, with inconsistent changes in pace to keep the viewer on edge. Literary devices such as cliffhangers are often used. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.
Sub genres of thriller films
- psychological thrillers
- crime thrillers,
- erotic thrillers
- mystery thrillers
- spy thrillers
Critically acclaimed thriller films
According to an IMDB list of the 100 top thrillers (http://www.imdb.com/list/ls009668314/), the toll ranges from swordfish at the number 100 spot, to Pulp fiction at the number 1 spot
Number 1 spot gravity does not target a specific audience compared to that of spring breakers (number 20), therefore that could be the reason for such a huge interest in gravity in comparison. Over 31 million tickets for gravity were sold from the year 2013 onwards compared to spring breakers which only sold just over 1.5 million tickets. This huge contrast shows that appealing to a wider audience rather than a particular group (spring breakers is catered towards teenagers) can benefit the popularity and overall success of a production.
Analyse of a scene within the film
URL link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4AzrUO3D1w
While the man is on the phone in the phone box, an unknown man comes into the frame through the use of an over the shoulder shot, in which the music changes drastically, becoming gradually more intense as the scene progresses. This could be done to emphasis the importance of the unknown man has on the situation, connoting that he is a possible threat due to the use of background music (tense instrumental) to portray him. The drastic change in background music emphasises a change in intensity during the scene, making the audience feel on edge as they are made aware that something is about to occur. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the drastic change in music builds up both tension and suspense, two main thriller conventions, in which it makes the audience feel on edge throughout the sequence.
Slow editing is used during the segment in which the girl victim is on the phone and sees that someone is walking up the stairs, as she shows how distressed she is over the phone and through her facial expressions and is unable to move. This could be done so that the audience feel on edge and tension and suspense in built up as this particularly part of the sequence, it foreshadows that she is going to die due to the climax of the music and the zooming into the face of the girl.
At the very end of the sequence in which the girl has been murdered (implied as it is not shown), the camera zooms in to a close up of the phone, in which the killer answers with a response which is the same as the title of the film "sorry, wrong number". This could be done to emphasis the importance of the phone, as what is said links back to the concept and title of the film, as it is centered around a phone call, in which it also ends on which.
Throughout the segment, the victim of such is a young female, which is conventional to the thriller genre and has stayed persistent throughout generations of film. This is done as it makes the viewer create a relationship between it makes the viewer feel sympathy for her. Due to this, it enables the producer to keep the viewer on edge by placing the girl in a position of danger, in which enabling for a build up in tension and suspense
Throughout the sequence, the victim is a young attractive girl, similar to that of in "sorry, wrong number", showing that as the film industry progressed, some conventions within thriller films remain the same and are used to the same effect. The use of a young female victim is that throughout the film the viewer builds a relationship between said character, in which enabling the producer to exploit this to the effect of creating feelings such as surprise, so that when the victim is in a position of danger, it makes the viewer feel sympathy for them as the viewer wants them to get out of the situation unharmed. This is a very common convention present within many thriller films, as the antagonist of the narratives are often male and the other males within are often portrayed as strong.
Before the antagonist attacks the soon to be victim, the camera slowly zooms into the antagonist. The antagonists face cannot be seen and has a hidden identity throughout the film. By doing so, an enigma is created in which the viewer is unaware as to the details on the antagonist, creating tension and suspense when he is on screen as they are unaware as to the motives of the character and the details of the antagonist. The use of creating an enigma through hiding the identity of the antagonist is conventional to the thriller genre, and has been present throughout the years of thriller films however, it is not a convention which is present throughout all thrillers, such as the use of low key lighting or high angles for an example.
While the young woman is bathing in the shower near the beginning part of the sequence, before the antagonist is introduced, a high angle is used while doing so. By showing a high angle shortly before the antagonist enters the frame, it foreshadows the events to come as the girl is portrayed as being alone and vulnerable, as the antagonist kills her only moments later. Due to this, it builds up both tension and suspense for the audience as she is portrayed in such a way, by doing so keeping the viewer on edge, waiting for the events to follow. The use of a high angle is conventional to the thriller genre and has been used throughout the generations to the same affect, often portraying a potential female victim, showing her in a vulnerable light as seen throughout this segment.
While the woman is in the shower, the antagonist is shown in the background near the middle segment of the clip, in which when he comes into frame the music changes as he enters behind the curtain, as the camera zooms into him in the background. By doing both, the change in music and camera zooming in draws significance towards the character, showing his importance within the scene. Drawing significance towards him creates tension and suspense as he has a hidden identity, therefore his identity and motives are unknown.
The Hand is a 1981 psychological horror film written and directed by Oliver Stone, based on the novel The Lizard's Tail by Marc Brandell. The film stars Michael Caine and Andrea Marcovicci. Caine plays Jon Lansdale, a comic book artist who loses his hand, which in turn takes on a murderous life of its own.
Analyse of a scene within the film (trailer)
URL link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot9eFrTpjdA
The trailer of the 1981 film, "The hand" contains many conventions which are present throughout the thriller genre, including those of previous generations which continue be used throughout the years. The trailer itself is very dark and portrays the film as having a dark nature tp which, supported by the individual conventions within.
As it is a trailer, montage editing is used to transition from one clip to another. The use of montage editing makes the trailer itself very quick and fast past, showing hmos significant parts from within the film. It makes the visuals on screen very fast, creating surprise for the viewer as the shots are taking place very fast.
Throughout the entire trailer, low key lighting is present throughout the scene at most instances. The use of low key lighting creates a very dark and eerie atmosphere, by doing so connoting to the viewer that the nature of the film is quite dark and has dark themes to such. By doing so, this builds up tension and suspense for the viewer due to the atmosphere created. The use of low key lighting is present throughout thriller films through the generations and is a very common convention used throughout the genre in general.
During the trailer, the majority of facial expressions which can be seen are very serious and stern. This is often shown through the use of an extreme/close up. Through using close up and extreme close up to show the facial expressions, it makes them clearer and easy to view, emphasising them. As the only faces shown are stern and serious, it implies that the theme of the film is serious.
While the credits play throughout the trailer, the title of the film accompanied by the lead actor Michael Cain, the colour of the font is bloodshot red. The credits themselves are shown near the middle segment of the trailer. The use of using a bloodshot red as the colour of the text creates a connection between the title of the film and main character and blood and gore, do to the common ossification between red and blood. It also connotes to the viewer that bad things are going to take place throughout the film due to red also being associate with such. Using red as the colour font is conventional to thriller films of this nature due to the nature of the film and the themes displayed throughout.
Thriller movie 2000s to present (Inception 2010)
Inception is a 2010 science fiction heist film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film stars a large ensemble cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a professional thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance of redemption as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
Top 20 box office thriller movies in 2013 via the-numbers.com
Number 1 spot gravity does not target a specific audience compared to that of spring breakers (number 20), therefore that could be the reason for such a huge interest in gravity in comparison. Over 31 million tickets for gravity were sold from the year 2013 onwards compared to spring breakers which only sold just over 1.5 million tickets. This huge contrast shows that appealing to a wider audience rather than a particular group (spring breakers is catered towards teenagers) can benefit the popularity and overall success of a production.
Thriller movie 1940s (Sorry, wrong number 1948)
Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American suspense film noir directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a murder plot. The film was adapted by Lucille Fletcher from her 1943 radio play.Analyse of a scene within the film
URL link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4AzrUO3D1w
While the man is on the phone in the phone box, an unknown man comes into the frame through the use of an over the shoulder shot, in which the music changes drastically, becoming gradually more intense as the scene progresses. This could be done to emphasis the importance of the unknown man has on the situation, connoting that he is a possible threat due to the use of background music (tense instrumental) to portray him. The drastic change in background music emphasises a change in intensity during the scene, making the audience feel on edge as they are made aware that something is about to occur. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the drastic change in music builds up both tension and suspense, two main thriller conventions, in which it makes the audience feel on edge throughout the sequence.
Slow editing is used during the segment in which the girl victim is on the phone and sees that someone is walking up the stairs, as she shows how distressed she is over the phone and through her facial expressions and is unable to move. This could be done so that the audience feel on edge and tension and suspense in built up as this particularly part of the sequence, it foreshadows that she is going to die due to the climax of the music and the zooming into the face of the girl.
At the very end of the sequence in which the girl has been murdered (implied as it is not shown), the camera zooms in to a close up of the phone, in which the killer answers with a response which is the same as the title of the film "sorry, wrong number". This could be done to emphasis the importance of the phone, as what is said links back to the concept and title of the film, as it is centered around a phone call, in which it also ends on which.
Throughout the segment, the victim of such is a young female, which is conventional to the thriller genre and has stayed persistent throughout generations of film. This is done as it makes the viewer create a relationship between it makes the viewer feel sympathy for her. Due to this, it enables the producer to keep the viewer on edge by placing the girl in a position of danger, in which enabling for a build up in tension and suspense
Thriller movie 1960s (Psycho 1960)
Psycho is a 1960 American horror/thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Janet Leigh. The screenplay is by Joseph Stefano, based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Blochloosely.
Analyse of a scene within the film
URL link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WtDmbr9xyY
Before the antagonist attacks the soon to be victim, the camera slowly zooms into the antagonist. The antagonists face cannot be seen and has a hidden identity throughout the film. By doing so, an enigma is created in which the viewer is unaware as to the details on the antagonist, creating tension and suspense when he is on screen as they are unaware as to the motives of the character and the details of the antagonist. The use of creating an enigma through hiding the identity of the antagonist is conventional to the thriller genre, and has been present throughout the years of thriller films however, it is not a convention which is present throughout all thrillers, such as the use of low key lighting or high angles for an example.
While the young woman is bathing in the shower near the beginning part of the sequence, before the antagonist is introduced, a high angle is used while doing so. By showing a high angle shortly before the antagonist enters the frame, it foreshadows the events to come as the girl is portrayed as being alone and vulnerable, as the antagonist kills her only moments later. Due to this, it builds up both tension and suspense for the audience as she is portrayed in such a way, by doing so keeping the viewer on edge, waiting for the events to follow. The use of a high angle is conventional to the thriller genre and has been used throughout the generations to the same affect, often portraying a potential female victim, showing her in a vulnerable light as seen throughout this segment.
While the woman is in the shower, the antagonist is shown in the background near the middle segment of the clip, in which when he comes into frame the music changes as he enters behind the curtain, as the camera zooms into him in the background. By doing both, the change in music and camera zooming in draws significance towards the character, showing his importance within the scene. Drawing significance towards him creates tension and suspense as he has a hidden identity, therefore his identity and motives are unknown.
Thriller movie 1980s (The hand 1981)
Analyse of a scene within the film (trailer)
URL link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot9eFrTpjdA
The trailer of the 1981 film, "The hand" contains many conventions which are present throughout the thriller genre, including those of previous generations which continue be used throughout the years. The trailer itself is very dark and portrays the film as having a dark nature tp which, supported by the individual conventions within.
As it is a trailer, montage editing is used to transition from one clip to another. The use of montage editing makes the trailer itself very quick and fast past, showing hmos significant parts from within the film. It makes the visuals on screen very fast, creating surprise for the viewer as the shots are taking place very fast.
Throughout the entire trailer, low key lighting is present throughout the scene at most instances. The use of low key lighting creates a very dark and eerie atmosphere, by doing so connoting to the viewer that the nature of the film is quite dark and has dark themes to such. By doing so, this builds up tension and suspense for the viewer due to the atmosphere created. The use of low key lighting is present throughout thriller films through the generations and is a very common convention used throughout the genre in general.
During the trailer, the majority of facial expressions which can be seen are very serious and stern. This is often shown through the use of an extreme/close up. Through using close up and extreme close up to show the facial expressions, it makes them clearer and easy to view, emphasising them. As the only faces shown are stern and serious, it implies that the theme of the film is serious.
While the credits play throughout the trailer, the title of the film accompanied by the lead actor Michael Cain, the colour of the font is bloodshot red. The credits themselves are shown near the middle segment of the trailer. The use of using a bloodshot red as the colour of the text creates a connection between the title of the film and main character and blood and gore, do to the common ossification between red and blood. It also connotes to the viewer that bad things are going to take place throughout the film due to red also being associate with such. Using red as the colour font is conventional to thriller films of this nature due to the nature of the film and the themes displayed throughout.
Thriller movie 2000s to present (Inception 2010)
Inception is a 2010 science fiction heist film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film stars a large ensemble cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a professional thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance of redemption as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
Analyse of a scene within the film
URL link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvDba2nMv_U (zero gravity fight scene)
Within the zero gravity scene in Inception, the use of sound is the primary source in the creation of thriller conventions, as it alters the feelings of the viewer due to the different variations used throughout and used at different segments in the scene, in which all to different affect, be that the creation of suspense and tension, leading to surprise for the viewer.
At the very beginning of the sequence, the only sound that can be heard is of the world shaking (in all of the individual dream worlds), which is an example of non- diegetic sound as the first few seconds in the segment are edited (both visuals and audio) after filming as the screen is shown shaking which implies that the audio has been edited in after filming as well. It is also an example of offscreen sound as it can't be seen as to where the sound is coming from (as it has been edited in). This is most probably done at the start of the scene to add to the surreal atmosphere which is already present though out the film, and it would be incredibly costly and unnecessary to make the sound diegetic, as it adds a mystery element to the sequence. It also establishes what is about to occur in the following scenes (thrilling sequences) as this is the only audio that can be heard, establishing the atmosphere. This is convectional to a thriller as the audio at the beginning of the sequence alerts the viewer as to what to expect in the following scenes, and the noise heard is of a violent nature which is suited as the scenes to follow contain fighting segments.
As soon as an unknown person comes into frame just as he walks past in the elevator, the background music (non-digetic and offscreen sound) picks ups instantly. The drastic change in music could be used to connote to the viewer that the unknown man is a threat. This scene creates suspense as the up come to the encounter is through a long empty corridor which could also connote that he is about to be attacked. This is supported by the fact that the unknown man is shown behind the other man, which shows that he is possibly vulnerable to such an attack. This is conventional in thriller films as it creates high levels of suspense for the viewer as the visuals on scene suggest that something is about to happen, accompanied by the suspenseful music makes a deadly combo in creating atmosphere suitable for a thriller sequence.
During many segments in the scene, the timing of shots is edited so that it is going at a slower pace; by doing so adding an emotional impact to the viewer. This type of editing is used in-between parts in which there is a lot of action on screen, the contrast in excitement from one scene to the drama created from the slowing of the parts makes the faster past segments even more exciting because of the contrast created. The use of slowing the timing of the shot creates a psychological impact for the viewer, which is conventional as the film comes under the psychological sub - genre.
The lighting within the scene varies as back light is used during the fighting scene, whereas outside the building the light is low lit and very dull. Low key lighting is a common feature amongst films within the thriller genre. As the lighting within the scene isn't fully low key, and contains back light it conveys to the audience that something bad could happen if the actions within this particular scene do not go well, by implying such this creates suspense and tension, two of the main thriller conventions.
This post does not demonstrate any understanding of the thriller genre and how films have developed over the years. This is because you have copied and pasted the narratives of the films from the internet and have not focused on the conventions or scenes in any way.
ReplyDeleteTherefore you need to watch scenes from the films that you have selected and include your own analysis, rather than using the internet and just focusing on the narratives. Within your analysis you also need to focus on the codes and conventions of a thriller and the audience.
You have made a start in analysing specific scenes to demonstrate your understanding of thriller films and their conventions. However, you need to include a summary to explain how thriller films have changed and developed over the years. This will enable you to demonstrate a more in-depth understanding of the genre.
ReplyDelete