Research Into Existing Thriller Films

Initial Ideas and decisions and what we chose to do:

We were interested in Creating a film with the Supernatural thriller genre, unlike other genres, it allows audience to interact well because they are 'trapped' in a dark cinema with strangers and cannot see anything else. We linked this Uses and gatrisfcations theroy, because an audience can identity with character in perial and escape into their world, safe in their own knowlegde that they can walk out of the cinema and be safe.


Theoretical Influences:

We also looked at the ideas of Syd Field (www.SydField.com), in particular his ideas of the setup, that the first three or four minutes should really engage the audience into the ideas and genre features that they will enjoy characteristic of the thriller genre.

In our case, we set out to realise this through the chilling, sinister and unnerving use of non-diegetic sound, combined with the idea of a female in peril and the constant, increasingly haunting shots of mirrors and of the full moon.


Primary Research Into Existing Media Products:

Considering that we are creating a thriller/horror film opening, we decided to familiarise ourselves with a range of existing films in this genre. Certain codes and conventions are embedded into each film such as: lighting, sound, location and props, all of which feed into the fabric that makes a horror or thriller film recognisable as such. Therefore, by analysing existing thriller/horror films, we will be able to make a more effective and informed decisions on our product, enabling an audience to immediately recognise the genre of the film.In order to make an effective product and inform decision makinm we decided to research a wide range of successful similar products over the last 35years.



Detailed textual analysis of the opening sequence of The Ring - (2002, Gore Verbinski):

Detailed textual analysis of the opening sequence of The Shining:

The opening sequence of the film The Shining shows an aerial shot of a vast landscape which is seemingly unpopulated. The camera moves at a fast pace, switching into a dissolve in which the images cross over one another. In addition, the non-diegetic musical score is dominated by the strident sound of a trumpet, contributing to the creation of a tense and an uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience, in keeping with the generic conventions of the thriller genre. After surveying the landscape, we see a lone vehicle driving along the road, the bleak isolation of the location making the audience share the feeling of remoteness to make them uncomfortable. The atmosphere of unease is reinforced when the camera overtakes the car, which is done to make the audience feel out of control and on edge. The fact that the opening sequence was an overview of a forest area could also suggest the spooky and supernatural natural of the extract, as traditionally in folklore myths, this terrain is associated with the supernatural. The audience feel a sense of foreboding because of the lone car, small and vulnerable in the midst of such a vast, desolate land, this atmosphere enhanced further by the sound of the eerie electronic score.

Throughout the sequence, the viewer is not given the chance to identify with any character to form a bond, which is achieved through the avoidance of close-ups. Additionally, maintaining this detached, distant perspective could suggest the occupants of the car are escaping from something, this is evident with the dislocated shots of various aspects of the landscape, suggesting shifts in time to indicate that their journey is long and a desperate escape.

In conclusion, from the outset, the opening scene of this film is very effective as an example of establishing the generic conventions of a thriller by creating a supernatural and menacing atmosphere which plays on the viewers' nerves, particularly through the use of sound, camera and mis-en-scene.



Detailed textual analysis of the opening sequence of Underworld:



The opening scene of the film Underworld begins with the non-diegetic sound of thunder and rain which uneases the audience and acts as a form of pathetic fallacy, creating a sense of foreboding and impending evil to the audience. It is immediately followed by a flurry of bats flying in front of the camera, an iconographic conventional associated with supernatural and evil. The opening events begin to unfold as the camera drifts slowly to a image of a mysterious character standing on a balcony ledge accompanied by the sound of a slow, deep tone voice-over which begins to relay the narrative to the audience.


The camera cuts to the building in which the character had been located, the building also conforms to the sense of mystery in that it is seen as an ascent with huge symbols and markings on it. The camera then presents a left-side framing of the character, encouraging the audience to question what they are seeing to imply that there is something more to this character and reinforce the uneasy atmosphere.


High-angled, long shots of the public portray them to be tiny and insignificant in contrast with our mysterious character who is shown positioning the audience at a low angle to indicate that she is powerful and in control.


Emotive phrases such as the imperative "Hunt them down and kill them all" is effective in presenting the atmosphere of brutality, conveying to the viewer how intense the film will be and suggesting a lot of violent action. The sequence is edited to achieve continuity which creates the sense of verisimilitude making the situation seem more naturalistic and lifelike, despite the menacing content.


In conclusion, by deploying methods such as non-diegetic sound and pathetic fallacy, the opening sequence of the film Underworld creates an atmosphere of unease and fear for the viewer, anticipating the level of viciousness in the action that follows, therefore making the opening successful in how it exploits the conventions of supernatural thriller.



Detailed textual analysis of the opening sequence of The Others:

The film opens with the title 'Dimension films presents' to create institutional prestige. Suddenly, without warning, the screen cuts to all black and the audience hear a female voice to whom it is not at first known she is speaking, using the conventional story-telling opening of ''Now children are you sitting comfortably then I'll begin''. This is given an insidious, scary twist through its collocation with the black screen, making it mysterious, haunting and ominous, which reinforces the supernatural effect.

Simple pencil drawings appear on the screen suggesting the telling of a little story within the story. It is significant in creating a mood of unease that the situation in this story does not look very happy either. The spine-tingling atmosphere is augmented by the non-diegetic musical score, combining the agitating slow wail of a high-pitched violin playing with the tinkling of high-pitched piano keys. Whilst the plainly drawn, dark, abstruce and confusing drawings continue to evolve, reshape and present themselves, the accompanying score gets louder and quickens in pace, building up an increasingly sinister effect on the viewer, in keeping with the sense of terror characteristic of the genre.

All of a sudden, the audience is shocked as it goes completely quiet, showing a wide shot of a house with trees, very blurry and misty so that not much can be observed clearly to lull the audience who concentrate on watching the screen into a false security, which is suddenly broken by an extreme close-up of a woman's face which pops up screaming, giving the audience a big shock.

It is effective that this opening sequence does not reveal the specific details of the narrative, whilst providing a possible interpretation which will have an even greater effect on the audience retrospectively, fully exploiting the effect of suspense and surprise integral to the supernatural thriller genre.



Detailed textual analysis of the opening sequence of White Noise:



The supernatural thriller White Noise begins with a list of facts and information about deaths and unexplained disasters that have occurred in America. Immediately, in a series of fast cuts, the screen then switches to show symbols of evil and death to suggest that the deaths and disasters are both linked in some sinister way. This is effective in presenting the theme of death and evil to create a sense of foreboding in the viewer about how the story will continue.


The next scene establishes the setting and dynamics of the characters in the film. The audience are shown a family in a suburban setting, connoting that the family are affluent and wealthy. However, the underlying subtle use of non-diagetic sound in the background creates an atmosphere of unease, suggesting that an impending evil is always present. This is followed by the mother character being shown suffering a migraine when she kisses her husband, connoting that something may be evil within their relationship.


The next scene is a fast-paced sequence showing a restaurant in a busy area. In the initial shot, the restaurant building takes up the majority of the shot, which could be a suggestion that this building is an important location in the film in its presentation of the theme of the supernatural. We then see a dark mysterious character entering the restaurant, dressed in black to suggest that he evil, the colour black being a generic convention connoting evil and death. Additionally, he is framed to the right of the screen, reinforcing the suggestion that he is a mysterious character, keeping out of view as he has something to hide.


Inside the restaurant, we see the family sitting down eating, conveying a sense of realism and portraying conventional family values to the audience. Suddenly, the mother and son both suffer a panic attack which disturbs the previously harmonious scene. Accelerating the sense of horror, we then see the dark mysterious character approach both mother and son and, for no apparent reason, shoot them dead, whilst the father watches on helplessly. In terms of generic stereotypes, this is an effective way of subverting the conventional role of men being strong, masculine and the protector of the vulnerable, not least their wife and child. The dark character then turns the gun on himself and, addressing the father, announces "I'm so sorry" before shooting himself dead. This statement raises in the minds of the audience the possibility that he is not killing them of his own free will.


To conclude, the opening sequence to the film White Noise is effective in presenting a normal everday family in a realistic setting that may not be as normal as it first appears, making the audience anticipate the unraveling of secrets and underling evil that possibly dwells within.



Detailed textual analysis of the opening sequence of The Return:



The opening sequence deploys a point of view shot from what appears to be underneath a car, giving the audience the sense of being dangerously close to the road, with the only light being that from the car headlights, set against the surrounding blackness, telling us it is night. By positioning the audience in such an alarming viewpoint, this shot creates an unsettling and disturbing atmosphere. We then hear a male voiceover singing a song ' I wish I was a mole in the ground', followed by the playful response by a little girl, implying that it is his daughter.

Next we are shown what their destination was, a fairground, which conventionally is representative of fun and games. However, the way the camera is slowly circling the little girl and then follows her into the fairground, using a tracking shot, connotes that something bad is about to happen, creating an ominous, sinister feel. We then hear a man whisper 'Sunshine', but we don't see his face, just the little girl's alarmed reaction to this, which adds suspense.


A point of view shot is used as the little girl looks desperately around the fairground, trying to locate the man whose voice she heard. The camera slowly settles on a shot of a man in the shadows, which adds to the sense of threat as we cannot see him clearly. His costume, comprising denim jacket and jeans, both of which give him a shabby and dishevelled appearance, suggesting he is dangerous, causing the audience to fear for the little girl's safety. This cuts to a shot of her reaction as he starts to walk closer towards and witness how she panics, running and hiding underneath a table.


Suddenly thecamera switches to a point of view shot of the girl's perspective looking out from underneath the table cloth. All that can be seen is the man's feet approaching. Putting the audience in the position of the girl is effective in making us identify with her sense of terror. The man's feet are shown getting closer and closer, building up a sense of imminent danger. The accompanying non-diegetic musical score comprising dramatic piano chords adds to the tension, a sound track feature that is characteristic of the conventions of the thriller genre.