Thriller Questions

What is the purpose of the opening to a film?

To capture the audience’s attention and drawing them into, it is also important that is excites the viewer or interests them so that they continue to watch it until the end. An opening that fails to excite or entice, leads to a boring view of the film.

What techniques can a director use to create suspense in a film?

Suspense is something that leaves the viewers heart pounding, biting their fingernails and sitting on the edge of their seat.

Music is one such technique that can be applied; loud dramatic music can set the heart jumping, low and eerie can lead to the heart freezing.

The director can also use false shocks, to increase viewer paranoia and set up for something big.

Low Key Lighting can be used to create a more intimate cinematography.

Also the use of editing cuts to change faster, or jump cuts, can also be used to increase the sense of danger and the sense of the pressure of time.

How do you think a thriller film is defined?

A thriller is something that entices people to watch it and gives being a sense of suspense and intrigue.

What films can you think of, that would fit into the thriller genre?

Constantine, The Exorcist, Rear View Window, Black Swan, Inception, Pulp Fiction…

The thriller film can be divided in to sub-genres – what different types of thriller films do you think exists?

Mystery Thriller, Supernatural Thriller aka Constantine, Psychological Thriller aka Black Swan, Adventure Thriller, Action Thriller.

What are the characteristics or conventions of a thriller film? (Consider narrative, characters, mise-en-scene, stars?)

The narrative of a thriller usually holds an element of mystery and having some sort of shock or twist in the narrative which captures the audiences attention. Characters of a thriller usually range but has certain character archetypes but it also depends on the subgenre of the thrillers:

· The lead character being put in a situation without knowing anything and stumbles through the narrative blindly.

· Usually a character that isn’t exactly normal or the conventions of normal, like Nikola Tesla from Prestige, who plays an eccentric inventor.

· The lead male having a dark and shady past, Leonardo DiCaprio has a history of playing roles like these. Shutter Island, Inception are two examples of this type.

· An innocent female being put in scary situations, such as in Scream’s opening which features a female who is unaware of the danger with the stranger she is talking to until it’s too late and ends up with he throat slit.

On that note, star appeal can reflect how good a film will be. If a film has actors or actresses that aren’t well known ore respected it can reflect how good the film will be. Big stars usually means a bigger budget and implies a greater quality of film but also will draw fans to watch even if thrillers aren’t normally something they indulge in.

What do you think is the audience pleasure of a thriller?

Earlier I identified that a thriller is something that gives people an thriller and a sense of intrigue. However the pleasures of watching a thriller can vary on the type of thriller and how well the film is shot.

If an viewer is watching a thriller they want to be excited. If they like mystery thrillers the intrigue and puzzling out of the plot may give them enjoyment, or maybe it’s the race against time to catch the killer before he strikes again or perhaps it’s the more physiological side of things that intrigues them, getting inside of the mind of the killer.

Psychological thrillers deal with lots of different concepts like multiple personalities disorders or theories like time travel (The Butterfly Effect) or Obsession (View From A Rear Window).

The audience could be pleasured by the sheer abnormality or deviation from the normal and wandering, however psychological films can incorporate elements of violence or darker themes like sexual abuse such as Black Swan in which Natalie Portman’s characters ends up committing a form of suicide by stabbing herself repeatedly and has themes of sexual abuse and mental instability.

Action Thrillers can be very popular, such as the Bourne Trilogy or the Bond Films. This normal has very stark ‘Good and Bad’ characters and has more common stereotypes. These types can be the types that makes peoples heart pound and there mind race. The thoughts of are the characters going to make it? Will they die?

Thriller pleasure however is changing as we move into the twenty-first century and the traditional techniques such Detectives in long coats and top hats are left behind as new thriller narratives are explored.

Using the internet research the ‘top 50 thriller films’. Look at the top twenty – which ones have you watched? If not many, why do you think that is?

The Twently Top Thrillers:

· Pulp Fiction

· Inception

· The Dark Knight

· Goodfellas

· Fight Club

· Rear Window

· Psycho

· The Usual Suspects

· The Silence of the Lambs

· Se7en

· Memento

· Leon

· North by Northwest

· Double Indemnity

· M

· Taxi Driver

· Vertigo

· Terminator 2: Judgment Day

· Elite Squad 2

· Alien

Out of these twenty I have watched Inception, Terminator 2, Goodfellas and Alien. I don’t think I’ve watched many thrillers because I’m not one of those people that like scary things or psychological thrillers. I prefer more action films like James Bond or fantasy films like Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief or Harry Potter. I watched a lot of Disney films growing up and I still love films like Bambi and the Lion King.