Thriller Titles

The film "SE7EN" is a thriller and just from its opening titles we can see this. The opening credits does not have any action in it, but the speed of editing does increase as the opening goes on. It is a mystery thriller and that is why all the shots involve a lot of documents, pictures and hands. There is a montage of strange shots and one of them being the shot of where the person scrapes their skin of their finger. The director may have chosen to do this to make the audience feel at ease. This type of shot may intrigue the audience and make them want to watch more to find out why the razor blade was so significant in the story and why the person decided to do this.

In the title sequence of "SE7EN" we are also given the names of the people who have helped produce, film and edit the film. These are known as credits. The credits given to this film go to the film studio, which is New Line Cinema, the director - David Fincher and the other members of the crew. Most importantly we see the title of the film before it advances into the other crew members who made the film 

Modern Thriller Openings

"Rope"

"Rope" (1948)

In Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 thriller "Rope" Hitchcock navigates deeper into any ordinary thriller and creates a film that constantly keeps the audience on the edge of their seats and keeps them unease throughout the film until the mystery is solved. 

The trailer of the film is very effective because it captures its audience by having a mystery that is not yet solved and the only way of finding out is by watching the film. The trailer carries a lot of suspense within its 2 minutes and this really draws the audience in.  

It contains the key elements of thriller such as fast pace and frequent action. However, unlike many thrillers we do not know who the resourceful hero is until the end quarter of the film because he does not seem to be weaker than his villains. The film appeals to its audience by starting off with a story. It is just an ordinary scene with two characters talking to each other going about their day, then there is a voice over all of a sudden and the scene switches from the two characters to a man, named Rupert, speaking about the death of the young man that was just going on about his day. The trailer then develops into a mystery with the two main characters, Brandon and Philip, being put on the spot and under intense pressure by Rupert about the murder of David. The trailer ends with Rupert dragging the truth out of Philip and gun shots. 

Rupert getting into Philip's head

Suspense is clearly used throughout Hitchcock's thriller because without it there wouldn't be much of a mystery and it wouldn't keep the audience at the edge of their seats. Hitchcock builds suspense by making the characters Brandon and Philip set their dinner party around the dead body of the missing David Kentley. The dinners guests are all worried and confused about David Kentley except from one. Hitchcock has one character that is smart, intelligent and very devious. He uses this character to ask Brandon and Philip burning questions that puts them on the spot until one of them breaks. Then from there the pace of the film starts to pick off and one character, Philip, cannot handle it anymore and goes crazy.

There are different types of social groups in the film "Rope" and they are each represented differently. Brandon and Philip are gay with each other but in this thriller they are treated as any other ordinary person. They are not looked down upon or discriminated against they are just treated fairly and equally.

Men and women are represented differently. In the film the men are portrayed as business men, very smart and intelligent, whereas the women are just partners or housekeepers. The women do not really have much say in the film they just keep the conversations flowing, but the men are the ones that make the huge points and discuss hot topics that create tension. There is another representation of women and this refers to 'the male gaze'. This is where women are viewed as objects of male erotic desire. This means that they are just there to make up the numbers, they don't need to be there but they are there just in the men's image. Women also do not have agency - they do not move the plot forward. They are not the ones that like to push themselves forward in the heated conversations because they may fear that the men may push them back.

Philip and Brandon Strangling David

The last social group that I have identified is the social status within the characters. All of the characters except from the housekeeper, Mrs Wilson, are all middle or upper class. We know this because of the formal type of language that they use when communicating to each other, the way they dress and by having a housekeeper. Brandon and Philip consider themselves as intellectually superior and upper class because of the garments that they wear and where they live, which is is a very tall story building that looks across the whole city. David Kentley is seen as an inferior classmate in the eyes of Brandon and Philip. He is seen as not worthy and because of this they decide to strangle him to death to see if anyone would care.

"Unknown"

"Unkown" (2011)

"Unknown" is an action thriller that is about a man that has his identity stolen from him whilst he was in a coma and when he wakes up nobody believes that he is who he claims to be. He goes out and finds the young woman that was with him in the crash and they set out to prove his identity.   

From the trailer we can see that the film is a thriller because it includes fast pace right from the 20th second. From this point there is frequent action because the main character, who claims to be Martin Harris, has to try recover his memory and find the person that has stolen his identity and why. The trailer appeals to the audience because it involves these key thriller elements. From the trailer itself we can tell that the film goes up and down and is quite fast pace with a lot of action. Also the audience can make the assumption that Liam Neesons character is the resourceful hero who that thwarts the plans of the more powerful, better equipped villain and manages to find a way to stop the villains from killing him and stealing his identity.
   

The mcguffin used in this thriller is "Prince Shalla" who is the Arabian funder for the breakthrough research that has been found for world food. This provides the basis for the story of why Dr Martin Harris has come to Berlin for, however the audience are not interested about the event that is taking place. Instead they are only focused in Liam Neesons character to see if he will be able to find his identity and be able to survive from the people that want to kill him. 

The car chase is one of the most important scenes in the film. This is because it has the most effect and so much could go wrong for Liam Neesons character and he could be captured or even killed by the villains hit-men. 

The camera work used in the car scene is very detailed and a variety of shot angles were used. From the start of the chase we can see a close up of Liam Neeson's character trying to get away from the killers, then suddenly the get hit by a lorry and the shot changes to a wide shot. There is a point of view shot when Liam Neeson's character tries to look through his windscreen but it is covered in white liquid. There are many shots used in this scene to make it fast pace and thrilling.    

There must have been a lot of editing because there were so many shots used to make such a dramatic car chase. This is because the car chase needs to be fast tempo and by putting in different shot types that only last a few seconds it adds the effect that time is going faster during the chase.

The type of sound used is diegetic because the characters are talking and there are some sound effects from the cars. Parallel music is also being played throughout the whole of the chase. The music is faint but at some points you can hear it clearly.

"Psycho"

"Psycho (1960)"

Hitchcock's film "Psycho" is a horror/thriller about a secretary that steals $40,000 from her employees client goes on a run to get away from any chances of being caught. She checks into an outlying motel where she meets a young madman with a very peculiar,deranged mind. Little does she know that this man is a psycho, but it is a little too late for her to do anything about it. 

Alfred Hitchcock directed the film in a way so that the audience are able to work out that there is a murder but they don't know who the murderer is and when he/she will strike again. Hitchcock has made it suspenseful by prolonging the time of the next murder. He also stressed that as the apprehension increases there is less and less violence on the screen.

Thrillers are characterised by fast pacing, frequent action. In the scene where the Marion Crane gets stabbed multiple times, by the unsuspected murderer, there is a mystery to be solved and this is where we start to see the thriller element of the film. As the audience we do not see the murderer walk into Marion's room and we do not get to see their face but all we see is the murder taking place. The murderer stabs Marion Crane multiple times before making a quick dash and before we know it she is dead. There are many shots during this short period of time and the non-diegetic music that is played adds to the fast pacing action that is happening.  

We learn that the madman, Norman Bates, has a disturbed mind and is a psycho. He is under a psychological domination by his dead mother. Towards the end the characters learn that Norman was a lunatic ever since his dad past way. He killed his mother and his mothers lover.   

"The Birds"

The Birds is a Hitchcock classic that was released in 1963 and it is about crazy, deranged, aggressive birds that attack people.

"A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness." - IMDb The Birds (1963)

"The Birds"

"The Birds" contain the key aspects of a thriller film. From just the trailer we can tell that this Hitchcock film is another one of his thrillers because it contains fast pacing action within the scenes. The trailer starts off dramatically with "there is no reason to be afraid" and this then leads on to a short clip from the film. By this stage the audience is already curious of what the film is about then suddenly there is chaos on the screen and a lot of scene switching. There is so much going on within the scenes that the audience want to know what is the cause of the birds going crazy and what happens to the people.

Hitchcock's film used suspense greatly throughout the film to create uncertainty within the audience. At certain stages of the film he used it more than others and kept the audience intact. Also at the same time the suspense used created excitement because we wanted to know how the characters would cope with the evil birds and they would wriggle out of this problem.

During the scene where Melanie and Mitch's family were caved into the house Hitchcock used suspense to build up anxiety within the audience. During this scene the family the family have trapped themselves into Mitch's house to protect themselves from the birds. In the night Melanie decides to go upstairs because she has heard something and wants to investigate. She walks up the stairs slowly and by doing this the audience are on the edge of their seats. When she finally reaches the door there is hardly any noise coming from the room and at this point the audience are a bit uncertain of what is going on, but as soon as Melanie opens the door she is attacked by a mass heard of birds.  



Hitchcock used dramatic irony to draw the attention of the audience. In the schoolyard scene there were happy children singing their songs in contrast to the evil in nature. This engages the audience with the scene because the audience know what is going to happen, but the children in the schoolyard are clueless.

Thriller Conventions

Thrillers have fast pacing, frequent action and resourceful heroes that thwart the plans of more powerful better equipped villains and use devices such as suspense, red herrings, cliffhangers. They usually have hard men as their heroes, however they be ordinary drawn into danger by accident.

Thrillers occur on a much grander scale than Mystery Films: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Danger and violent confrontations are standard plot elements of a thriller
The climax of a mystery is when the mystery is solved, a thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of others.

There are many types of thrillers and they are; legal thriller, spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, police thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller.

An example of a thriller is the film Taken.

"A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris" - IMDb Taken (2009) 

"Taken (2009)"

The film involves these thriller conventions and uses them throughout the film to create an atmosphere of suspense and curiosity to the audience. It also keeps the audience glued to the movie and keeps them active as they ask themselves questions and try guess what's going to happen next.

Taken follows Todorov's theory by starting at an equilibrium and this is in the opening sequence of the film then as we the audience just get to know the main character, Bryan Mills, and all of a sudden there is a disruption and something bad happens. This indicates to us and the audience that something is not quite right and this is where the real story begins. At this point we want to know who was the kidnapper. Going further into the film Bryan Mills realizes what has happened and this links up with the next stage, which is an attempt to repair the damage. As soon as the action has finished and the hero has overpowered and outwitted the villain there is a new equilibrium. Things are back to normal, however there is a sense of safety and awareness. 

The film Taken involves all the great devices and this makes it a great film. It involves the right balance of suspense and red herrings. This means that the audience are kept on the edge of their seats for majority of the film, but in the end after the hero defeats the villain they are relieved for Bryan Mills and his daughter.

"North by Northwest"

North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is about an ordinary businessman who is mistaken for someone else by a group of foreign spies and is chased across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

"North by Northwest"

In the crop duster scene there are different aspects that we can analyse and they are camera work, editing and sound. These different features contribute towards the genre of the film. Alfred Hitchcock said; "thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action". This is true because the different types of shots used in the sequence, the type of editing and the sounds used give this effect.

For example in the crop duster sequence the camera work varies. The scene starts of with an establishing that establishes the country and shows how vulnerable Mr Thornhill is and has nowhere for shelter or anywhere to escape. Straight after there are point of view shots and medium shots. They keep switching and this gives us the idea that Mr Thornhill is confused and how isolated he is. There is also a tracking shot for when Mr Thornhill tries to get cover. 

The editing used in the short sequence is basic but has a big effect. The scenes are constanty changing and it starts off with long takes with staright cuts. These then develop into short takes and the speed of the switching changes and becomes faster as Mr Thornhill gets into trouble, however whne he finds cover and the tension decreases the switching of the scenes slow down and become longer teakes as he is safe. The frequent scene switching could be used to portray Mr Thornhill's heartbeat in the tricky situation that he finds himself in. 

The crop duster sequence has diegetic sounds because all the sound that is being made has a source that the characters can hear and see and the audience can see too. There is paralell music played at the end of the sequence where the tank of a lorry blows up and this adds to the effect of Mr Thronhill's scary and weird situation because the music has a fast pace to it and this is a good opportunity for Mr Thronhill to make his escape. 



Crop Duster scene: Mr Thornhill being
chased by a plane.

Alfred Hitchcock said that he wanted to transfer the menace that appeared on screen into the minds of the audience. What he meant by this was that he wanted the audience to feel the distress that Mr Thornhill was going through as he was trying to survive whilst being pursued by a group of foreign spies. 

Genre

There are many different styles of music and films and they are all classified by their genre. In each genre you can expect to see or experience different events or hear different types of tones used. This is because there are many different types of genres. In the film industry there are many different types of genres and here are some examples:

- Comedy 

- Action

- Sci-fi

- Fantasy

- Horror

- Thriller  

A specific genre can inform someone of what is going to be involved in a piece of music or film. For example, movies that keep you on the edge of your seat and make you jump or give you that "want to look away" felling, would be categorized into the genre of horror. However, movies that tangle with your emotions are listed as romantic films. Within genres there are sub genres and they are like divisions within that specific genre. For instance, if a films genre was comedy the sub genres would be; cringe comedy, sitcom or romantic comedy.