Thriller Clips

Today, we were given two tasks to complete.

It is December 16th, and in the first part of our lesson, we brainstormed all of the different types of thriller films, such as romantic thriller, comedy thriller, horror thriller, etc. We then got to watch clips from 6 thriller films, with the task of analysing each one in terms of editing, camerawork, music/sound etc. The 6 clips we watched were from the films: 28 Days Later, The Shining, Arlington Road (clip one), Arlington Road (clip two), Collateral and What Lies Beneath.


Task One

Using one of the clips that we watched, we had to write an account of how suspense is created. The clip that struck me most was What Lies Beneath. This has the makings of a classic thriller film. The entire clip was extreamely tense. The floor panning gives us the first tense moments. The slow moving pace keeps us longing for information - why did the woman stop at the top of the stairs? Why did she look so scared? It is then that the camera shows us the bottom of a door - a door with steam flowing out from underneath it. As we are left to look at the steam, and question its purpose, the woman's feet suddenly appear in the shot - she walks into our view, and opens the door. It is one of those moments where you want to scream to the character "Don't go in there!" because you know nothing good can come from doing so.
A mid shot of the woman's face as she enters the room shows her terrified and confused expression. This lets us know that somethig is going to happen - and apprently, the woman knows this too. This excites us as well as creates fear and suspense - we know that nothing good is going to be in that room (as the steam is also a symbol of eeriness and danger, common in thriller and horror films.)
We get a Point-of-view shot of the woman as she slowly walks into the room. The slow pace creates suspense, and it also establishes that the room is in fact a bathroom - and the steam is coming from a bath that has been recently filled - and scalding hot. The whole room is covered in this mist, making sight rather difficult - this is also suspense-filled, as we are unsure of any possible dangers that could be lerking. The woman's face is still a picture of fear, leaving us with terrified thoughts.
The woman continues walking slowly and fearfully towards the bathtub, at the far end of the bathroom - making it the longest walk possible of the bathroom layout - thus giving us the longest wait to find out what the woman is so afraid of.
Reaching the bathtub, the viewers are a bit saddened to find that it contains nothing but mere water - not exactly the scary ending we were hoping for at the end of that long walk. It lulls the audience into a false sense of comfort, as they begin to relax a little - however, they are soon shocked by the appearance of a woman's reflection suddenly appearing in the bath water. This shocks us more than creates suspense, yet the entire lead up to this section leaves the audience on the edge of their seats.
The music consists of non-diegetic slow, droning strings, high pitched and threatening. They create fear in the viewer, as well as adding to, or creating the tense and suspense-filled atmosphere.



Task Two

The second task we were given was to embed one of the film clips that we watched (previously embedded - Arlington Road (Title Sequence)), and discuss how it has influenced our initial ideas for our own thriller.
This title sequence was the most entertaining and most thrilling clip for me. I'm not sure what I liked about it so much - possibly the inverted colours, creating a creepy, distorted atmosphere, or the distorted, screeching music, with the terrifying breathing and rasping sounds. The clips were all of very ordinary things on a very ordinary street - however, the editing made all of these things seem terrifying. I like the way that the viewer can tell parts of the film's story, despite not actually being told this outright. As I've mentioned, it looks like an ordinary street, however the editing, colours and music tells us that there is something horrifying going on. I like this film idea, and hope that my group can somehow incorporate it into our own film - possibly going down the same road, however, taking film of things not on a suburban street, but a different location?
I also hope that we can incorporate the same style of music. It is chilling and thrilling, and I liked the effects of the breathing - very stalker-like, and terrifying. Even just listening to the music alone would tell you that something is not right within a situation. In fact, watching the clips alone would also terrify you, as they are so twisted, warped, and seemingly random. So putting those two together create a very exciting and thrilling atmosphere.