Early Ideas For A Thriller Opening And Inspiration For Them

Female Vigilante Revenge Film

Basically the film would be about a 20ish year old female student who is studying to be a surgeon. She is also taking care of her younger sister (because their parents died in the 7/7 bombing s or something along that line) who is starting to hang about in the 'wrong crowd'. With this wrong crowd, she is peer pressured into experiment in drugs and commit minor crimes and it become clear that this relationship will not end well at all. The reason why the younger sister is so susceptable to all this is because she feels disillusioned by her parent's deaths. All the while her elder sister is too busy in her own life to realise the downward spiral she is plummeting into. Then a third of the way into the film she goes to a 'party' with this crowd, but she is drugged and then raped and beaten by the main male leaders of the 'gang'. As a result she goes into a coma and her sister is left looking for answers and consumed by guilt that she was not there for her sister. After the police fail to follow up the incident, the central female protagonist goes out in search of revenge.

This plot and idea is influenced by the 'Deathwish' series of film's where in each film the central protagonist was wronged and then took the law into his own hands to put things right. This idea is part influenced by 'Dead man's shoes', a film about a paratrooper returning to his hometown to kill the small time drug dealers who tormented his brother.

The Film would open with the Directors name and the film Title both coming up on a blank screen with just the sound of dripping water in the background. The film would then flash to a scene that would be happening later on in the narrative.

The film would then open with a young man tied to a chair, blood dripping down the side of his forehead, just coming to. To show this I would have the camera start at a distorted angle and be out of focus. The camera would then turn to be at a straight angle and come into focus. The camera would then move to be the POV of the man and we would see around the dark room he is in and then focus on the door as we hear it unlock. We then go to a ECU of his frightened face as we hear the door handle turn, so that we can see how afraid he is at this point. The camera would then be at ground level as we see the door open and we see the main protagonist walk to the man, but we only see her feet at this point. I imagined at this point she'd be wearing boots and tha would be the only sound. I also wondered whether she should have an Axe dragging along the floor behind her as well, but I don't know whether the fact she is a surgeon could be used in that she could have a medicine bag full of scalpels etc in order to torture and extract information out of her victims.

From here i'm not to sure which route I want to take with this idea, but i'm going to develop it over the next week

Eastern Promises

Just saw this on Sunday, and thought it was a really good thriller as it was unusual in style. For one, this is a gangster film where a mobster isn't actually the central protagonist, a midwife is. This I think is interesting as we are kind of seeing the criminal organisation from an outside perspective.

I also think the beginning was very effective and I can learn a lot from it, when I begin to plan my own opening. The Film opened with the title and the directeor credit come up in white block font on a black screen. We then see a location shot of a busy street in London and the camera moves to focus on a adolescent running into a barber shop and pulling the blinds down. Immediately as the audience we are asking many questions. For instance why is he running inside? Is he being followed? Or is it just because of the bad weather?. Also why does he pull the blind down and put the closed sign up when there is still a customer being served inside?

We now see the Barber (the father of the adolescent) and the customer in the chair as they talk quite cheerfully about life in general. Therefore it is a shock when all of a sudden the Barber gives his son a cut throat razor and tells him to kill the person in the chair. All of a sudden we are plunged into violence and the audience is gripped due to the immediacy of this act.

Maybe for the opening of my thriller I could use similar shock tactics in order to get the interest of my audience. I also think how the audience are left asking so many questions is also really interesting. In my opening I might try to replicate the same effect of sudden acts of violence or emotion to shock the audience.

The titles I also think were really effective as they were short and so did not bore the audience. As well as this the fact they were stuck on a blank canvas, rather than actually onto any moving image also made them more prominent, and so you were more likely to remember the title and director of the film.

Studying the opening of 'Point Blank'

I'm looking at the opening of Point Blank because I believe it is a classic thriller and has had a huge influence on all gangster revenge thrillers since, with it's fractured narrative and the whole urban jungle feel of the film.

Film opens with white block text over a bright red backdrop, giving a sense of impending violence. This then fades into a MCU shot of Walker (Lee Marvin), and the camera slowly zooms out. All of a sudden we hear two shots as the title of the film comes up and we see Walker falling to the ground in what we can only presume is some kind of cell. The lighting at this point is kept to a minimum with only a small amount of nayural light. the camera then goes to a close up of Walker lays on the ground, presumably dying, and hear his dying murmurs. the camera then turns to face the corner of the cell which Walker is staring into and then reverses to look back at him, as if he is thinking. We then hear the sounds of a party and quickly cut to a drunk looking Walker. From here on in we are shown everything that that has happened up to this point in the film, from Mal and Walkers first meeting, to the robbery in the jail, and to Walker's betrayal by his wife and Mal. All through this we keep cutting back to the suppossedly dying Walker, giving the impression he is contemplating his life before his death. Once the story has gone full circle, we hear Walker narrate a line and all of a sudden the camera tilts up with Walker from the floor and the titles begin to come up on the screen, while wind instrments play in the background.

I believe this opening is extremly effective as within 5 minutes the audience is hooked and want to know how Walker will get his revenge. As well as this we have been told about half an hours worth of film time in a sixth of the time, meaning there is more time in the film for the actual revenge part of the thriller as we have witnessed the build up. When it comes to making the opening of my thriller, doing a kind of montage like this would be a really interesting thing to do. Maybe I could even make the montage a group of random images, that then have relevance later on in the film.

I would really recommend that anyone who hasn't seen this film should seek it out.

Binary Opposites in 'Harsh Times'

I saw this film last night and loved it. Its by the makers of Training Day (another great thriller) and although has a similar plot seems alot darker. It also felt like a modern day Taxi Driver due to it's themes of disheartenment after war and how war can change men. As well as this both films are very much character driven.

You can easily apply Claude Levi-Strauss’s Oppositions to this film:

The very masculine/sexist views of Jim VS Sylvia's strong feminist views

The Urban Landscape of LA VS The rural landscape of Mexico

The violent nature of Jim VS The pacifist nature of Mike

Jim's obeying and calm nature when appling for the police VS His wrecklessness in the rest of the film

Mike's consideration of consequences VS Jim's irrationality

Mike's content at settling down over a courier VS Jim's will to join the 'Fed's' over a family

Applying Sid Field's theory to Fatal Attraction/Steve Baker's Ideology

What is Syd Field's Plot Structure and applying it to Fatal Attraction?

Act 1 - The Setup: Field claims this is the most important part of the film as judging by the first ten minutes the audience will decide whether they like the film or not. The opening therefore should show the audience the main character and get across the style of the film. For instance in Fatal attraction we are shown Dan (Michael Douglas) at home with his family in a near perfect setting. Here we start to like his character as we see he is a caring family man who loves both his wife and daughter very dearly. We as the audience can also presume from these opening ten minutes that the film will not be very stylised and will therefore be played out like a typical 'Hollywood Thriller' (i.e. eventual happy ending, linear narrative structure etc).

After this and during the next 3o minutes, Field believes that the problem facing the hero/heroin should come to light. In the case of Fatal Attraction we see Dan the chemistry between Dan and Alex (Glenn Close) and them eventually having a passionate affair. This is a problem on it's own for Dan, but when Alex slits her wrists, it reaches another level. It is from this point which we realise that Alex is not stable and this also shocks the audience and makes them want to watch more.

Act 2 - The Confrontation: Field Believes this should be the longest part of the film and is where the hero confronts the enemy more and more and finds themselves helpless against them. Eventually there will be a turning point where the hero starts to get his own back but they will still have a long way to go before beating their obstacles. In Fatal Attraction this is where Alex makes numerous attempts to sabotage Dan's relationship with Beth (Anne Archer), by calling his home, making threats, boiling the pet rabbit etc. The turning point would therefore be when Dan explain's the whole situation to Beth, as Alex has lost her power over him.

Act 3 - The Resolution: Field believes in the final part of the film the hero will finally take control in the struggles with their problems (often by going to confront the enemy on their own home territory) and will finally overcome his obstacle. This in Fatal Atrraction is exactly what happens as first Dan goes to see Alex round her flat and threatens to kill her. after this she then goes to his house with the intent to kill and ends up getting shotin the chest and killed by Beth - therefore resolving the problem.

The Film's Ideology

The film overall seems to have a very anti-women theme, as it is a woman who is the problem in the film and a woman who must be eliminanted in order to gain a new equilibrium.

The main underlying message about women in the film seems to be that a woman's place is in the home with her family and not being single and driven by work. This is shown by the contrast between Alex and Beth. Even through mise en scene we can tell that they are different. Alex for example is frequently dressed in black suits as she begins to fall into insanity, whilst Beth wears white dresses. Even the relationship between the two Dan shows the difference. With Alex and Dan, their relationship is purely sexual and there is nothing else. In comparison in one scene we see Dan at his happiest just looking at his wife Beth combing her hair in the mirror, which makes Alex seem 'slutty' in comparison to pure Beth.

Coen Brothers and Film Noir

The Coen Brothers have made a number of thrillers over the last couple of decades including Blood Simple (like a modern version of a James M. Cain novel) and Fargo (about a man who pays two criminals to abduct his wife with disastrous consequences).

'The Big Lebowski' however is one of their best films and is an excellent example of a slow burnt thriller. It takes the Raymond Chandler LA tales of mystery (e.g. the big heat) and updates it to the present day.

A lot of their films are based on film noir, and thus use a lot of devices typical of the genre. For instance the films also feature stark contrast in lighting and the typical theme of people being in over their heads working on a scheme.

Kidnapping is also a theme used in their films; Jean's abduction in Fargo, Bunny's abduction in The Big Lebowski and the baby's abduction in Raising Arizona. They also use misunderstandings as a springboard for the plots of many of their films. For example misunderstanding over who killed Rug Daniels and who took his hair causes friction between different mobs in Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski begins with a soiled rug caused by a case of mistaken identity over the name 'Lebowski' and in Blood Simple, misunderstanding is the driving force behind the entire plot.

'The Man who wasn't There' is a complete homage to film noir, with deadpan narration, tales of murder and it is shot in black and white.

‘No Country for old men’

I saw this film last Friday and realised what an excellent thriller it is. It seems very conventional, with a typical psychopath with a unique way of killing their victims, the central plot focuses on a fugitive and of course the matter of money is at the centre of all of this. However, as a result, the film surprises the audience with its many unconventional aspects. For instance one of the main characters is killed off way before the end of the film, but the audience does not see this. Instead the audience is left with the sight of the dead body, which is a shock as in the scene before we’ve seen him walking around like everything is fine. This use of surprising an audience by going against conventions is something now in retrospect, I wish our group would’ve looked into.

Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer: Film and DVD Cover Analysis

This cover conveys the thriller/chiller genre well as well as the identity of the film. The black and red are very important in conveying this. The red connotes blood and violence and so reflects the theme of serial killers, which is prominent in the film. The black contrasts with the red (making it stand out), and adds and makes the film appear to have a dark theme.

The tagline, 'He's not Freddy. He's not Jason. He's real', shows the film's uniqueness by putting an emphasis on it's similarity to other films of the genre. It also makes the film appaer like some twisted kind of documentary because of the emphasis on 'He's Real'. As well as this the title of the film makes it sound as if it is a documentary as it is describes exactly what the film is about. This is opposed to most film titles that set to be short and catchy, such as 'Disturbia', 'Alien' and 'Outlaw'. The name itself, 'Henry' is a very common one and so it reflects how realistic the film is.

The type at the top, 'The Full Uncut Version' also adds to the film's identity, building the audience's interest in exactly why it was cut in the first place. It also plays on the exploitation factor, that people will want to watch the film in order to be shocked or scared. i think the '18' certificate also reflects this.

The image itself, of Henry looking into the mirror is a very important one in trying to understand what the film is about. Here we see Henry gazing into his reflection, as if he is contemplating and looking into himself. It is also as if the reflection represents Henry's dual personalities; the side of him that kills and the charade he presnts to the rest of the world. His face is non-expressive at this point making it even creepier, as if he doesn't feel emotion.

I think is important to note that the director's name doesn't feature prominently on the cover, as it shows that he is clearly not very known, and is so a factor that can't be used to sell thet film.

Rashomon (one of the most influential thrillers ever)

'Rashomon' is a 1950 film by Akira Kurosawa, and is really advanced for its time. It is a thriller, but is one of the first of its kind to use a non-linear plot. The film itself is set in ancient Japan, a woman is raped and her husband killed. The film gives us four viewpoints of the incident (one from the bandit, samurai's wife, the samurai and the woodcutter who saw the aftermath) each revealing a little more detail.
The film is also interesting in it's simplicity; the film only uses three locations: Rashomon gate, the woods and the courtyard. The cast itself is only made up of 8 (3 lead roles and 5 minor parts). this goes to show that an intricate plot in much more effective than flashy sets and an epic plot.

The light in the film is also an interesting aspect as it seems to symbolise evil and sin. This completely contrasts with what light naturally represents (goodness hope). the bright light in the forest scenes was acheived by using a big mirror to reflect the sunlight into the scene. Similarly to make the rain in the film stand out it was tinted with black ink as pure water didn't stand out.
The film is hugely influential and films such as 'The Usual Suspects' and 'CSI' that thrived on the idea of a story being in several pieceslike a big narrative jigsaw. Here's a trailer for the film:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SKbNfo20wzk