THRILLER RESEARCH: Alex

USUAL SUSPECTS

This film's opening shows a male character sitting on the ground, soaked, and surrounded by fire; looking quite carefree about the situation. Already, we are asking a lot of questions, making the film enigmatic and appropriate to the theme of 'Thriller'. We are then shown another character, but his face is never actually revealed - again, raising questions for the audience. The camera has been set up specifically like this to create a certain mystery for the remainder of the film.

As this is a film, the fire is controlled - however, this particular trail of fire is significant to the reveal of a new character. To prove it's significance, the camera tracks the fire across the ground until it is dowsed by our mystery man - using his own urine. This dowsing of the fire can be interpreted as mockery - he is in control.

In figure 2, we are shown our original character making direct eye-contact with the unknown man. As the two are at different levels, an eye-line match is used to differentiate where they are in the room, and to suggest one-another's power in the scene.  The character sitting on the floor's facial expressions show that he is not threatened by this mockery behaviour, and is not fearful so continues to smoke his cigarette.
Cigarettes later become an enigma for the thriller as one of them trigger the fire to spread.

All of this scene has been lit with dim lights, this is to continue this ongoing mysterious feel for the film. This dim, foggy weather outside is also an example of pathetic fallacy - we expect tense, depressing scenes when the weather isn't good. This is also where we hear an off-screen gun shot - given the context, we assume that the less-powerful character is now dead as he is vulnerable.

The scene then fades to a legal interrogation (we can assume this as the setting shows a city/town's crest on display) depicting how the remainder of the story all started - thus, starting the plot of the film. 

During the fade, a graphic match is used on the rope - although it's not entirely clear what the relevance of the rope has, we can assume that all will be revealed later in the film - also leaving more questions for the audience.

The interrogation used a blinding key over-head keylight to emphasis the relevance of this character. This kind of lighting is distressing and fitting for the theme as the rest of the room has low lighting, 

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED

The film's opening scene shows two men preparing a 'quiet room' and shows their progression as they assemble the place. Just from this scene, and the title alone - we can assume this is the room in which Alice Creed will be hidden.

The props seem to be very key to the thriller development - the two are shown buying industrial/D.I.Y tools; including powerguns and heavyweight saws. These props are enigmatic to the genre as they indicate danger in the right context. All of these props made very clear through close up camera shots with a shallow depth of field.

We are then shown the room before it has been soundproofed - the colouring has been desaturated to give this doom and gloom impression which is very common in the thriller genre. This part of the opening is the most interesting as it is filmed hands-free, as if it were a POV - the audience becomes the third person in the room that's never actually there. The props are all broken on the floor, giving the idea that the house has been abandoned - which makes the audience question it's history. Figure 8 has been included to show the severity of the desaturation. During Figure 8, the music builds to a crescendo as the room has been complete.  This non-diegetic soundtrack is a sign of personal victory and is declarative of it's context. This kind of music is used to indicate the scene will now change.

The two men are then shown in the woods, digging. This is classic of thriller films; the assumption is that a body or evidence of some sort is going to be buried there. An ECU has been used to show the isolation in the woods. Isolation is also classic of thriller films as it has psychological repercussions on the the brain.

Throughout the entire opening scene, there is no dialogue. The two characters also continue a neutral facial expression throughout - they are not ashamed of what they are doing, and treating this like a job. Their lack of facial expressions and speech fit the Thriller genre as it makes this scene that much creepier - it dehumanizes their emotions

 A fade to black is used during editing to change scene but has been done in a very clever way. Once the white van has been covered/prepared, the doors are shut to complete darkness. As each door is closed, the lighting is reduced and looks like a fade to black - which is then cut to the next scene. All of this darkness adds to the overall tense, thriller genre.
The 'white van' is key to British culture as it is a stigma of abduction and general crimes. Often looking outdated, rusty or dirty, the white van is enigmatic for any iconic British Thriller.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

The majority of this opening sequence is a chase sequence. We are positioned with a WASP (White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant) who is bi-lingual, good looking and can perform super-human acts - as an audience, we want him to come out on top. This makes him the clear protagonist.

 Like most other thrillers, the colouring is desaturated in editing and lighting is limited. Limited lighting actually works in the protagonist's favour as he often hides away from the enemy in the shadows. As this is a chase sequence, the pace is very rapid. Parallel editing is used to show the proximity of hero and enemy. Using Parallel editing and rapid pace cuts leaves the audience on the edge of their seat, hoping that the hero escapes. While the chase sequence is being carried out, various diegetic sounds are being used increase the tense situation. This includes; sounds of the emergency services, angered shouting, car horns, panting and foreign languages being shouted.

In any Hollyood blockbuster, the enemy is stereo-typically foreign; in this case, Russia, This is indicated first of all by the radio-broadcasting not being English, followed by the men running after the protagonist wearing traditional Russian police uniforms (as shown in Figure 13 above). Russia is portrayed a brutal, corrupt team in mainstream Western media, so this stereotype fits the film's plot. As this includes a chase sequence, we could call the Bourne Ultimatum an Action-Thriller hybrid.

The main character has now escaped the initial chase and has realised the severity of his injuries. One of the things that separate Horror and Thriller is the gore, so to keep this film fit for it's genre, only blood stains are shown. The camera is always positioned very close to the actor's face as his facial reactions are key to this particular scene. By positioning the camera close to the actor's face, we are sure to not see his injuries clearly.

The character then takes drugs to control the intensity of his pain. The audience are taken on this 'trip' that the drugs are giving him, so the editing will change. A lighter filter is used on canted shots that move around. This is to give the impression of seeing through the induced character's eyes; a POV shot. On top of this excessive editing, jump cuts and slow motion are used to show the effects it has on the character's memory. This flashback/trip is parallel to what is happening real time, as the Russian police have caught up with him. The actions in his trip relate to what is happening in real time - giving him this superhuman characterisation.

 The protagonist reacts and gains control of a gun. Guns are common in Thrillers as they often show very quick/clean deaths. Any other method of murder would turn this film into a horror. In this particular frame, the back lighting highlights his hairline to show the sweat and dirt - this is also to build this stereotypical 'masculine' character that we trust in Western films. This light also has a prominent green/blue filter which might have been achieved using a gel, or could be a filter in later editing. This shot is actually an OTS, the faint blur to the right is the top of the enemy's shoulder - to achieve this, we would need to use a very low depth of field.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

This film is unlike many other Thrillers, as it depends on shock value - which is usually relative of the Horror genre. The scene begins with a montage of shots showing the sun rising at various times with a male voice over reading a story about a criminal's experience. Most thrillers depend on limited dialogue and a lot of visual excitement. From this sequence, we can assume we are in middle America from the dry land and agricultural structures.
The montage and voice over last for 1:20 minutes then fades into the sound of footsteps and general atmos track. Unlike other Thrillers, the colouring hasn't been desaturated as much - most likely to show the colourings of the sky. Once the sun has risen, and the initial arrest of the villain do we see any real kind of desaturation.

 It isn't until Figure 18 (as shown to the right) that we get any real sense of the Thriller genre. We are positioned with a physically smaller character who is finishing off a phone call. Using a depth of field, just shallow enough to reveal the villain in the background escaping from his restraint. This puts our audience on the edge of their seat, screaming for the innocent blonde to get out of there. A main theme in Thrillers is the constant unknown of danger that lurks around these unsuspected characters. The phone is a main props in this scene; the villain must time the end of the call with his death - the phone has metaphorical purpose. Also looking at the innocent character's uniform, we can see he is a trained policeman/sheriff; we respect these men in uniform, but it seems this denied power has been turned.

Unlike other Thrillers, this film actually showed the full extent of a characters death. When comparing to the 'Usual Suspects' for example, any kind of death is off-screen.
Following the death, the villain must get rid of the evidence (which seems to be an ongoing theme in every Thriller film). This was very similar to the 'Bourne Ultimatum' which shows a very sterile sink being used to clean the dried blood of another human, and any finger prints on the murder weapons. This is something I would be interested in using when creating our own opening sequence. The camera has been positioned at a bird's eye-view to show the full extent of what has happened, simply for dramatic effect.

It is also rare to have two deaths within the first five minutes of a Thriller, but the simplicity of both deaths make it less gory.

Much like 'Usual Suspects', the victim sat lower than the villain, so power is suggested metaphorically. To prove that they at different levels, an eye-line match is used. From my research so far, I've found that a common Thriller scene consists of: a reveal, an eye-line match, then subtle but horrific death.



(Conclusion)
Running Themes:
Dried Blood
Sterile Sinks
Desaturated Colour
Minimal Dialogue
Dehumanising characteristics/Superhuman
POV shots
Death