Thriller Analysis

With reference to Hitchcocks ‘Psycho’ (1960) and a least 2 other thrillers you have studied, as well as your wider research, discuss the thriller and its forms and conventions.

Conventionally, the thriller genre is seen to be a more mature adaptation of cinematic production, many, including me, would agree with this conclusion, and believe it to be incomparable to other genres, in the way it recognises, interacts and excites the audience more than anything else. Overall, the techniques used to successfully hold an audience and to entertain viewers are collectively and selectively used at opportune periods for maximum effectivity, archetypes include using suspense, which builds the audience’s tension and discomforts them, and creates a feeling of uncertainty and anxiousness which leads to a climax, which must be relieved indefinately and can be used before a shock or unsuspected twist, which will alleviate the tension. Excitement is a crucial part of a thriller, studied in ethology (the study of animals) is shown through all forms of life, when is entertained and hereby arouses the strong feeling, which coincides with a feeling of enjoyment, meaning that if the film will become successful, creating excitement is a vital factor to be considered by the director. Using these main elements correctly, and efficiently should help create a worthwhile, successful film. Thrillers are often written and categorised into multiple sub-genres, that aids in evaluating and designating each movie, for example a ‘Mystery‘ thriller includes that of ‘Seven’ (David Fincher, 1995) and ‘Vertigo’ (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) which coincidently both include detectives, and aspects of crime. Another sub-genre, being ‘Psychological thrillers’ examples being; Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly 2001), and Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock 1960) incidently, both of which I will be studying throughout this assignment. One final sub-genre is ‘Crime’ thrillers, however interestingly, many thrillers have aspects of each sub-genre, therefore overlapping and becoming a highbred of film. Others include ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Political’ thrillers. Aspects that are most delightful, whilst watching a thriller, is the feeling of confusion, and mystery, that is often prolonged through out, meaning that the audience must conceive the information they have been given, and conclude and determine the outcome at the same time the characters do, herby not conforming with mainstream conventional ‘Action’ movies, in which the audience are almost ‘spoon fed’ the plot constantly and must know what is happening all of the time, or else impatient viewers can become restless and dislike the production, in thrillers this is not the case, audiences are encouraged to contemplate and use intellect, and must be vigilant to discover what they may not have noticed. Within the following essay, i will explore the features of many different thrillers, and analyse their different affectations and individual idiosyncrasy, that makes them unique and extremely successful, and will discuss  the main issues and points affiliated with the ‘Thriller’ genre. 

                     Ordinarily the main characters portreyed in thrillers are normal citizens and in no way special, as despondant as it is, so the audience are able to empathise with the character and perhaps even the situation, increasing admiration for our lead character, or in some cases our contempt. Differing entirely from say, Action and Adventure genre, being as usually the main character, is shown as a hero, and is often big, muscular and extremely cliché. For example, in Fincher’s ‘Seven’ both main characters, David Mills (Pitt) and William Somerset (Freeman) are both normal detectives in an unidentified city, this gives the audience a familiar situation, and allows for empathy to occur, when they are seen in their own methodical environment, we see in the first 4 minutes, which is used to introduce the main and central protagonist, Somerset, he owns, or possibly rents an average apartment, with the diegetic sounds of the city surrounding him, we get the sense that he lives in a small apartment in a block of tightly packed homes in which many hundreds of people may dwell, and can deduce that he may feel somewhat dissapointed about what he has become, and where he has ended up just days from retirement, creating a sense of sympathy, as well as empathy, due to the feeling of disconcertion and disillusionment appears frequently throughout anyones life. As well as this, we see he is painstakingly organised, in such a way that, the establishing shot is of him washing his dishes, following this, we see that he has his clothes for the day, laid out neatly along with his police badge and his gun resting parallel upon his desk, which finally gives us as the audience some clue of who the man is, and what he does, many of the audience will be able to relate to this almost obsessive compulsive behaviour that Somerset is presenting meticulously. Another example of a frequential normal character is seen in the Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ in which within the opening scene, we are introduced to two of the main characters, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and Sam Loomis (John Gavin) who are situated in a relatively cheap looking hotel room (despite black and white), that are portreyed rather shiftily, caught in a seedy secretive love affair, which raises questions from the audience, as to their marital status and current situations. Although audiences may not be able to empathise, they will be able to relate because the emotion of love and the betrayal of adultery is always present in the media and within many people known to the audience, what with celebrity culture and our hunger to pry in to the lives of complete strangers. Alternatively and perhaps most common of all, is the character of Donald Darko, from Richard Kelly’s ‘Donnie Darko’ within the opening scene we are presented with what would seem like an average teenage boy, although waking up in the hills with no recollection of how he came to be there can be neglected for the time being, who then proceeds to cycle through his standardised, customary surburban town of Middlesex, as he enters his home and walks passed the refridgerator, there is a message scrawled on a piece of paper attached, reading ‘where’s Donnie?’ this shows that perhaps his dissapearences, happen regularly as instead of calling the police, a general enquiry was made to the rest of the household, showing that perhaps his family are not particularly interested about his exploits which can to a certain extent be recognised by some audience members, with a history of tough parenting. Instead of the character being comprehendable by the audience, it is the setting we are able to familiarise ourselves with, being as the majority of the audience will be accustomed to a suburban environment. Theorists such as Propp, whom scrutinized and studied narrative structure and analysed Russian fairy tales and began to break them down in to separate narrative units, and was able to discover a typology of narrative structure, for example he concluded that each tale could take any number of 31 functions, furthermore, Propp was able to catergorise characters in to 8 fairly broad character types, such as the villain, and the hero, etcetera. However Propp’s theory was concluded many years ago and was concluded from fairy tales, therefore may not be as applicable to each narrative now, as it did at the time, none more so than in thrillers in which characters are even more personified and three dimensional, bringing more than meets the eye upon first inspection. One example of how Propp’s theory is disproven, comes mostly from modern narratives such as Kelly’s ‘Donnie Darko’ in which the main protagonist or hero dies at the end. 

                       Possibly one of the most important factors of thrillers is their intelligent story lines, this determinant is what distinguishes thrillers from other films and is perhaps the most genre defining of all the components. The most successful thrillers are those that in my opinion, do not underestimate the intelligence of an audience and allow some leeway between asking questions, and answering them perhaps even much later in the film, allowing viewers to deliberate, and create their own conclusions. I believe audience participation and interaction to be a crucial element in producing a memorable, wonderful film as well as accumulating and preserving interest through mental stimulation, rather than dispensing statistical facts quickly that will eventually be crucial to the narrative however abstaining from delivering of the corresponding information to hastily. Todarov was another film theorist that proposed a basic structure for all narratives, he stated that films began with an equilibrium, which is a calm period, then certain characters of disruption cause disequilibrium, which is a period of unsettlement and discontent, this is then followed by a renewed sense of harmony for the protagonists and brings all the anarchy to an end, it is a simple narrative, often known as hollywood narrative. This theory can be present within some thrillers however can or cannot be applied to different characters within those films. An example that does not run in accordance with the theory is the character of Robert Thorn in Richard Donner’s ‘The Omen’ 1976, he is experiencing equilibrium at the beginning of the film where he seems to have it all, wealth, a home, a loving family and a newly adopted child, Damien (Harvey Stephens, child actor). However on the child's fifth birthday comes the turning point on which Damien’s nanny hangs herself proclaiming that it “is all for you, Damien” this is the point at which disequilibrium is introduced and continues indefinately until Robert Thorn’s death, meaning the theory is not always applicable. What also makes a good thriller is deliberating on the subjunctive, or in other words, what could have happened, for example, if Robert’s wife, Katherine (Lee Remick) did not have a still born child, then the couple would not have considered adoption and the entire film and narrative would have changed, it is these clever twists that allow the audience really to consider the infinite possibilities allowing us access to the freedom outside the actual plot. Kelly’s ‘Donnie Darko’ is a paramount example of intelligent storyline, as I believe the whole film is an intelligent and complex journey as we follow the films protagonist Donald Darko, who we are led to believe suffers from some kind of mental disorder, who is plagued by visions of his ‘guardian’ in the shape of a giant bunny rabbit named Frank who foretells the end of the world, in this kind of thriller, the audience are often left at the end of the film asking questions about the plot, needing to go back for second or even third viewings to interpret the film for themselves. Donnie Darko is shown to be a popular, high rated film on IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) proving that open ended, self interpretive thrillers are widely enjoyed indeed.

                        Plot twists are singularly the most important aspect of a good thriller, it is a change in the expected direction and outcome of the plot of a film. They are used most effectively to boost interest from the audience by astounding or bewildering them with a revelation that quite often alters the perceived view of the film audience. Differently in thrillers, many of the twists are not often foreshadowed by clues placed deliberately so that the audience may predict the eventual conclusion, instead ‘twists’ are often a complete and utter surprise, so as to shock the viewer tenfold. One primary example of this is the exposure of the killer in Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ in which we find out that the suspected killer, who is thought to be the mother of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) the owner of a highway motel, is in fact Norman himself, whom suffers from severe psychosis, and has a split personality, that of his mother and himself, and is in fact committing the murders in his mothers psyche, hereby dressing, talking and acting the way his mother would before her death, and having no recollection of the murders, that is explained at the end by psychiatrist Dr. Fred Richmond “Now after the murder, Norman returned as if from a deep sleep. And like a dutiful son, covered up all traces of the crime he was convinced his mother had committed!”. Another device used in ‘Psycho’ is a false protagonist, which helps make the plot more memorable and discomforting by fooling the audiences preconceptions, by introducing a main character which the audience is led to believe is the hero, or protagonist that is later revealed not to be, by disposing of them for shock value, in this case through a grizzly iconic murder scene that is widely known over the world in which the thought to be main protagonist Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is stabbed repetatively whilst in the shower which agitates and shocks viewers, as they are discomforted by the fact that the plot has no recognisable structure and is quite worrying to have no immediate idea as to what will happen next, after the protagonist is deceased. A further example of a false protagonist is acquainted at the beginning of D.J Caruso’s ‘Taking Lives’ in which we see a young ‘Asher’ (portreyed by Paul Dano)

in the 1980’s taking a bus to Canada, and forming a friendship with another young traveller Matt Soulsby (Justin Chatworth), Asher instinctively leads the audience to believe that this is the films main protagonist, as he acts completely polite and leads us to believe he has genuine intentions, shaping up to become the ‘hero’ of the film. However, as the first ten minutes of the film progress, the bus they were on has broken down, and they are prompted to rent a car. Unsurprisingly something goes wrong with the car and Matt has to fix it, at this point, tension is increasing as a car is heading towards them on the opposite side of the road, intuitively the audience knows that something is going to happen, due to the climactic behaviour of the character Asher, tension is constructed by music chosen to do exactly that. The audience is eventually rewarded with a tension release as Asher pushes Matt in the way of the car, killing Matt and everyone in the car. This early twist is completely unexpected, especially being caused by our thought to be protagonist, and disturbs and discomforts the viewer, who immediately become nervous that the plot is no longer predictable as they now realise that Asher is in fact the antagonist of the film. In addition, a further precedented example of a major twist in the plot is shown in within the ending to Fincher’s ‘Seven’ where the finale is one twist detrimental to the understanding the film, and the antagonist ‘John Doe’ (portreyed by Kevin Spacey) who is committing murders justified only by the fact the victims commit one of the seven deadly sins; Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Pride and Lust. We’re thrust in to a final confrontation between Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and John Doe, and Doe presents Mills with the head of his wife Tracy Mills (Gwyneth Paltrow) which drives Mills to shoot Doe repetitively, the twist being that Mills commits the final sin yet to be involved, Wrath, bestowing the dead Doe with victory, as what he set out to do was realised.

                      Suspense and Tension, if used effectively is suitably beneficial to the outcome, and overall audience impression of the feature film. The director must build tension and release it in accordance to the audiences mood, and will have supreme control over viewers feelings and emotions throughout. Directors must be attuned and mentally connected with the audience, to have an insight in to when and where to use any of the  devices explored above, especially suspense and tension. Audiences experience suspense when they suspect something bad is about to happen and have what they feel to be an experiences prospective, however they are powerless to change such events, so are left with a sense of anxiety as they wait for the sequence to unfold. As suspense and tensions deals with a lack of knowledge, which obscures the near future for the viewer as they try to speculate what will genuinely happen. ‘Seven’ shows this multiple times throughout its running time, one of the examples being when Mills is caught unawares by John Doe and is struck to the ground at which he is left to the mercy of John Doe. Fincher is intelligent in the way he deals with this scene, as we see one of our main protagonists of the film portreyed pathetically on the ground looking up at his assailant using pathetic fallacy to personify the rain and thunder which relates to the scenes situation, and discomforts the audience as they are questioning Doe’s intent and his following actions. The music playing during the sequence helps to maximize tension as an awkward exchange in glances and an aweful silence takes place, and Doe just leaves Mills, although we are left relieved that one of our main protagonists has not been eradicated, Fincher encourages us to ask the question, “Why has he been allowed to live”, hinting that Doe might even have plans for Mills. Furthermore suspense is created in another film that i have studied ‘Taking Lives’ where the main hero, Illiana is investigating the domicile of the killer. She begins looking around the room for any insight in to the killers mind, where abouts and just to gain what little knowledge she can. as she lies down on the old dirty bed of what we expect to be the killers, tension is built, mostly from the silence of the small room and the lack of any action prior to this scene, leading the viewer to expect something to happen, which is indeed what happens, when hands reach from under the bed through the old mattress and grab her. This kind of shock usually invokes the audience to ‘jump’ which is an involuntary jolt of the body caused by something unexpected and frightening. False suspense is a technique that builds tension, leading the audience to believe something will happen, when in fact, what is expected doesn’t actually occur, so the audience are not rewarded with a tension release but in fact disillusionment. One example of this is shown in ‘Psycho’ where our main protagonist Marion Crane, has stolen forty thousand dollars and has been woken up by a police man, after sleeping in her car on the side of the freeway. Tension is created as the audience are aware of her possession of the money and the implications that it will have on her if she is caught. Hitchcock creates suspense with musical undertones, and  Marion’s nerves are obvious and the viewers are able to empathise with her discomfort as it is a feeling known only to often in every day life, we begin to worry for her as the policemen becomes overbearing and mysterious, and lack of eye contact due to the police mans sun glasses portrays him menacingly and  gives the audience mixed emotions, as officers of the law are supposed to be trusted, but the audience are left  supporting the criminal in this instance, which is a very clever devise employed by Hitchcock for Marion to gain the audiences affections as become more sensitised towards her, and want her to succeed. 

                        To concatenate my previous thoughts I genuinely believe thrillers to be the most effective form of cinematography, simply because of the many variants that is integrated within a piece. Each one of the devices explored above are a crucial variant that must be used effectively by the director, to maximize the effectiveness of the film and it is essential that these conventions are not overused, or be at risk from desecrating the piece in the view of the audience, as it will be seen as asinine and frivolous. For example Quentin Tarrantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’ is set in an incredibly small amount of sets, proving the effectiveness of his directing ability as he is able to produce such a highly loved and sought after film, after being so confined and restrained should usually be detrimental to a films success but with such an intelligent thriller in my opinion it only enhances the end product. Relating to an earlier point; Tarantino once was heard to say “I don’t believe in elitism. I don’t think the audience is this dumb person lower than me. I am the audience” showing that he does not underestimate the understanding of his viewer, hereby not conforming with other directors that must throw fact after fact at the viewer, to assure that the audience does not mentally ‘check out’. These techniques that Tarantino employs make him one of my all time favourite directors of all. A genuine stand alone thriller must keep audiences at the edge of their seats as the plot builds towards a climax. Helpfully thrillers need to remain believable, by plotting them in realistic situations and authenticated   characters in which empathy is possible, which increases the shock factor when something bad happens. I believe all of the films i have mentioned are perfect examples of a thriller, and never fail to entertain, no matter how much the feature is watched.

          “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” - Alfred Hitchcock.