Thriller Analysis

Here is a brief analysis I wrote on the thriller genre.

Kelly Alexander

Thriller Analysis

    A thriller is a genre of film that uses suspense and tension as its main elements. The most popular types of thrillers are crime, mystery and psychological. The opening to a thriller film always sets the mood and tone for the rest of the movie. The film ‘Se7en’ (Seven) is a good example of this.

   The music to the opening is very tense and industrial. It is very spine tingling and makes me cringe. It matches and flows very well with what is actually going on image-wise in the opening and is very intense as it is so unusual. Sounds are also used to add more intensity such as the many diagetic sounds, for example, screeching noises which sound like screams which can be very unsettling.

    Lots of editing is used to create suspense such as the rapid imagery, which starts the movie off with a creepy undertone that not a lot of films manage to do. We are exposed to horrific torture and warped images, this gives off the impression that we are seeing into the mind of a deranged individual and sharing his insane thoughts. The editing often makes it hard to see clearly what is exactly going on which hints that this is something secretive, something that we should not be seeing right now. The flashing also adds to this ‘blind’ feeling and gives a strange sense of schizophrenic delirium.

    The lighting is creepy, one dimensional and very dark. This plays on the common fear of darkness which gives the feeling that something sinister is out of sight or hard to see, in this case, the horrific images in the opening which we are given glimpses of, such as dangerous objects; things that can kill. Some close up camera angles are used to give a fuller view of this.

    In general, the mise-on-scene is pessimistic and disturbing in the opening sequence of the film. The colour of red is used a lot. Red symbolises death and anger and most importantly blood which signifies that murder or death is involved. A bible or a religious book is another part of the mise-on-scene which must be very important to be shown in the opening. Coincidentally God supposedly created the world in seven days, scriptures say there are seven spirits of God and there are numerous places where 7 has been used in the bible, therefore, the bible has been used in the opening scene to emphasize the title.

In short, the opening sequence is very true to the traditional thriller movie opening, but still proves very unique in its own way.