Thriller Comparison

Do you think you have created a successful thriller sequence and why?

I believe we have created a successful thriller film as any conventions that we have carried out from the thriller genre have been successful in affecting the audience, all of these conventions being stereotypical tot he thriller genre, which defines our film as a thriller.

What micro-element, best shows your creativity and understanding of the thriller genre the most?

The micro-element that best shows my creativity is the use of iconography in the opening, instead of using the stereotypical knife, me and my group decided that it would be better if we used a hammer instead, as this is not a stereotypical weapon. Also because of the fact that the killer in the opening is so mysterious it begins to give away hints at what his personality is like, by him using a hammer it could show that he is a more brutal killer and using a hammer if a vicious way to hurt someone and can cause serious damage, similar to a knife however I think that a knife does not say enough about the killer to have an impact on the audience. In addition, the hammer adds anonymity to the killer as anyone can simply pick up a hammer and use it in that manner, which indicates that the killer could be simply anyone. Iconography is an important convention in the thriller genre as this helps the audience begin to build a fear, for example by the killer using a hammer they can begin to develop a fear for the hammer, as they know what the hammer is going to be used for.

Compare your opening sequence to a successful thriller and explain how your thriller is conventional?

A successful thriller film I can compare my thriller film to is Scream, like my opening Scream is a very conventional thriller film, displaying them clearly. In Scream, like ours, the main character is targeted by a killer for no apparent reason, however there are many other different characters in the film, for example the victim's best friend and boyfriend. This is similar to ours because we have the same idea of having a victim who is seemingly targeted by her for killer for no apparent reason. Another aspect in which they are similar is because of the representations of the killer, and the victim. This is because the killer is represented as deranged, the same as 'Ghostface' in Scream, having no apparent reason  to be after the victim. Both of our thrillers use reaction shots, timing of shots, straight and jump cuts. One factor in which the two films are different are the type of settings used, Scream tends to use more in-side house settings as these are relatable, whereas our thriller uses a forest/street setting, we have used these as these are conventional of the thriller genre and anyone can be there. This allows the audience to become more involved in the film as they can begin to feel the fear of the character as they can think as if they are in there situation. Our iconography is different as they use a knife for the killer's weapon, whereas we have changed it to a hammer. Our costume are the same as the victim is often seen in clothes which are represented as innocent, aswell as our killer dressed in all black, just like our thriller.