1940's thriller
'Rebecca' is a thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, the film is about a self conscious woman who is tormented by her husbands first wife who is dead, Rebecca. The use of ghosts and death is conventional to thrillers as they're mysterious and make the audience curious, these conventions are still used in modern thrillers today such as 'Paranormal activity'. Paranormal activity has a similar storyline about a ghostly presence which scares the characters in the film, and also the audience with elements of terror and shock which again, are typical of films in the thriller genre. This shows that films then, and films now both use the same thriller elements to scare the audience.
'Rebecca' is a thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, the film is about a self conscious woman who is tormented by her husbands first wife who is dead, Rebecca. The use of ghosts and death is conventional to thrillers as they're mysterious and make the audience curious, these conventions are still used in modern thrillers today such as 'Paranormal activity'. Paranormal activity has a similar storyline about a ghostly presence which scares the characters in the film, and also the audience with elements of terror and shock which again, are typical of films in the thriller genre. This shows that films then, and films now both use the same thriller elements to scare the audience.
1960's thriller'Psycho' is another thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960. The film is about a female secretary who gets secluded in a motel and stabbed to death in the shower after stealing a large amount of money. A vulnerable woman on her own is used in this film and modern films also such as 'The strangers', these characters are used because we can see that the female character cannot defend herself against killers. Also the audience can relate to the character when they are home alone like the characters in the films. This shows that features of thriller films haven't changed over the decades.
1980's thriller'The Hearse' is a thriller film produced in 1980 and directed by George Bowers. The film is about a girl called Jane, her aunty's ghost haunts her in a house along with other evil spirits. Ghosts are also used in modern day films such as 'The woman in black' which also uses a ghostly lady. The use of ghosts are used to make the audience curious if these supernatural characters are real which scares them as well. This again shows that films in the 1980's haven't really changed with story-lines and characters.
In my research I have found that films in the 1940's, 60's and 80's are very similar to modern films. They use ghosts, killers and vulnerable victims which are also used in modern day films which shows that the thriller genre uses specific elements that creates mystery and horror.
This list shows us the highest earning thriller films ever made from the 90's to the present day, this could be because of thriller genre being more accessible and popular as the content is appealing and relatable due to the development in technology.
Hannibal - Plot: Hannibal Lecter is a murdering cannibal who lives in Italy and works at a museum, a man named Mason Verger plans to get revenge on Lecter after what he had done to him in the prequal (Silence of the lambs).
Hannibal has a lot of elements conventional to a thriller film presented through the characters such as the disturbing killer which creates enigma and fear to the audience, most importantly, the fact that the cannibal is a normal person working in a museum allows the audience to create an emotional link because of the normal job he is as they sense nothing unusual. The themes that the film revolves around are gore and horror these themes evoke emotions such as fear and shock within their target audience which is teenagers.
This in comparison to Saw IV, which came 9th in the list has similar themes of gore and violence due to the horrific scenes in both films, for example the traps in Saw IV and gore related themes in Hannibal.
Despite these similar themes, Saw IV and Hannibal have contrasting narratives as the Saw saga revolves around numerous victims participating in structured and gruesome tasks to save their lives where as Hannibal follows the storyline of a previous victim seeking revenge. This also shows the difference in the prequels of the 2 films as Saw has a similar narrative as the previous films, but Hannibal changes from 'The silence of the lambs' which entices the audience as they don't know what could occur.
You have made a start in considering three different eras of the thriller genre. But you need to continue your points, to show further understanding of how thrillers have developed into the present day.
ReplyDeleteAim to include screenshots to support your points and aim to reference your research.
You have made a start in explaning how thriller films appeal to an audience, by focusing on the box office infomation above. You have also started to compare two thriller films, from the list, but further discussion of conventions and how they appeal to an audience, are needed to demonstrate further understanding of the thriller genre.
ReplyDeleteThis can be achieved, by focusing on the themes, stereotypes and narratives, that the films offer their audiences.