The thriller film genre is one of suspense and tension. Literally if the film thrills it can be classed as thriller. Many thrillers are of crime or mystery nature as they are generally easier to create the suspense and tension required for a thriller. Thrillers can cross genres, such as action thrillers, where there is a lot of action involved but the thrilling element of usually thrillers is present. However this does not make all action films thrillers. A thriller has many different characteristics; the whole film is building towards the climax where the tension will peak. However throughout the film there are also smaller peaks of tension to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat throughout the film. Thrillers are able to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats as the storyline is usually more believable than other genres of films as viewers can relate to the action. This is helped as they are usually set in ordinary cities and other urban areas, rather than far away mythical places. Also the main character, or hero, is often a normal person that the viewer can relate to and subsequently empathise with.
Psycho (1960) is directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, distributed by universal studios and paramount pictures. So far it has made a gross revenue of over $32 Million from a estimated budget of $806,947. Marion Crane, a young phoenix officer worker, is fed up with her life. She has to meet her lover in her lunch breaks and they can’t get married as Sam, her lover, hasn’t got the money. One Friday she is trusted to bank $40,000 for her employer. However Marion packs her bags and heads for Sam’s Californian store. After a long drive she pulls into Bates Motel to rest. The motel is managed by a young man called Norman who seems to be controlled by his mother. After Marion talks to Norman she decides that she is going to head back to Phoenix and return the money. However she still plans on staying the night and showers before bed, the place of her murder. A week later Marion’s sister, Lila, comes to visit Sam in his store to find the location of her sister. Sam is unaware of Marion’s whereabouts and in this scene Arbogast, a private inspector, enters also inquiring about Marion. Arbogast goes about his investigation when he discovers the Bates Motel. He also discovers that Marion had checked into the motel a week ago. He phones to inform Sam and Lila and then continues his investigation to Norman’s house situated above the motel. On entering he goes straight up the stairs and then stumbles back down to his death. As Arbogast doesn’t return Sam and Lila decide to go and see for themselves. Lila decides to go and talk to Norman’s mother whilst Sam distracts Norman. Lila discovers Norman’s mother in the fruit cellar, where Norman had hidden her a few days earlier after Arbogast’s death. However when the chair moves round to reveal Mrs Bates’ remains, Norman bursts through the only door into the room, dressed as his mother wielding a knife. Sam's timely arrival means that Norman is stopped. A psychiatrist later diagnoses that Norman’s personality no longer existed and he took his mother’s instead. According to Todorov the equilibrium at the start of the film is in the office before Marion receives the $40,000. Then the Balance is disrupted when she is asked to Cash in the Money and doesn’t, this triggers a series of events. Finally the equilibrium is restored when the truth about Norman is discovered.
Before Marion goes to bed in the Bates Motel she decides to have a shower. Hitchcock makes this one of the most important scenes in the film. He emphasises the vulnerably of a shower murder scene. Firstly he uses sound effects to help build the tension. Without the sound the scene would have nowhere near the same effect. It is made authentic by the sound of the shower and then a contrast to the sound effect of the music as the woman is stabbing Marion. Also without the music this scene would look unreal as you cannot show the Marion actually being stabbed, it’s all suggested and left to the viewer’s imagination. The sound of Marion screaming helps to make the scene believable as it is a natural reaction and helps the viewer focus on the emotion of the scene. The sound effect of a knife entering the skin, Hitchcock used the sound of a watermelon being sliced, makes the scene authentic and adds to the suspense.
Hitchcock also used clever camera angles and techniques to make this scene so vital to the film. At the start he used lots of close ups and medium shots towards the start to make it look like an ordinary shower with nothing to worry about. Then as the scene developed he positioned the camera in a wide angle view so we could see Marion, who was facing towards the camera, and the entering killer behind. Also as the shower curtain was shut all you could see was a silhouette of the killer so the viewer couldn’t identify the killer and so that it looks a bit scarier. This adds to the suspense as the viewer knows more than the character. When Marion was being attacked, Hitchcock used reverse motion to imply that Marion was being stabbed. Close ups are used of Marion’s face to show her emotion during the scene, this is like the viewer having the killers point of view. However he did not show the face of the killer in the close ups of the face but as she walked out it was apparent that she was a woman. At the end of the scene it shows the blood running down the drain, zooming in then changing to Marion’s eye then zooming back out again to show her dead body on the bathroom floor. The shower scene was even more effective as this had never been done before in film and in the 1960s this was considered scary, as it hadn’t been done before, where as nowadays it isn’t. Another way in which it was different to most other films is that Marion was the main character and she had now been killed a third of the way into the film, leaving the rest of the film open and the viewer not knowing what to expect, adding to the suspense.
Taking Lives (2004) is directed by Daniel John Caruso and produced by Mark Canton and Bernie Goldmann. It was distributed by Warner Bros, and made a gross revenue of $65 Million with an estimated budget of $45 Million. The film opens in the early 1980s where the young and shy teenager Martin Asher is seen fleeing from home, taking a bus in Canada. He befriends another teen on the bus, Matt Soulsby and the two talk about their plans for the future. When their bus breaks down, the two decide to rent a car and drive all the way to Seattle. However, all ends badly when the car gets a flat tire. While Matt is changing the tire, Martin comments on how he and Matt are both about the same height. He quickly pushes Matt in the way of an oncoming truck, causing a major traffic accident that kills Matt and the driver of the other truck. He is last seen taking Matt's guitar and walking away singing in the fashion that Matt had been in the car. Twenty Years later Illeana Scott, a FBI agent, is called out to Canada to hunt down the serial killer Martin Asher, who takes the lives of the people he kills. The team meets with art salesman James Costa, an eyewitness who saw Asher kill his last victim. James makes a drawing of Asher and within a couple of days, Asher is found. Illeana discovers Asher's next target is Costa, so protecting him is priority number one. After kidnapping Costa with Illeana in pursuit, Asher supposedly dies in a car accident and the case is closed. At this time, Illeana and Costa become romantically involved and Illeana finds herself really falling for Costa. However when Mrs Asher is asked to come and identify the body of her son she confirms it isn’t and that her son is still alive. Mrs Asher is then murdered in the elevator by her son James Costa. Costa gets away whilst the police realise that the body they believed was Asher is actually an art thief who did business with Costa, and that Asher had killed Costa months before the investigation. Seven months later Illeana is living in a farmhouse by herself, clearly pregnant. It is revealed that the father is Asher. One day as she sits alone in her home, she discovers Asher has broken into her house. She frantically tries to escape, but Asher overpowers her, punching her and throwing her to the ground. Annoyed by Illeana saying that the babies are James Costa’s Asher stabs her in the stomach with a pair of scissors, she then removes the scissors and stabs Asher in the heart removing a prosthetic pregnant belly saying that the last seven months had been a carefully planned trap. Using Propp’s theory of narrative; Martin Asher is the villain, Illeana is the hero, Costa is the donor – who provides them with a drawing of the suspect, justice is the reward for the hero, Paquette and Duval are the helpers, and the false hero is James Costa/Martin Asher who is actually the villain.
Taking Lives is different to the other two as it has a female lead. This enables Caruso to show a love between Illeana and Costa. This unclear love interest adds to the suspense as the viewer is unsure whether love will get in the way and possibly cloud her judgement. Angelina’s character is more Sherlock Homes than James Bond, more intelligence than action; this helps the viewer relate to her as not many people are as adventurous as characters portrayed in action films. The film is set in Canada which is a bit unusual as not many films are set there and also the language can be French. Taking Lives has many twists and turns, one of which being the sex scene in which Illeana finally falls for Costa/Asher. This builds the suspense as earlier in the film Illeana expressed her concerns for getting to emotionally involved. Now the viewer is thinking whether this will affect the outcome of the film. This scene is also unusual as Illeana has pictures of dead people around her bed, this builds suspicion in the viewer when Costa isn’t fazed by this. The next morning she wakes up with blood on her sheet, this causes a result in tension in the viewer however it turns out to be a cut on Costa’s arm obtained in the car crash.
Finally Law Abiding Citizen (2009) was directed by Felix Gary Gray and distributed by Overture Films. Produced by Gerard Butler, Kurt Wimmer, Mark Gill, Lucas Foster and Alan Siegel making a gross revenue of $126 Million from a budget of $53 Million to this date. Clyde Shelton takes the law into his own hands after the killer of his Wife and 5 year old daughter is not brought to justice. Instead his prosecutor makes a deal with the killer, Clarence Darby, in return for pleading guilty to third-degree murder; he will provide testimony that will send Ames, his accomplice, to death row for what is, essentially, a robbery charge. Rice does this in the interest of keeping his 96% conviction rate. Ten Years Later at Ames’ execution via lethal injection someone swapped the chemicals to make the death agonizingly painful. At first the police suspect Darby who once hearing the sirens decides to run away. He receives a phone call from a mysterious man who tries to guide him away from trouble. It is Shelton who is disguised as a sleeping police officer in a car. Once Darby realises he tries to shoot him with a gun he found in the car, where he discovers it is a trick gun and Shelton injects him to make him paralyzed but fully conscious. Shelton tortures Darby and gets his revenge. Rice discovers Darby’s body and immediately suspect Shelton. The SWAT infiltrate Shelton's house to find him waiting for them, and he doesn't resist arrest. In an interrogation cell at the jail, Rice covertly congratulates him for removing Darby from society, then asks for a confession. By all appearances co-operative, Shelton offers a full confession in exchange for a deluxe mattress in his cell; Rice reluctantly agrees. At his hearing, Shelton opposes a motion to deny bail, citing obscure legal precedents. Judge Laura Burch, who also presided at Ames' trial, agrees, but Shelton launches into a tirade against the court's preference for legal technicalities over justice. He is removed for contempt of court. After receiving his mattress he confesses to killing Darby and mixing the chemicals used for Ames’ execution. It is hear when he offers Rice another deal for the life of Bill Reynolds, Darby's attorney, in return for an expensive steak dinner from Del Frisco's to be delivered at precisely 1 p.m., along with his iPod. As the dinner is eight minutes late they couldn’t save Bill Reynolds as he was set to die at 1:15 seven minutes before they arrived. Meanwhile Shelton kills his cell mate with the bone from the steak, and subsequently is moved to solitary confinement. Rice and Cantrell (District Attorney) convince Judge Burch to violate Shelton's civil rights and restrict his privileges. She answers a cell phone which explodes, killing her instantly. Rice confronts Shelton, who says these killings are not about revenge but about the failure of the justice system. Unless he is released with all charges dropped by 6 A.M., he will kill "everyone." Members of the DA's staff congregate until 6. They are sent home, but bombs planted underneath their cars go off and kill those inside, including Sarah. Shelton was still incarcerated, so Rice assumes he is using an accomplice. Shelton carries on killing, including Cantrell at the funeral of those who died from the cars exploding, before Rice receives information that points to Shelton owning a garage next to the prison. He and Dunnigan find a tunnel system leading to all the solitary confinement cells, along with a large supply of armaments. Shelton deliberately had himself sent to solitary in order to carry out his killings undetected. Dunnigan opens a small hole and finds that it leads to Shelton's cell, which is empty. Disguised as a janitor, Shelton plants a cell phone activated napalm bomb in City Hall, planning to kill the mayor and anyone attending her meeting. However Rice manages to remove the bomb and place it back in Shelton’s cell. Shelton the detonates the bomb whilst Rice and Dunnigan seal the exits, Shelton realises that the bomb has been placed underneath his bed and spends his last moments staring at a bracelet which his daughter made for him. Using Todorov’s theory of narrative the equilibrium is at the start of the film just after Shelton’s wife and daughter have been killed, he and Rice are in balance. This is then disrupted when Rice believes its best to settle for the one conviction rather than pushing for both, this is because it helps his conviction rate, whereas Shelton wants them both to be brought to justice. Then the second, different, equilibrium is where the two are trying to make a deal.
In Law Abiding Citizen, Shelton has been killing from inside prison so Rice goes to the Judge to remove his human rights, where she answers the phone and gets shot. Gray builds up the tension in this scene by using different camera angles. It starts with a normal conversation between the Judge, Rice and Cantrell. He uses camera angles that are expected to be involved in a normal conversation focusing on the face of the character. Unlike Hitchcock, Gray chooses not to have music in the scene. This helps the conversation to be more believable and so that the viewer can relate to it. Apart from their voices the only other sound is the judge’s phone ring, this is ironic as at Shelton’s trial Rice’s phone rang and the Judge said they were forbidden. This along with Clyde’s outburst at the judge at his trial indicates there might be something about to happen, but the calmness of the scene helps to counter this. Then she answers the phone, as this happens she is shot in the head. This makes a loud sound which is a contrast to the rest of the scene and helps to build the tension for the rest of the film. At this point Gray introduces music as a sound effect as this further increases the suspense. Throughout the film, Gray keeps the viewer guessing as much as the characters. The viewers know exactly what the characters know and vice versa. This makes the film feel realistic and involves the viewer. This means that Shelton is not only playing games with the justice system he is also playing games with the audience.
“Thrillers are like life, more like life than you are.” Graham Greene. Thrillers are the most realistic film of all the genres helping to make it the best. There are so many different types of thriller and no two films are the same, yet each film has the same exciting twists and turns.
