RESEARCH INTO THREE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS
Here is some research into three films similar to our chosen film synopsis. Since our film is a psychological thriller, I have chosen to look at three psychological thriller films in more detail in order to understand more about their features and style.
I will look at Secret Window, Se7en, and Funny Games.
I will look at Secret Window, Se7en, and Funny Games.
1) Secret Window
Secret Window is a film based on a story by Stephen King. Most of Stephen King's novels are psychological thrillers, and this translates well onto the screen. Secret Window is about (SPOILERS) a man (Mort Rainey) who is stalked and harassed by a man who claims that Mort stole his story. Over the course of the film, it transpires that Mort in fact has multiple personality disorder, and is the man who is harassing him. His other personality takes over, and he kills his ex wife and her husband.
The film has very little violence except the climactic ending, as most of the story is based on Mort being 'stalked'. It also has a very surprising plot twist. These are all typical of psychological thriller films. The focus is mainly on the character and his emotional trauma.
It is mainly set in dull tones of brown and black, which make the focus even more on the characters. There are also jump scares and darkly-lit scenes. It uses lots of long slow shots without cuts, but also fast cutting during action sequences.
It also uses flashbacks, which our short film will have. The bright colours in grayscale used during the flashbacks add to a sense of unease. Here is the opening flashback sequence from the film:
The character development and dark theme of the film is something that we could try to replicate in our short film - the jump scares and psychological/emotional horror utilised in this film is similar to the general tone we want our film to have.
2) SE7EN
The film is again very dark and uses dull colouring. It also focuses on the emotional traumas that the main characters go through - and projects them as more anti-heroes by the end than stereotypical heroes. It has an ending that has the hero not being 100% the victor, which we also want to use in our short film.
The opening titles of Se7en are a large influence on what we want to do with our opening titles. The flashing, fast cuts and shots of different objects along with the jittery font and old-style video projector effect are something we want to replicate. It adds a sense of distortion and unease from the very beginning. Here is the opening credit sequence from the film:
The film uses fast cuts and music that fits well with each scene - from slow eerie music to dramatic 'rock' music to add to the intensity of the action.
3) FUNNY GAMES (U.S)
Funny Games U.S is a shot-by-shot exact remake of Funny Games, a 1997 Austrian psychological thriller film. It is about two young psychopathic men that take a family hostage in their cabin. It is meant to display the types of violence we as an audience expect to see in films nowadays. The main antagonist, Paul, often breaks the fourth wall in asking the audience "who's side are you on?" and if they enjoy the violence that they see.
Most of the film is bright, white tones, even the antagonist's main clothes (as seen above) feature almost completely white outfits. These makes a contrast between the look and feel of the film, as it looks pure and clean but is in reality a dark, brutal movie. The brightness of the film is something we may replicate in our short film - as we can use bright lights and white corridors to give a feeling of pureness but also emptiness.
Almost none of the violence is shown on screen, but rather implied. For example, you can hear the violence happening, and you can see blood splatter on a wall, but not see anyone get seriously injured. This is to make the audience think of the worst possible scenario and to increase fear and anxiety amongst them. This is shown in this scene from the film:
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