Thriller Extracts

The first film we watched an extract from was Cape Fear, in which a released convict stalks and harasses the lawyer who had him sentenced. The extracts which we saw all used mystery, as the camera tended to follow one of the lawyer's family, but showing shots of the antagonist close by. This created a sense of mystery as well as tension as the audience knew that the antagonist was present, but we had to wait to see what his actions would be. The mise en scene used on the antagonist was unusual, with the primary colour of his costume typically being white, a radical choice of colour for the antagonist, but his messy, scruffy costume, as well as the fact that the white made him stand out more against the sober formal outfits of the protagonists family and the people in the courtroom. Also, in the last extract, he was shirtless, a mise en scene choice which was perhaps used to suggest a wildness to his personality. There was an interestingly framed shot in one of the extracts, in which the antagonist approaches the camera, a POV shot from the perspective of the protagonist's daughter. The framing was interesting as the shot was a wide shot, and the antagonist was extremely small in the frame, as well as having lots of extras walking around him. However, the antagonist was placed completely central in the frame, walking down an avenue, and being framed by both the extras and the roadside on either side of him, directly towards the camera, seeming very threatening. Also, hyperbolic sound was used for his footsteps, as they seemed to rise above the rest of the soundtrack. This made the sound of him approaching even more threatening as the sound rose so clearly above everything else, making him the central focus.

The second extract was from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, in which an aging and failing actress abuses her sister, a more successful actress, who has since been disabled in a car accident. The extract we watched used a lot of suspense, as we saw Blanche throw the small piece of paper asking for help out into the window, and then saw her sister Jane pick it up. From this point, the audience knows something will happen, and the dialogue scene between the two sisters after, seems to escalate the tension even more as the audience waits for the result of Jane finding the piece of paper, with this long wait contributing to the building of suspense.

Another extract we saw was from the film Fatal Attraction, in which a man's affair goes wrong as his lover grows even more insane and violent towards him. In the extract, we saw Michael Douglas' character walking through a car park, and like with the extract of Cape Fear, saw the antagonist watching the protagonist. This again creates a feeling of tension as the audience can see the antagonist nearby and will make guesses as to what they will do. However, this extract was different in that Michael Douglas' character was unaware of the antagonist being there, creating dramatic irony as the audience knew what would happen. As we then watch Michael Douglas' character walking along to car park, the tension builds, even more so with the car alarm going off as he walks by, as to what the antagonist will have done.

The final extract we saw was from The Silence of the Lambs, in which a rookie FBI agent investigates a number of mutilations. The extract was from one of the final scenes, and like the extracts of Fatal Attraction and Cape Fear, we saw the antagonist Buffalo Bill, watching the protagonist Clarice Starling, as she is unaware of his presence. However, this is done differently as we see it from a POV shot from Buffalo Bill's perspective as Clarice stumbles around in the darkness. This builds a lot of tension as we can see just how close Buffalo Bill is to Clarice, and the audience anticipates something happening even more.