Evaluation - Question 2: Representation In Our Thriller

In our title sequence, there are only two characters. These characters are represented in contrasting stereotypical ways. As it is a Psychological thriller, we wanted to create an atmosphere where the audience did not know what was really going on (or what had happened, in this case). Throughout most of the opening, the audience is lead to believe that the main character is the victim, by the way he is portrayed on screen.


The opening shot of the main character shows a bloody hand. At first, the audience think that this is perhaps a corpse but then the hand moves, and the character is revealed. He is shown lying on his back, as if he was the victim of an attack.






























The female character is portrayed as a stereotypical ‘victim’. The clothes she is wearing show that she is a young, feminine and vulnerable. Also, the amount of fake blood we used was deliberate to show that she was the real victim, and to differentiate her character with the main one.

In the screenshot above, we see the main character standing over the body of the dead girl just before both he and the audience realise that he is in fact the one who murdered her. This is the turning point where we finally see the main character in the opposite role; standing over the victim with a gun aimed at them. The low-angle medium close-up of the murderer from the victim’s point of view makes him look very powerful and intimidating, in a stark contrast to how the same character was shown at the start of the opening, lying on his back slowly opening his eyes.

 

There are a number of similarities between the main character in our opening and the main character of the film ‘Memento’, which is one of the films that inspired us when we were making our thriller. The first similarity between the two characters is the aspect of memory loss and confusion. When our character wakes in the forest, he doesn’t know where he is or remember what happened, which is the same situation as Leonard (pictured below) in ‘Memento’ who does not have any short term memory. He finds this very confusing, and struggles to find out what he has done in the past.