Research on Logos

The Lovely Bones

by Peter Jackson

many would argue that "The Lovely Bones" is not a thriller, this may be because it does not contain all of the thriller genre conventions or maybe because it was based on a novel. However this film would be a sub genre of thriller in the form of a, crime thriller.

Throughout the film the typical puzzle aspect of a crime thriller was obvious. constantly the proletariat's father was searching for clues within his daughters pictures. Although the police and investigators start to prioritise other cases, the girls father NEVER gives up, even when it lands him hospitalized. As with many crime thrillers, they come close to finding the murderer and fall inches apart.

This novel based film also contained certain gruesome or heart wrenching scenes, this is also typical in these types of films. An example of this is where the murderer is lying in a bath tub, and the young girl realises what has happened, at this moment the girl screams and fades out. After this there is an extreme close up on the girls charm bracelet hanging from the tap.

The weather and lighting could also reflect the thriller genre, as when the girl is lured into the underground den, the weather seems cold and windy. Typically it is late in the afternoon, when the sun is and almost has set.

Tension is made during the film as the audience wait a substantial amount of time before we realise that the girl didn't manage to get away until the very moment the girl her self finds out. this produces tension as the audience grow eager to find out what has happened.

As with many thriller films a Mc Guffin was put in place. this was in the from of the poem of which the girl chases into the hands of the murderer. this is a Mc Guffin as the poem let her to the main event of the film. If this had not occurred it would have been possible for the sequence not to even have occurred. This was also an example of dramatic irony, as the poem was from someone who seemed to care for the girl.

In conclusion The Lovely Bones is a key example of a crime thriller.

Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson

born in New Zealand
film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter
best known for the lord of the rings, however he was the director of a recent crime thriller: The Lovely Bones. (see lovely bones film analysis)

Thriller film directors

Alfred Hitchcock

Born: 13 August 1899

Alfred Hitchcock was an English filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. In 1956 he became an American citizen. Best known for his thriller and suspense films: Rear Window 5th on the imbd best thiller films and Psycho 7th on the imbd best thriller films. Hitchcock has worked for universal fims and has worked along side John Steinbeck

thriller film directors

Quentin Tarantino

born: 26th March 1983

Tarantino is a well know film director, he has directed films such as Pulp Fiction, In Glorious Bastards, Kill Bill and Death Proof. Tarantino first started as an actor and he attended a theatre school at the age of 22. he then went on to becoming a script writter, the first script he sold was True Romance, which is ironic as his most recent films have been thrillers, horrors and actions. However now he is an award winning hollywood director.

Pulp Fiction is voted 3rd on the imbd best thriller films. Tarantino was also voted best director at the Bafta awards for Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction stared actors such as John Travollta and Samuel L Jackson.

7even Film Analysis

the film 7seven could be classed as a "crime Thriller" this is a sub genre of Thriller. Many people claim the title sequence to 7seven is the best in the history of of Thriller films(view 7even title sequence analysis). the film it self is also full of the typical thiller convensions you would expect to find within a thriller.

just as many thrillers there is usually a battle between good and evil. in this case detective summerset and detective mills working together to find the murderer. this is usually in place to engage the audience, this is a key aspect of a crime thriller.

in crime thrillers the story line is often based around a puzzle, and the puzzle pieces are hidden and waiting to be found. each puzzle piece leads to the next. the same was in 7even as after every murder the murderer deliberatly left a clue, as if he is mocking the detectives as he is controling what the do next.

there are often chasing scenes in crime thrillers, this also occurs in 7even, as the detectives on several occassions come very close to finding the murderer. this creates suspence, which is a key aspect of a good thriller film. the suspence leaves the viewer wanting more.

lighting and weather effects are often used to add thriller effect. if you look closely, nearly all the scenes in 7even are at night, and the weather is usually wet and extreme, as it rains non stop. there were moments of thunder and lightening. this is all done on purpose to add a mysterious theme to the film.

Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds all have a negative connotation. Throughout the movie 7even the non-diegetic sounds were very melancholy, which would add to the tense vibes.

there are often deaths and murders in these types of thrillers, in 7even not only throughout the film there were denotations of death but also in the title sequence there were dead bodies. this adds a shock factor, and also supports the idea that the film is based around a puzzle as the death links into the rest of the film.

There was also alot of action in 7even, an example of this would be where the killer sees the detectives standing outside his flat, and takes a shot at them. the detectives then chase the murderer, and ofcourse they come accross some obsticles as detective mills ends up jumping from windows and roof tops. he also ends up injured on the floor once again in the killers control. detective mills ends up in the control of the murder at the end of the film, as he ends up killing the murder, putting himself in trouble.

as a famous theorist said, in films there are typical characters, in 7even the week characters are the murdered people as they are murdered because of their sins. the strong character would be detective summerset as he decides to remain of the case until it is solved. the evil character would be the murderer.

Thriller Conventions Presentation

My group decided to split the presentation up into 4 sections.
an introduction to the Thriller genre
Thriller conventions
an analysis of a thriller title sequence
and a summary of the Thriller genre

Thriller Research Presentation

Saul Bass

Born: 8th May 1920 in New York
Died: 25th April 1996 in California

Saul Bass was an American Academy Award-winning filmmaker, but he is best known for his design on animated motion picture title sequences. Amongst his most famous title sequences are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict's arm for Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm.
Bass became notorious in the industry after creating the title sequence for Otto Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). The subject of the film was a jazz musician's struggle to overcome his heroin addiction, a taboo subject in the mid-'50s. Bass decided to create a controversial title sequence to match the film's controversial subject. He chose the arm as the central image, as the arm is a strong image relating to drug addiction. The titles featured an animated, black paper cut-out arm of a heroin addict. As he expected, it caused quite a sensation.

He also produced the title sequences for some of the best known films such as: Psycho and Goodfellas

Thriller title sequence film analysis: Hide And Seek

The title sequence contains many of the thriller conventions.
The viewer witnesses someone going through pictures of woman tied up and hurt. This immediately gets the viewer questioning the innocence of the protagonist shown. This creates a hook on the audience as we want to keep watching to see why this person has these pictures.
The viewer also sees the protagonist holding a blade, supposedly to cut paper, however the we automatically think that the main motive is to harm, due to the actions demonstrated with the blade.
each section is blended through as a use editing. This is done to create a suspicious tone.
Even the most innocent tasks, such as gluing paper is seen as dangerous purely because of the non diegetic music as the music builds up suspense.
We witness extreme close ups of the protagonists forehead and of the blade, this is to keep the audiences attension on these things.
The Non diegetic music helps to build up suspense as it grows louder and louder, which allows the viewer to expected a sudden event.
The credits are brought in swiftly and in time to the music. These are also in a rather fuzzy style.