There are no particular limits as to how decorative a thriller opening can be and there are many techniques that can be used to create a powerful opening. A well-known favourite is the use of reflection – helping to make the audience feel more vulnerable as a threat becomes apparent. American Psycho uses this technique when the main character introduces us to his obviously disturbed side; he becomes more powerful and brings threat upon the barwoman whilst standing in front of a mirrored wall (typical of a modern club). Intense points like this are usually accompanied by close ups, to help demonstrate particular feelings that certain characters have and also to highlight key elements within the shot. Zooming in also helps to highlight and draw attention to important elements, and almost always in thrillers the camera finds itself slowly zooming in so that it can intensify the situation. POV shots can be used to show the terror of the situation the victims are in - we see through their eyes and we get closer to the emotional action. They can also be used so that the audience sees through the killers eyes stalking the victim. This changing point of view is subtly disturbing for the viewer; we are looking through both the killer’s and the victim’s eyes, which is a very powerful way of creating an objective viewpoint. The Limey uses a POV of the main character in an airport; in this case the audience are made to feel especially wary as the POV pans around the vicinity, putting emphasis on the police-car parked outside. This particular shot helps the audience identify that the character is wary of his surroundings and not necessarily law-abiding. What reflected the characters wariness was the slow pan across the airport, and these are often used to create tense moments causing the audience to be alert in a wait for something more exciting to occur.
In an opening sequence there is no particular need for the editing to create a whole understanding of the narrative. Instead, it sets out to intrigue the audience in the same way that a trailer does. Cross cutting from one location to the next leaves a question of how the locations are connected. The Limey uses this feature; presenting the audience with an airport and motel so that the audience can gradually generate expectations of how they can come together and make sense. The pace of editing can be used so that it ties in perfectly with the use of other techniques. As thunder strikes in The Gift, an image of a dead body appears in a flash edit as if it appeared in lightning. This quick preview of death (obviously reflecting the narrative’s content) is very effective due to its fierce approach and the fact that the audience are unprepared for it. The general pacing of shots all depend on what the shot consists of. At times of comfort, peace or normality the shots are longer in length – also when there is more for an audience to take in – and when there is little included in the shot, and the scene is dramatic or disturbed, you tend to find a faster pace of editing. In American Psycho special effects are used in an attempt to imitate blood dripping onto a surface (implying that the film is indeed a thriller), but as soon as the audience establishes that they are in a kitchen the blood then becomes something completely different with different connotations- sauce. This example is very effective at representing the comedy and irony that appears in the thriller throughout.
The music is yet another feature that is added to the film in the effort to reflect what is happening at that time, or in the case of an opening sequence; what happens throughout the film. American Psycho switches from a classical, cultivated and traditional type of music to the complete opposite of loud, modern, eighties-type music in order to convey the lead characters contrasting personality of civilised versus dangerous. The use of different music to show contrast is very popular in film-making and is often accompanied by change in location. In the Limey, there is more focus on the character than there is on the location, so only one piece of music is used as a reflection of his lifestyle and capabilities. The track used called ‘The Seeker’ by The Who - due to the band’s notoriety and the implications of violence and aggression –
evokes connotations that help to conclude that the protagonist could bring threat upon others. Adding crescendo to the music helps to build up whatever emotion the audience is experiencing at that time. The Gift uses its soundtrack in a different way; instead, to describe the atmosphere of the town in which the film is situated. The Cajon style music takes us to Louisiana but it has a slight eerie feel to it as it sounds slightly slower and out of tune – more so than the normal Cajon sound. This helps to establish that all is not well and the music is as if the distress that is soon to come is lurking around the town. Sound is a key factor in helping to develop a mood for the situation. Amplified sound is often used as it can create emphasis on certain actions, and can also help to make the audience feel uncomfortable at tense times; this is because amplified sounds can sometimes create a sense of abnormality. The gift amplifies the sound of frogs and crickets in the opening to both add to the swamp’s atmosphere and to add fear as the audience almost feels surrounded by them. Dialogue, unlike soundtrack music is diegetic. American Psycho uses dialogue in the opening sequence to convey the character, social and private life of the protagonist which is a perfect introduction to a film about a psycho. The limey only uses dialogue in the form of voiceover (non-diegetic) effectively helping the audience establish that the man is on a quest to find his daughter’s murderer. The use of silence as opposed to sound is also a common technique that occurs in suspenseful moments in thrillers. Nearly every thriller uses a distinctive silence that not only makes the audience feel awkward and fearful, but also the silence that is created draws their attention and expectations to what might happen.
There are many stock situations and character types that are conventional of thrillers: the audience employ expectations and predictions from these conventions meaning they interact with the film. Often the thriller genre plays with the supernatural, using children who act as innocent bystanders or who get possessed like in The Omen. The Blair Witch Project uses an unseen threat in an isolated location, as does Scream when the first kill is made; however it turned out the murders were based on revenge. The Limey seems also to be based on revenge and in the opening sequence we are given subtle hints (newspaper cutting, voiceover) to show what the main character is doing. As we have begun this journey with him and know that he seeks the satisfaction of justice for his daughter, we sympathise with the character; making it all the more realistic. American Psycho on the other hand is about a killer who has no reason to do so. We meet a mad and dangerous killer and are invited to experience both sides of his personality: one side is friendly and a pleasure to be around – although we become unsure of him as his friends seem more and more like the spoilt
wealthy types (who are conventional of being victims in the thriller genre) whose systems aren’t absent of foul language or cocaine. The other side of him is purely psychotic, and because we’ve been introduces to both sides the implication is that we follow the ‘American Psycho’ on his killing rampage. In both the Limey and American Psycho the audience is aware of who brings threat to the people around them; in The Gift however, they aren’t. Like many films the question of who the killer is, is a mystery, and the audience don’t find out until the end. In a way, the opening sequence reflects this in that there is no particularly significant imagery until towards the end of the opening. The audience is at this point confronted by the dead body and because it isn’t expected, it brings a huge shock – in the same way the person who ends up being the killer in The Gift is not who the audience expected and that too surprises them.
As said there are a numerous conventions that film-makers follow when producing a thriller, and if they are united carefully they can be extremely powerful with the right techniques. Thriller openings are small introductions to the rest of the film and have the power to intrigue the audience, so it important that they are as interesting and effective as possible.
