those characteristics that ‘thrill’. If a murder mystery sweeps you up into a thrilling,
action-filled ride with great danger and scary scenes, then it is called a mystery thriller.
In the film ‘The life of David Gale’, the setting was set in three different places, this
consisted of a the prison where about half the film was shot because he was sentenced to
prison until it was he time for him to be executed. It was also shot in a motel where
Betsey and Zack stayed while they were trying to investigate about the murder of
Constance. The last place where it was shot was in the university where he was lecturing
students before he was arrested for RAPE and MURDER. The places where the film was
shot are not particularly typical of a thriller location except that of the prison. This is
because a prison connotes that someone has committed a crime and someone will be
brought to justice whether or not, the crime was committed by the accused.
The opening sequence of the film hooks us because of the star value- Kate Winslet has
starred in many feature- length movies therefore; she will have loads of fans wanting to
watch the movie because she is well- known. Another reason why the opening sequence
hooks us is that, at the beginning of the film we see Kate (who plays a journalist) running
toward something and we as the audiences begin to wonder ‘why on earth she is running
in a deserted area on her own in the dark?’ The fact that she is running also creates
suspense in the viewer because they feel as though there has been a disruption
(equilibrium). The minute there is a sense of suspense in a film then there could be an
element of a thriller within that film.
We as the audience identify with the characters in the film especially the main character
(David Gale) because we feel self- involvement towards him because it seems as though
a student who will do anything to pass her course at university has falsely accused him.
We also identify with Betsey Bloom who comes across strong- willed and independent
and we rely on her as the one who will do everything in her power to set him free.
The film has different themes within it, which help us identify the film as being a thriller,
for example: death, & rape, which is a typical Hollywood convention because in most
thrillers there would be at least one person who dies in the film. Another theme in the
film is that of Family relationships where we see a father and son relationship being
disrupted by a mother because she wants a divorce from David Gale.
In terms of cinematography and style, the film was shot in dark lightening to create the
atmosphere for thriller. Using rainy, humid and bleak settings to create anxiety within the
audience did this.
In conclusion, hard as they are to define, thrillers are easy to recognize, they will have
scenes in which keeps the audience are kept at the edge of their seats. If you can’t stop
thinking about it, if it has you biting your nails and staying up late at night, double-
checking that the windows are locked and worrying and fretting about whether the
characters are going to survive, chances are it is a thriller.