With reference to Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ (1960) and at
least two other thrillers you have studied, as well as your wider research,
discuss the thriller and its forms and conventions.
Thrillers tend to be a well-written, fast-paced and
suspense-filled genre of film. They are unlike any other genre as they engage
the viewer with the constant changes of tension throughout, leading to a climactic
ending.
One of the
most famous directors, who moulded the format for most thrillers made now, is
Alfred Hitchcock. He particularly focused on the sub-genre of psychological
thrillers. An example of a psychological thriller would be ‘Psycho’ (Hitchcock
1960) which is one of the films I have studied. Hitchcock
uses a variety of techniques to create as much tension as possible and this is
evident in the films of his that I have studied- ‘Rear window’ (Hitchcock
1954), ‘To catch a thief’ (Hitchcock 1955) and particularly in ‘Psycho’
(Hitchcock 1960).
‘Psycho’ (1960) is a good example
of showing how thrillers can change pace and tension throughout. The film
begins with bright, white sunlight and we are shown the time, date and place.
This gives it a documentary feel, making it even more realistic with the result
that it is even scarier and creepier. Thrillers generally contain devices to make
the films seem very realistic, increasing the terror and suspense, in
particular the settings and characters. ‘Psycho’ is primarily set in Bates
Motel, a motel being generally viewed as a normal setting where people would
tend to spend time; similarly in ‘Rear window’ the main setting is a man’s
apartment from where he views the ordinary lives of people in apartments
opposite him. This is even more terrifying as these places are ordinary, everyday
settings adding to the realistic possibility of the events, making it particularly
thrilling.
This also applies in ‘Mystic River’
(Clint Eastwood 2003). The film is set in Boston
and opens on an ordinary street where a child, one of the main characters- Dave
Boyle (as an adult played by Tim Robbins) is taken away in a car and sexually
abused by men posing as police officers. This opening is very dark and the ordinary
neighbourhood and ordinary children playing in the street, adds to the sinister
and thrilling nature of the film.
The characters in thrillers tend
to be ordinary, average people, who are not very content and have set-backs in
their lives to stop them being happy. In ‘Psycho’ Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is
an average woman with an everyday job, however her lovers lack of money and how
this prevents her being with him, immediately makes the audience empathise with
her. In ‘Rear window’ the main character- L.B ‘Jeff’ Jefferies (James Stewart) is
quite an ordinary man who is restricted to his apartment due to a broken leg. He
spends his time watching his neighbours. The audience sympathise with him due
to his broken leg and the boredom and inability to do his work that have
resulted from his immobility. In these two films in particular Hitchcock uses
very real main characters giving them faults- Marion stealing money and Jeff spying on his
neighbours. They therefore appear more relatable as they have faults opposed to
other genres in which the main characters can seem ‘perfect’ and less ordinary.
In my opinion this shows the characters as more likeable and makes any
obstacles or bad events that happen to them even more shocking. This is shown
particularly in ‘Psycho’ as Marion
is killed quite early on in the film which is very dramatic as it is unusual
for the director to hire a famous actress (Janet Leigh) and kill their
character off early in the film. Also because the audience had started to
empathise with Marion
as she had decided to take the money back just before her death.
The villainous character in
‘Psycho’ is Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and in ‘Rear window’- Lars Thorwald
(Raymond Burr). Both characters are introduced appearing quite ordinary and
caring, therefore lulling the audience into a false sense of security so when
their true side comes out it is even more shocking.
Marion
arrives at the motel and hears Norman
arguing with his mother and he protests about how he cares for her and loves
her despite their arguing. He seems quite sweet and kind to Marian however when
they sit down and begin to talk he says ‘We all go a little mad sometimes’. This
is used to foreshadow later events, setting up the audience for the reveal of
his true character. Similarly in ‘Rear window’, despite not being able to hear
dialogue from Thorwald he is seen to be caring for his sick wife. Several other
neighbours are shown in the opening scene so that he does not immediately
appear suspicious. However, as the film continues he is shown arguing with his
wife and displays an obvious dislike for his neighbours dog, setting him up to
be an unpopular character.
As both films continue both of
these characters begin to appear more and more suspicious and dangerous. In
‘Psycho’ when Norman gives Marion her room key he says- ‘cabin 1, its
closer in case you want anything, right next to the office.’ He then proceeds
to look through a peep hole into her room. This immediately shows the audience
that Norman is
not actually normal which is shocking as he first appeared sweet and kind. This
behaviour builds up to the ‘shower scene’ in which he murders Marion and reveals the dangerous and scary
nature of his true character. This also makes him even more unpopular due to
the contrasting popularity of Marion.
Also the final shot of him staring psychotically at the camera adds an even
more chilling side to him.
In ‘Rear window’ despite never
hearing anything Thorwald says his behaviour becomes more suspicious and
unnerving- wrapping the weapons in newspaper and the death of the dog. The
likeability of the main characters- Jeff and his fiancé- Lisa Fremont (Grace
Kelly) also confirms the audience’s suspicions about him murdering his wife:
therefore making him seem scarier and an even more sinister character.
Thrillers generally have a
conventional villain (Norman Bates and Thorwald) however ‘Mystic River’
involves characters that have bad traits due to the kidnap and sexual abuse of
Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins). His two friends- Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) and Sean
Devine (Kevin Bacon) witnessed him being taken and appear to feel guilty and
affected by it as adults as they are no longer friends. Jimmy appears to be the
most villainous character due to his quite violent and criminal nature. However
the audience easily sympathises with him due to the loss of his daughter which
makes him vulnerable and therefore can be an explanation for his actions. Dave
Boyle also has a violent streak and seems very unstable however the events that
took place when he was a child make the audience empathise greatly towards him,
therefore making the death of Dave very shocking and thrilling as they felt
sympathy towards not only Dave but Jimmy too also because of their close
friendship as children. Consequently making the paedophiles at the beginning
appearing to be the definitive villains as their actions lead to disrupted and
shocking lives of the three men. This makes ‘Mystic River’
an obvious thriller as it engages the audience and they question who is really
a bad character; it makes them empathise greatly with most of the main
characters.
Throughout most stories and films
there are generally very similar character types, these character types tend to
conform to Vladimir Propp’s character theory. This theory states that there are
seven character types that each character in a story can be put into. The seven
types are: the hero- who seeks something, the villain-struggles against the
hero, the donor- prepares the hero, the dispatcher- sends the hero on a quest,
the false hero- hinders the hero with false claims or actions; the helper- aids
the hero and the princess/prize- the hero’s prize for succeeding. Propp based
this theory on a number of German fairy tales and despite films and stories
being far more complex and the characters being far more sophisticated now, the
characters do fit into a particular character type. Psycho demonstrates this
theory quite well; the hero’s being Marion and Sam, the villain- Norman, the
donor- Detective Arbogast, the dispatcher- Lila Crane, the false hero- Norman
as he appears nice and ordinary at the beginning, the helper- Lila Crane and
the princess also being Lila Crane. Due to the more complex characters in films
and stories compared to the German fairytales Propp studied, the characters can
apply to more than one character type.
In thrillers despite having
villainous characters involved it is not always clear who is the ‘hero,’ as
sometimes the main characters do not conform to typical heroic behaviour and
have dark sides. This is particularly show in Mystic River
as most of the main characters- Dave and Jimmy have dark sides but due to their
past are also empathised with greatly. This would suggest that Sean’s character
would seemingly be the hero as he try’s to aid his friends throughout the film
and at the end he gestures to Jimmy that he will punish him for Dave’s murder.
However it is not always clear which type some characters would apply to,
particularly in Jimmy’s case as some of his actions are very villainous but
some show a more positive side to him. This creates the sense that nobody is
completely normal, there can be bad sides to everyone which lead to bad
actions, whether they are for the right reasons or not. This is quite
terrifying to the audience; in Silence of the Lambs (Jonathon Demme 1991) an
FBI agent works with an imprisoned murderer to catch another killer. They form
a connection and in some ways they are both not to dissimilar, as they are both
very clever, one particular shot is used to show this. Agent Clarice starling
(Jodie Foster) is staring through glass into Dr. Hannibal Lectors (Anthony
Hopkins) room and a reflection of his face, in a sadistic expression, is shown
on the glass next to her own. This creates the feeling and realisation that the
villains can seem and are in some ways very normal and ordinary, which makes
them seem extremely terrifying and can make thrillers far more thrilling.
Mise-en-scene is commonly used
throughout thrillers to set the mood and build up tension. The weather in
particular is often used to set the atmosphere. At the start of ‘Psycho’ it is
sunny and clear which matches Marion’s
mood as she feels safe and happy. Everything seems ordinary- equilibrium. This
applies to Todorov’s theory of equilibrium- everything begins calmly-
equilibrium, this is then disrupted by Marion’s death, therefore everything is
then in disequilibrium, which is then resolved into a new equilibrium and then
the cycle continues. Therefore there is a contrast in weather when she arrives
at Bates motel- the rain and thunder creates the sense something bad is going
to happen. ‘Rear window’ also begins on a bright, summer’s day however when Jeff
first sees Thorwald acting suspiciously it is dark. Similarly when Marion is driving to
Bates motel it is dark and she can’t see where she is going, Hitchcock plays on
people’s fear of the dark to add suspense and mystery and create the feel of
danger. Low-key lighting is also used commonly throughout thrillers to create a
mysterious and menacing atmosphere. This is used particularly in ‘Mystic River,’
shadows are used when Dave tells his wife about his childhood and she suspects
him of murder. The shadows cover all of him except his eyes, showing he may
have something to hide, adding secrecy and danger to the character. Low-key
lighting is particularly used in crime thrillers like ‘Mystic River’
and ‘Rear window’ as shadows give the impression someone does not wish to be
seen or noticed. This adds mystery and risk to the film and can also be used as
a red-herring.
Thrillers often include
red-herrings and false leads to throw the audience off the real perpetrator, so
the real answer will be more shocking. In ‘Mystic River’
throughout the film Dave is implied to be the murderer of Jimmy’s daughter due
to his unreliable alibis; he changes them and acts suspiciously throughout when
questioned about her murder. This leads the viewer to feel he must be the murderer,
leading to a shocking and tense reveal of the real murderer. False leads are
particularly used in crime thrillers, as the real perpetrator is generally not
revealed until the end. This is shown particularly in Hitchcock’s ‘To catch a
thief’ (1955), the death of one of the main characters- Foussard (Jean
Martinelli) leads the audience to the conclusion he is the thief however this
is a false lead and the reveal of the real thief is made even more shocking by
this. In Psycho the use of the money, stolen by Marion,
is also a red herring to assume the rest of the story will surround this;
however it is discovered the killing of Marion
was just down to Norman
being psychotic. This conclusion is even more thrilling as Norman’s actions can’t be explained which
makes it an even scarier outcome as there are no answers.
The ‘Shower scene’ in Psycho is a
very iconic scene as the use of simple shots and iconic, shocking music creates
a very tense, thrilling murder scene. Before Marion
enters the bathroom she is sitting writing and seems generally calm and
dramatic irony is used as the audience is aware Norman
is quite unhinged and not what he seemed, however Marion is not aware of any danger. There is
relatively quiet, ordinary non-diagetic music playing which creates a
mysterious atmosphere. However this music stops when Marion walks into the bathroom. This sets the
audience up, ready for something to happen as there is now no music and just
ordinary sounds and actions. Marion’s
actions are quite normal and the diagetic sounds- flushing the toilet, closing
the door and the water from the shower are very familiar and normal to the
audience which makes the following events far more terrifying as it is very
realistic. Marion
appears very calm and relaxed creating a sense of equilibrium which very
quickly changes. The framing of shots is used particularly in this scene to
create terror, Marion
stands with her back to the transparent shower curtain and her head and shoulders
are in the bottom right half of the screen to convey vulnerability. In the top-
centre of the frame a person’s silhouette appears and gradually becomes darker
and darker as it gets closer. The camera tightens in on this figure and Marion is out of the shot,
this shows the figure’s dominance and adds terror to them. When the figure
pulls back the shower curtain we do not see their face but only a dark
silhouette, however the audience are led to believe this is Norman due to previous actions by him. The
music at this point makes his actions even more shocking as it is very quiet
apart from running water until his appearance; this led to iconic high pitched,
sudden music which is thrilling for the audience. The murder of Marion is brutal as she is
stabbed several times and the shots of blood rushing down the plug hole are
very chilling as a shower is a familiar setting. When the murderer departs, the
audience discover they appear to be a woman, which is very shocking and adds to
the mystery of who killed Marion
and why. One of the final shots of Marion, after her falling over, is a shot of
the plug hole which fades into a shot of her eye, the shot loosens and the
audience can see her whole face, there are droplets of water form the shower
particularly by her eye which look like tears making the audience empathise
greatly, making her death more tragic and shocking.
Hitchcock uses similar techniques
in Rear Window, particularly when Thorwald comes to Jeff’s room. The scene
begins with a shot of Thorwald’s room which is in darkness; this again plays on
the audience’s fear of the dark and unknown. There is generally silence apart
from non-diagetic sounds of the city, car horns and traffic which are familiar,
ordinary sounds this makes it very realistic and scarier. The phone rings and
there is no answer which sets the audience up for what is about to come, this
is followed by the distant sound of a closed door which creates tension as he
is coming. An over head shot of Jeff conveys his vulnerability which adds to
the tension as there is little he can do. Everything is quiet apart from
footsteps growing increasingly louder, this adds suspense as he is walking
quite slowly and the end to the footsteps prepares the audience for his
arrival. When Thorwald enters his face is covered in shadow, adding mystery and
terror as the audience are not completely sure what he is about to do. Hitchcock
uses quiet ordinary sounds and setting to make the scene more realistic and
therefore more thrilling.
Throughout most thrillers the
settings and lives of the ‘hero’ characters seem quite ordinary which makes the
films seem real and therefore more terrifying. The villains actions however are
very shocking and do not also have reason in ‘Rear window’ Thorwald appears to
kill his wife with little guilt or care, this adds terror and also gives no
answers. Thrillers play on people’s fears and the realism of characters, there
are generally no happy endings adding tension and fear to the films.