Thriller essay

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.