Research into Thriller Conventions

1) Proppian Character Types: (Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic who identified character roles from folk tales.)

Villain – these characters are middle aged men, gaunt, clever, compulsive and meticulous, quite similar to hero except there is always some sort of obsession with them. For example: Nicholas Cage’s character ‘Castor Troy’ in ‘Face Off’ is very meticulous and gaunt, who seems to be impulsive and clever, especially in how he has managed to not be captured or imprisoned by Sean Archer (John Travolta). 

Hero – all the heroes are middle aged men, generally quite handsome, well respected, working high up in their careers.  For example: Bruce Willis’ character in ‘Sixth Sense’ is a high-up child psychologist in his thirties or early forties, with a loving wife, living in a nice house on a nice wage, obviously well respected as at the beginning of the film we are told he has been given an award for his role as a child-psychologist. 

Donor – This character has an overlap with the dispatcher, and gives the hero something of value or “magical power” to help them on their quest.  For example: ‘Q’ in ‘James Bond’ provides gadgets for Bond before he goes on his missions, just like ‘Machete’ in ‘Spy Kids’. 

Helper/ Side Kick – This person is generally younger than the hero.  One character example would be Brad Pitt’s character ‘Detective Mills’ in ‘Se7en’, who is a new detective and meets Detective Somerset for the first time at the beginning of the film before the credit sequence.  Mills is supposed to be replacing Somerset soon, and so he is learning from him. 

Damsel in distress – Very pretty/ attractive or related to the hero.  For example: Gwyneth Paltrow’s character in ‘Se7en’ is Mills’ partner, and because Mills and Somerset are close as friends, Somerset feels obliged to protect her for his friend and colleague.

Father - Person who rewards the hero – An example of this would be Clarice’s FBI boss ‘Jack Crawford ‘in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.  These characters are generally older, and an influence to the hero of the film, and so an inspiration for the hero. 

Dispatcher - Person who sends hero on his way – John Travolta’s little boy who is shot in ‘Face Off’, as he sets the plot off and he makes his father need revenge, and so Travolta sets about finding revenge.  However, this character sometimes tags along with the hero, disguised as the helper, for example: ‘Morpheus’ in ‘The Matrix’. 

False hero – A variant on the villain, often stealing the heroes thunder in front of the father, causing him to delay saving the damsel in distress; a red herring. For example: Janet Leigh’s character in ‘Psycho’ is expected to be the hero, but she is killed unexpectedly in the shower scene very early on in the film.

2) Claude Levi Strauss’s Binary Opposition:(Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts.)

Good – Evil.  Examples of this opposition can be found in most thrillers, for example in 'Face Off', Castor Troy is the evil character who kills Sean Archers' son.  Sean Archer is the good character, or hero, because he wants to stop the evil character from killing any more people.

Black – White.  For example, in the titles for ‘Face Off’, the first names of the cast and crew are in white, while their surnames are in black.

Light – Dark.  In ‘Ils/Them’, the car scene where the teenage girl gets killed is set with chiaroscuro lighting, but the school house scene wherein we first see the teacher who drives to the house is lit through big windows that let in the light.

      

      Moral – Insanity.  For example Clarice and Hannibal Lector in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’: he has been imprisoned for being a serial killer, and also for being insanely psychotic.

      Detective – Criminal.  A prime example of this would be Detectives Somerset and Mills, against the criminal they are investigating, in ‘Se7en’.

      Life – Death.  One example of this would be in ‘Sixth Sense’; Bruce Willis’ character is a ghost that only Haley Joel Osment's character can see.

      Victim – Psychopath.  For example in ‘Psycho’, Marion is killed by Norman in the shower: he is the psychopath, and she is the victim.

3) Todorov’s Opening Theory of Narrative Structure

            Todorov suggested that stories began with an equilibrium/ status quo where any potentially opposing forces are in balance.  This is then disrupted, setting off a chain of events (destruction).  The disruption in thrillers is typically a major crime or offence, usually a murder.  Problems are then solved so the equilibrium can be restored (resolution).  The most obvious thriller opening that has conformed to this theory is ‘Face Off’, wherein John Travolta’s character is having a happy outing with his son (equilibrium), when suddenly his son is shot and killed by Nicholas Cage’s character (destruction).  This then starts the plot, and we must assume that in the end of the film Travolta’s characters’ son is avenged.   Another thriller that conformed to this theorem is ‘Sixth Sense’, because the equilibrium between Bruce Willis and his wife is destroyed when he gets shot by an ex patient in his bedroom.   In ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, Clarice is given the task of investigating the case of Buffalo Bill, thus disrupting her other work, and throughout the film she then tries to solve the mystery, but then this is resolved when she catches him.

4) Title Analysis

The titles appear after the opening scene introduces us to the main characters and the crime, and anchor the genre of the film, as before this we don’t see any violence.  They appear very unsettling with forensic images of bodies, sharp objects and cutting; razors and needles insinuating death and violence.  This is also reflected in the jerky titles that look as if they have been hand drawn by a child, or scratched or cut into the screen.  The main example of this is the actual title of the film: ‘Se7en’, which in the frame jerks around more than the other titles.  This title is especially unnerving and weird to look at and read because of the number 7 in the middle of the word, showing that something is wrong and this is weird. There are pictures of children with their eyes crossed out, symbolising death.  The tightly packed sewn journal implies psychotic and obsessive behaviour.  The killer (who we assume is writing the journal) is the flip side of Morgan Freeman’s character: both are intelligent, organised and obsessive but while Freeman’s character is a moral character, the killer is psychotic.  There is a black, white and red colour scheme, suggesting a binary opposition between good and evil.  The red signifies danger, blood and death.  The non-diegetic music over the titles is parallel to the chaos: it is synchronous to what is happening on screen and the mood of the visuals as it is quite disturbing ‘industrial’ rock music.  The song is called ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails.  The only lyrics we hear from the song come right at the end as the director title is shown for the second time.  It is ambiguous but in this case can imply death: “You bring me closer to God.”  The titles are edited as a montage sequence to introduce us to the killer, showing their psychotic mind set, and also to let us know that there will be violent events, creating mystery and an enigma into who the killer is and what they are doing and planning.  The close ups give an oppressive and claustrophobic feel to the montage sequence.