Thriller Openings

The opening of a thriller is one of the most crucial parts o the film - it can either make the audience want more or make them want to turn it off. Three successful thriller openings are that of 'Memento', 'Brick' and 'Zodiac'.

Memento

Conventions:
Just from the first few minutes of the film we are presented with an eigma: why is the polaroid picture fading the more he shakes it? SHouldn't it be the other way around? Is this a sign of what is to come later in the film?

Camera:
Close ups help us focus on what is on screen to give us precise details of what is important. We can also read characters' faces and get an idea of the mood of the film.

Editing:
After the opening credits, the picture turns to black and white. This tells the audience that they are waching a flash back or dream which allows them to retrieve information that happened prior to the beginning of the present. They audience also begin to understand that the film is in reverse and the beginning of the film is actually towards the end. Short frames at the end of the opening create suspense and speed up the feel of the film as he goes to murder a man.

Sound:
The music at the beginning of the film is in a minor key which adds a dark and mysterious atmosphere to the opening to give the audience an insight as to what the rest of the film will be about.

Mise-en-scene:
The fact that Guy Pearce (the protagonist) has blood on his face immediately draws the audience's attention to the fact that the film is a thriller. He is also holding a gun suggesting that a crime is about to be commited which creates suspense.

Brick

Conventions:
Again, we are given an enigma that runs throughout the opening scene of the film: why is there a dead body?...

Camera:
The use of the camera in the opening of this film makes it seem very realistic. It starts with a hand-held camera which creates the illusion that we are looking through someone's eyes. The camera then switches so that it is steady and it shows a close up of the dead body. The fact that we only see the hand laying dead and cold in thewater makes it even more sinister.

Editing:
There is a graphic match between the bracelet on the dead body which them switches to the blue bracelet on the girl from a flashback of when she was still alive. This makesit a smooth transition from scene to scene.

Sound:
The music plyed at the beginning of the film is very eerie and is played in a minor key. This makes the audiece aware hat something is about to happn which adds suspense and tension.

Mise-en-scene:
The surroundings in the opening of the film are very dull and dreary - there is a grey sky, the floor is muddy and there is someone with their head in their hands. This gives the film an overall sombre mood. The body still has a fleshy coulour which suggests that she has only just been killed.

Zodiac

Conventions:
Once again there is an enigma that is posed at the very beginning of the opening scene of the film. A mysterious car pulls up and shoots the young couple in the parking lot. But who is the culprit?

Camera:
The low key lighting of the film creates a silhouette of the man who is about to kill the young couple. This adds to the air of mysetry and also conceals who the killer is which keeps the audience guessing who it is. Long shots also establish the setting to allow the audience to know where the film is taking place.

Editing:
Captions at the bottom of the film allow the audience to know extra information that would not necisseraly be given to them simply by watching the opening.

Sound:
The use of contropuntal music creates suspense and tension as the audience is expecting something bad to happen but the music doesn't suggest this.

Mise-en-scene:
The firewrks in the opening sequence let the audience know that a celebration is taking place. The fashions show us that the story is set in the mid 1990s.