Thriller film - Signs

This piece of thriller research is on the film Signs. This film is about alien discovery and the signs of spotting them.

Conventions

The film opening starts off with the company idents at the beginning, like most films do, however, unlike most films it does not show us the setting/location. We are kept guessing about where this will be and what will happen. The non-diegetic sound running through it helps to create a spooky feeling/atmosphere for the audience.

We are shown who the cast, directors, producers and behind the scenes people are, as the text is super imposed. There are also some transitions/effects on the text towards the latter half of the opening and the music becomes faster paced as well.

This is the ending scene which has non diegetic running through it, even when Graham (the man who has the flashback) realises there is meaning to his wife's final words. The diegetic sounds, like the spilling of the water and the swing of the bat, all help to create tension and suspense until finally when the alien is killed.

The text, although in spanish, was again super imposed and effects on it as Graham suddenly comes to the realisation that his wife's final words were important.

I did notice some intertextuality. The more recent film Alien Vs Predator has 'borrowed' the theme of aliens and a similar plot. They discvoered a pyramid and the thing discovered in signs was a circle in a corn field.