Over my Christmas holiday, I decided to watch any Thriller film to have a better understanding on how a film links their opening with the actual film and hints what's to come. The one I chose was: Orphan!
Genre and sub-genre: Orphan has a psychological/horror sub-genre and it has a thriller genre.
Storyline: The film is about a woman, Kate, who
had a still birth and dealt with her grief through drinking alcohol. Kate and
her husband, John, decide to adopt a child. They choose Esther to join their
family, however, she is not what she seems - there is a twist in the film which engages the audience as it is so interesting and unique. Esther is actually a 30 year old
woman, who has a disorder that makes her look like a child. She moves from
family to family, trying to seduce the fathers. When she cannot, she kills the
fathers and their families out of revenge! Freaky is all I can say!!
Camera Shots: Throughout the film, the director uses certain camera shots
and manyclose-ups to reveal to the audience that Esther isn't as innocent as she
seems. The reason why there are many close-ups and extreme close-ups in this film is because they want to show her emotion to the audience. Also to show the contrast between her young made-up face (that is hiding her true identity) with her real old wrinkly face. In the video below, the audience is shown that Esther's paintings are
actually quite sinister and eerie. Also, the
lighting used in this scene helps to show Esther's "dark"
side.
One of the key camera shots is where Esther
is taken from a slight low angle, which makes her appear very powerful. It also
makes the sleeping Max look very innocent and vulnerable - it shows a clear
contrast between the two, making Esther seem even more scary and dangerous. The
director also used lighting again to add a creepy feel to the thriller. At
first, it looks like nobody is in the room with Max, however, the flashes of
lightning reveal that Esther is actually standing over her.
Sound: Non-diegetic music has been added in
to the background of some scenes to increase the tension and to make the film
more frightening. However, in the beginning, calming music is used in the
background to give off a homely and loving atmosphere.
The film opening with title
sequence:
- In the opening, the distributor and producer idents and titles are shown: Warners Brothers and Dark Castle Entertainment.
- The titles are also shown in unusual looking font style, which shows what the film is going to be like and hints Esther’s character.
- It does not follow the all of the typical conventions of film openings, as we are not shown the setting straight away. However, we are introduced to the main character Kate and her husband, John.
- The scene is a dream sequence, and this is obvious because bright white lights are used throughout.
- It also reveals Kate's history and the story of her still birth, making things clear to the audience.
After watching this film, I would really like my group's thriller film to have a psychological/horror sub-genre! Because I like the twist in the plot, the mise en scene and how engaged I was to the movie as a member of the audience!
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