How the Essex Boys by Terry Winsor (2000) portrays codes and conventions of the Thriller Genre

Essex Boys is a 2000 film by Terry Winsor. The film stars Charlie Creed-Miles, Sean Bean and Alex Kingston. The film plot is loosely based around the story of events that occured december 1995 when three drug dealers where murdered in Rettendon, Essex, UK.

User review
"I didn't really like this movie, but had to admit it was compelling. Sean Bean gives a performance as the evil drug thug that compares favorably (if that's the word I want) with Dennis Hopper's crazed bully in "Blue Velvet." It's outstanding work, but if you're a Sharpe fan (and who isn't?) it may be a bit jarring. I mean, this guy throws acid in faces, beats his wife, laughs at suffering, rapes a teenager and strangles her more or less accidentally. That's in addition to selling the drugs and other criminal activities.
    Bean is, in fact, so good at being bad, he almost tips the movie over. Alex Kingston and Jim Wilkinson - versatile, dependable and often outstanding actors themselves, do what they can to take a scene away from him, and never quite manage. Charlie Creed-Miles, as the innocent who gets drawn into all this, is quite convincingly intimidated."

Professional review by BBC film
Lack of originality hasn't stopped British director after British director pumping out gangster films by the batch, as if no other form of cinema existed. To them, of course, it doesn't. They can only acquire directorial street-cred by stuffing the screen with psychos and letting it drip with blood. One cannot, then, imagine that "Essex Boys'" director and co-writer Terry Winsor has not watched "Goodfellas" at least several hundred times.
 ....Even though Creed-Miles brings some warmth to Billy, he is often acting in one dimension only, and it is left to Bean to haunt you for some time afterwards as an unstable thug whom the actor keeps short of caricature. Alex Kingston, cast as Lock's wife, removes herself convincingly from her familiar role in ER and plays a woman whose toughness can't quite conceal her insecurity. But, as so often with this new rash of Brit gangster flicks, the structure is a bit wobbly, and so the film bounces between clever twists and convolution. Moreover, Terry Winsor just doesn't know how to end it."
The film Essex Boys portrays many different aspects of the thriller genre of which I shall be exploring in this analysis of the opening.
    

    The film begins with the opening sequence which instantly establishes the thriller genre of the film. It begins by including non-diegetic music, the sound of scratches, and white graphics as you are able to see to the right of the page. The black and white theme could be refering to film noir creating a visually appealing effect, also it could be a reference to good and ehas a strong resemblence to the sound of police or ambulance sirens which has been used to imply that the film will have some form of; violence, police involvment and crime. As the audience is aware of this it has a gripping effect, the audience want to know who is making the scratch marks and whether there will be any form of violence or crime within the film. The graphics could be considered as lines on a chalk board when looking at the black background, however paired with the scratching sounds the audience is led to think that they are actually reference to a car being scratched by a key. The music

   

The chalk line then dissolves into a scene within a garage. In this scene the audience hears a male voice over; we are unable to tell whether it is a form of story telling or if he is simply thinking to himself. The voice over is not specific to the thriller genre but is sometimes used for example in the Third Man has a voice over in the title sequence which brings the audience closer to the action and more involved. In Essex Boys it is used to encourage the audience from Billy's point of view however it also explains the events within the film. Winsor has made obvious Cultural signifiers through the strong Essex accent Billy has. Winsor has created a typical thriller scene here by using chiarscuro and noir lighting as well as the generic location of the garage. The chiarscuro has been used to create confusion within the audience as it connotates surrealism and nightmares. The garage has been used as it is a claustraphobic, enclosed space which connotes entrapment, it also foreshadows the entrapment Billy may later feel as he is scared and pressured by Jason. Both aspects of the mise-en-scene indicate that the film is a noir thriller and uses the thriller template, the ideology and the themes of corruption. Billy then switches on a light which creates non ambient lighting whilst throughout the scene we hear diegetic sounds which have been used to create realism which makes it believable to the audience that this could happen to anyone.

      The camera then cuts to Billy getting into the car. In the still to window wipers wiping off dirt and dusk revealing right a man standing to the left of the screen.  The glass window acts and represents the barrier between Billys and Jasons character however the removal of the dirt implies that Billy is revealing himself to Jason, therefore making himself vunerable. The dirt represents that the characters moral corruption as he could be considered as "dirt". As we can see from Jasons appearance, he is clearly a generic villian as we later sees he deals with "business" by using uncompromising violence, he is not scared and he doesn't care.

   Billy offers to work for Jason by driving him around. This still of the film shows various aspects linking with the thriller genre. The use of the tunnel promotes the generic enclosed space, Winsor has opted to use this location to show foreshadow that Billy will feel trapped by Jason. The audience are extremely aware of the notion of the vanishing point which seems to go on forever. This leads the audience into thinking that they are "Driving into nothing" and also that if Billy continues he will eventually vanish, making the audience sympathise with Billy. The tunnel also resembles the barrel of a gun, and could have been used to imply that Billy is now becoming involved with the crime.

    Winsor also uses clever lighting to portray thriller codes within this scene. The lights shown in the still to the left resembles prison bars which strongly connotes a feeling of entrapment; teamed with the claustraphobic location Winsor has created an extremely daunting effect on the audience and created extreme sense of unease and suspense..

    Jason goes to the essex marshes to leave his victim. The essex marshes is a further representation of Jasons character and his moral landscape, as the marshes have no visible boundries the audience are led to think that it is a representation of Jason's moral void. The marshes are bleak and dirty and act as an indication of the situation that Billy is in. The marshes create a daunting effect as the audience are aware that when the tide comes in it disapears, and as the marshes are a reflection of Jasons character it makes Jason seem like a strong, even ruthless character. The use of the generic white van in this scene also acts as an ironic poke at the thriller genre, the use of the white van is familiar to the use of the car boot as we are unaware of what is it, the van becomes almost an enigma. The use of the van makes the audience become suspicious and wary of the van as it is so generic.

Case study of Hard Candy (2005) by David Slade

As I previously mentioned the film Hard Candy I thought it may be an interesting film to look at as it classed as a psychological thriller and it is extremely different to anyother film I have seen. Hard Candy won 5 awards and was nominated for 6. It is a film about a mature fourteen year old girl who meets a thirty two year old photographer on the internet.Suspecting that he is a pedophile, she goes back to his house in an attempt to expose him, however at the beginning the audience are unaware of this.

Definition of a psychological thriller according to Wikipedia

"Characters are no longer reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies (which is often the case in typical action-thrillers), but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state."

This is a BBC film review by Stelle papamichael.

"Hard Candy is anything but sweet, following a 14-year-old girl as she torments a suspected paedophile in his own home. It’s a striking big screen debut for indie filmmaker David Slade whose crisp direction provides a great showcase for the fearless acting of Patrick Wilson (The Phantom Of The Opera) and the precocious Ellen Page. Together they pull off an extraordinary balancing act - a film that will have you both squirming in your seat and teetering on the edge of it.

   ...This is definitely a visceral rather than intellectual take on the subject of paedophilia, yet there is also an underpinning delicacy about the way the confrontations build and the measured approach of the actors. The final scene is a little disappointing, as it feels overly contrived, but Hard Candy lingers nonetheless."

What makes Hard Candy a thriller?

-Use of characters
-Use of isolated location
-A mixture of muted colours, bright lights and low key lighting
- Use of diegetic sound

Analysis of Hard Candy and how David Slade uses aspects of the thriller genre

Slade uses large amount of thriller aspects within Hard Candy, of which I shall be interpreting and exploring in this short analysis. 

   This first scene is a close up of what we assume to be a computer screen; we see the conversation between "thonggrrrl14" and "lensman319" on an instant messaging site/programme. The use of names is instantly provoking, we question why has “thonggrrrl14” used such an alluring name and whether the number 14 is a reference to her age. This leaves the audience thinking that if 14 is her age then she surely is too young to be talking in such a way. Slade has used completely diegetic sounds including the tapping of the keyboard and a low humming which we can only assume is the humming of the computer, these sounds add both realism and intensity. When the conversation becomes more provocative “you oughta film me with that camera” the camera cuts to an extreme close up of the screen anticipating the reply. This scene is extremely tense and mysterious scene as we are unable to indentify who the characters are, how old they are and how long they have known each other etc, which is highly unsettling. This could be Slade’s reflection of internet dating, we are forced to anticipate people, be trusting and make presumptions, which later in the film we realise isn’t always a good thing.

          In the next scene the two characters arrange to meet at "Nighthawks Diner". Nighthawks is the name of an Edward Hopper painting, painted in 1942. It is a painting of a couple, a man and a waiter at a bar and was considered a portrayal of modern unban life as being lonely and empty. If you look at the painting there is no visible leading outside and the waiter appears to be trapped within the serving area; these points all indicate a feeling of confinement and entrapment which is essentially what the film Hard Candy plays upon. The link indicates Slades appreciation of Hopper, and almost foreshadows the entrapment the characters will feel later within the film. For example although Slades use of characters isn't exactly generic, the way he has chosen to use and manipulate them creates a thriller-like effect, Slade has only used four obvious characters which creates obvious isolation and could be a reference to the four characters in the picture.

The audience then sees a black screen until it cuts to a close up of a chocolate cake and we see a young girl slowly slicing the cake and almost suggestivley eating it. She makes noises of enjoyment as she is eating the cake and is left with chocolate on her lips, in this case the noises and chocolate are considered progotative and sexual, the camera zooms a close up of Jeffs face as he looks at Hayley in awe implying to the audience that he is infact a predator. This gives a very strong representation of woman as being highly sexually provacative however as she as we are not aware whether she is intentionally doing so this has been done to make the audience question society on age and sexuality, to create a contraversy and to also create an uncomfortable effect.

       Slade uses mostly backlight and flood light; the backlight is mostly used when looking at hayley (the young girl) indicating she angelic and innocent- which is used to trick the audience as we later find out, the flood light is mostly used to connotate realism, to imply this could happen to anybody. This still photograph of the film supports this as Hayley is seen as almost luminous. In this scene the camera is mostly used for close ups, extreme close ups and mid close ups, this is to show the tense relationship; although they not physically close to each other we can tell that they are interested as the camera is placed as though we are the characters. Hayleys skin is pale and contrasts with the redness of her lips drawing the audiences attention to her lips which again indicates ideas of sex.

           In some way, Hayley could be considered as a slight femme fatale- a generic thriller character; due to her strength and power and her unconventional sexual appeal. At the beginning of the film Hayley is wearing red hooded jumper; an obvious connotation to danger which also could be a reference to Brother Grimms fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood". However she is a femme fatale with a twist as she also uses her psychological strength, we as the audience are fooled into thinking she is a vunerable almost pathetic character like other woman characters in thriller films via light techniques and psychological games she plays which Slade puts through via the script.

This is a still of the film at 01:35:49, showing Hayley convincing Jeff to commit suicide (supporting the femme fatale point) and showing highly generic thriller aspects. This demonstrates the isolated and seculsion location, we are unable to see any nearby roads, houses or any civilisation. Due to the lighting the characters have become distorted silhouttes creating a highly mysterious and uncomfortable feel for the audience. At this point the film has been put into slow motion whilst Hayley watches him jump which makes the audience anticipate his death. Unlike other femme fatales Hayley gets away, she climbs down a hill in her red hood with a smile upon her face- which again could be a reference to the last line of Little Red Riding Hood "Red Riding Hood went joyously home, and no one ever did anything to harm her again. "

Case study of Se7en (1995) by David Fincher

In this case study I shall be looking at the American 1995 film; se7en directed by David Fincher. It was nominated for 17 awards and was a winner of 19 others. The film, which could be considered of the thriller, crime or even mystery genre, is a story about two detectives seeking a serial killer who bases his murders on the seven deadly sins. 



This is a BBC film review of the film Almar Haflidason 
"Originality in movies today is a rarity, with many central themes having been plundered to the point of audience exhaustion. What the viewer can occasionally hope for is a fresh new slant or re-interpretation. "Se7en" is such an example of classic horror thrills, up-ended and twisted into a bewildering and claustrophobic web of tension.
   Despite the references to the 'seven deadly sins' and other machinations of literary origin, this is a 'chase' movie. Fincher previously murdered this sub-genre with the brutally dull "Alien 3". His techniques in "Se7en" are confidently different. In the place of the obvious is subtlety. Rather than lingering gore shots, we get a diffused layering of the visual and verbal, to nauseating effect.
   The pace is fast and the shocks build beautifully. The actors within it all reel with convincing horror, as the chase veers towards a growing realisation that the answer to this mystery will not soothe the frazzled viewer."

What makes se7en a thriller?
-use of low lighting
-use of muted colours
-use of generic charatcers (ie. Detectives)
-use of generic clothing
-use of diegetic sound
-use of metaphor
-use of chiaroscuro lighting
-use of close up

Analysis of se7en and how David Fincher uses aspects of the thriller genre
David Fincher uses many aspects of the thriller genre within the film Se7en of which I shall be exploring in this case study analysis. One way Fincher presents Se7en as a thriller is through sound conventions. The film begins which the Diegetic sounds of metal objects clanging and the sound of washing up, there is no dialogue which allows the audience to assume the Detective is alone making him seem vulnerable and creating a tense feeling often found in thrillers. The camera then transits into a medium close up of the Detective, which is commonly used in the thriller as it allows us to see emotion; however in this specific close up we see no obvious emotion. We then see that he is dressed in a shirt, braces, generic thriller style suit and a trilby hat. This tells the audience that he looks after himself, the audience is made aware that is patient, the audience also consider that it maybe be a symbol of respect towards his colleges and hierarchy, which is perhaps a reference to old thriller costume.The audience then sees a close up of neatly arranged selection of everyday objects and uncommon objects including; a police badge which instantly tells the audience that he is a Detective (which is a generic character in the thriller genre), a knife, a pen, a tissue and an unidentified object in a black leather case. The use of unknown objects is common in thrillers as it adds to the suspense as the audience are desperate to know what it is. The camera then cuts to the Detectives lower body and follows his hand until it switches off a bed side light. The turning off the bedside light is perhaps a metaphor for death, as when we relate dark black colours to death and misery. Also the light almost foreshadows the following scene where we see a dead man lying on the floor.
      Fincher then cuts to another scene in which he has made strong use of chiaroscuro lighting with muted colours which draws the audience’s eyes to the pool of blood belonging to the dead man, this lighting is used to suggest nightmares and surrealism and refers to the Film Noir genre. The camera then changes to low key lighting of the Detective and a slight blue filter has used which again estabilishes the genre. The camera then moves into the Detectives, low key lighting has been used to add to the mystery and tension within the scene as parts of the Detective are shadowed and less visible. The setting of this scene is grimy, dirty and grungey which could be a reflection of the murderer or could be an implication that somebody in the police is crooked. Fincher has a setting like this to perhaps show strong contrast with the Detectives delicately organised flat, this could be a comparision of the Detectives neat moral gestures and with the obsessive, almost nauseating mayhem caused by the psychopath.
    The camera then cuts to the Detective in bed- again Fincher has played on the vunerablity of the character as he his once more alone. This is when Fincher again makes obvious use of sound to relate to the thriller genre as the style he uses often creates a tense atmosphere. The Detective then switches on a metronome, which almosts acts as a repetitive diegetic rythme, as the film continues the noise becomes louder creating an ever increasing tense, tormenting atmosphere until it stops with a swooping noise. The metronome also has been utilised in reference to the dectectives meticulous and steady nature. Fincher then chose to use a steady beat with particular objects which almost becomes a song. We are able to hear groaning, screams, scraping and clicking noises which don't necessarily match the images which flash on the screen which creates a feeling of confusion and disorientationfor the audience.
     In this scene Fincher also makes use of editing and images to create specific moods. The audience sees flashes of images which have been edited with flashes and sharp shot changes, each image interspersed with a black screen again creating a feel of disorientation. We are never able to see the entire image, where it is and who is handling the object, which creates a highly intense atmosphere as the audience are desperate to know what the objects are and essentially symbolise. As the scene progresses the images are interspersed with occasional red blank screens connating blood, danger and perhaps evil. We see images of book pages, disturbing images and newspaper clipping of alarming subject. Although nobody in the mise-en-scene, we see close ups of somebodies unclean hands, writing, cutting and sewing creating a very daunting and uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience. We are forced to come to the conclusion that the unkown person is creating a book of some form, of which contains evidence or simply disturbed ideas, we are unsure whether it is an act of good or evil and whether the person is a detective or a disturbed person. All the images shown within the Mise-en-scene have been used to create an uncomfortable, disturbing yet gripping effect on the audience.