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Compare and contrast the narrative and stylistic codes and conventions of two thriller films (this should include either: 'Panic Room,' 'The Net' or 'Psycho and one other of your choice) using detailed examples to illustrate your points.
The conventions of the thriller genre are such that they follow an isolated protagonist, often female, in the mercy of their antagonist throughout an escalating plot filled with suspense and curiosity as new information is trickled to the protagonist and the audience. They often have low-key lighting, harsh shadows, quick cuts, frequent changes of angle and montaged elements in order to increase intensity. The outcomes of violent acts and their repercussions are shown in order to further the plot, however the acts themselves aren’t usually a focus as they would be in a horror film. Thriller films usually have a constant soundtrack, the intensity of which lowers and rises with the content on screen, peaking during action sequences. The music may be absent when the protagonist is in a tight squeeze, in order to emphasise their breathing. Most films of the genre, unless they are deliberately doing something different, are likely to use an orchestral soundtrack.
The Net (1995) follows Angela Bennett, a computer programmer who works from home. She is socially isolated, absorbed in her work, only interacting with people over the telephone for work and otherwise in on-line chat rooms. She does go out to visit her mother who is a nursing home and suffers from dementia.
The film opens with a government official committing suicide. Angela is given a flash-drive which contains software linked to a government conspiracy. This puts her in danger as she is pursued by an individual linked to the conspiracy. Angela loses her identity, loses her house and is on the run. The film from this point on comprises a series of chase scenes, exposition and computer/hacking scenes repeated arguably too many times.
In the end Angela manages to access the programme’s data-base and exposes the conspiracy.
The other film I am considering is Get Out (2017). It also follows a main character who is isolated in the setting. Though, where The Net is set in a city, the main character of Get Out, Chris Washington, is in an unfamiliar, remote countryside home. The film opens on the kidnapping of an individual in a suburb, before presenting the African American Chris who is preparing to travel with his white girlfriend to meet her parents. She assures him that they are very accepting people and there won’t be any issue with his ethnicity.
Chris notices inconsistencies and odd hints from his host family. They seem to obsess over his health and their two black servants act strangely. Unlike The Net, which became rather predictable, in Get Out Chris is ensnared by the family as the narrative escalates. Chris is trying to leave, but he slowly but surely realises how trapped he is.
Get Out has a subplot about Chris’s childhood trauma which the family uses, alongside their psychological torture, to trap him.
Both films start with an unexplained act which sets the tone of confusion, mystery and suspense. The films then shift into a seemingly normal opening quarter which establishes the characters and the settings allowing the audience try to link the narrative back to the initial scene. This creates the mystery.
Stylistically, The Net utilises classic chase sequences, in vehicle or on foot, and low-level lighting during key moments. The other film is stylistically coherent as a psychological thriller
where the conflicts are less traditionally physical. The only real chase sequence is at the end of the film when Chris is leaving the home. There are abstract sequences when the main character is trapped inside his body like in the hypnotism scene and, similarly to The Net, there are also strong shadows and high contrast at key moments linking to the genre and the narrative convention of isolation.
Both these films are thrillers, but they link to the conventions of their particular sub-genres. The Net is more general. Through the conspiracy, the protagonist is put at risk by obtaining information organisations don’t want her to have. We are quickly introduced both to our protagonist as well as the antagonist and we follow their conflict through the majority of the film, with an eventual happy ending for the protagonist. Get Out is a psychological thriller. Although we are introduced to the protagonist from the start, it is unclear who is the antagonist. Thus, half of the film is this mystery. The film contains some disturbing and even surreal scenes common to psychological thrillers, the imagery presented is inside the character’s head. Like a conspiracy thriller, information is drip fed resulting in a clearer understanding for both the protagonist and the audience. The expositional information and dialogue in Get Out are more intertwined with the dramatic sequences than The Net, which had more rhythmic progression.
In the final chase scene in The Net, having exposed the conspiracy, Angela is pursued on foot by Jack Devlin, the antagonist. Working through the scene, they enter the dark back corridors and storerooms of the building. The lights are low. Pools of lights illuminate the characters’ faces. The handheld camera moves with Delvin emphasising his presence and control over the scene. In contrast Angela is framed in still, canted shots, isolating her in the light showing her vulnerability: a classic thriller movie chase scene. Delvin shoots a figure he sees running and this quickly slows down the pace as both he and the audience believe this is Angela. The music dies down in this moment magnifying the suspense. This is conventional to a thriller. As Delvin and the audience realise this is not Angela, we hear a crash above him, and the camera match cuts his movement to a point of view shot framing Angela in his sights.
She runs and he chases. Angela snags on the objects she passes, including a fire extinguisher that she will later use to clobber Devlin. Angela ends up on a catwalk, a walkway suspended above a dark storage hall. She hides in the shadows as Delvin arrives after her. At this point, Devlin has his final monologue stating how the situation has changed and she no longer need run, the music again dies down. Angela uses the opportunity to get back to the door and grab the fire extinguisher. She pretends to submit to Delvin before swinging the fire extinguisher onto his head. At this the action is edited into slow motion and the music rises one last time with its dramatic, successive plinky-plonk motif as Devlin is knocked over the edge and falls to his demise.
The final scene of Get Out has more and different emotions. It flips the dynamic of the female protagonist completely. Chris is limping badly in the final chase and the antagonist is not alone. Quiet strings are playing in the background, fired shots echo emptily emphasising his lack of hope for rescue. For this fairly open scene, Chris is more exposed, and this is reflected by the low contrast lighting, though it is still low key. Where Angela had places to hide, Chris doesn’t. The scene is considerably more messy, where Devlin is in possession of a
silenced pistol, Chris’s girlfriend has a shotgun. The camera stays horizontal with the action and is bought down to the floor with the characters. It ends up with Chris laid over the girlfriend and an over the shoulder shot. Sorrowful flute and guitar music plays symbolising her continued manipulation as she claims that she still loves him. During this shot the light casts down from the streetlamps against her face, shadowing Chris’s. He nods and places his hands around her neck in order to strangle her. Here the music comes back in and raises with violins. There is a shot reverse shot passing between them until it goes silent and then they hear the diegetic sound of a police car.
These two scenes conclude their film’s conflicts. They have opposite effects. For The Net it is probably the most subtle and personal of the chase scenes with Angela’s most planned out action. The dark large rooms and shadows give her time to think. In contrast, the action exhibited in the final scene of Get Out is the most extreme so far and shows how its escalated plot is paced. This highlights the different ways the two films tackle the action escalation important to thrillers.
I believe, The Net fits a lot of the, now, generic thriller conventions. To a modern audience, it may seem a little cheesy and have a predictable narrative, as its features can be seen elsewhere, but this may be because it, itself, may have set some of these conventions.