Suckerpunch
Suckerpunch is an action/fantasy/thriller following a young girl who is institutionalised by her abusive stepfather, retreating to an alternate reality as a coping strategy and a way of planning an escape, taking her friends with her.
With little dialogue the typical tension created in the opening sequence of Suckerpunch is done by the use of the sound, or more specifically the music. The music used creates an eerie and chilling sense for the audience, matching the action on screen by becoming more dynamic, fast paced and intense, or becoming softer and slower.
Taking place at night Suckerpunch has the typical setting of a thriller, from the old fashioned house to the loud thunder storm taking place outside, thus helping the audience categorise the film as a thriller. Suckerpunch has a large amount of close ups, this helps to show the emotions and fear of the main character Babydoll, as well as create tension. Another way tension is created, is the use of quick cuts, making the film more fast paced and intense. Through the use of Mis-en-scene we can see that the film is set in the past, most likely in the 20th century by their clothing and the house. The dark and shadowed lighting reflects the gloomy mood of the plot, helping to add suspense.
From the opening sequence we are introduced to the main character, and shown that she is framed by her stepfather after the death of her sister. This helps to shape the audience view of her later on, as we already know she's innocent and yet put into a mental institution, and so we can get a basic idea of the rest of the film. This gives the audience the background information on the main character.
The Woman in Black
The Woman in Black is a drama/horror/thriller about a young lawyer who travels to a remote village to deal with a clients house, only to find it resident to the ghost of a woman looking for revenge from the death of her son.
Tension is also built in the opening sequence of The Woman in Black, with creepy and disturbing orchestral music playing in the background, a type of music often used in psychological thrillers.
The opening sequence shows three girls seemingly possessed, who then jump out the window, a mysterious figure in the corner of the shot in the foreground. This is relevant to the film as the mysterious figure is actually the Woman in Black, the ghost that kills children in the nearby village every time she is seen by others. From the costumes of the children and the nightmarish toys the audience can tell that this film is set in the past.
In this sequence there is no dialogue, with the exception of the mother screaming at the end which makes the whole sequence seem more gruesome. This is also the same in the opening sequence of Suckerpunch.
As with Suckerpunch, there are several close up shots, thus creating a claustrophobic feel, further creating the tension in the scene. The shot at the very end shows the camera panning back from the window, with a woman in a black veil in the corner, giving the impression that she was there the entire time watching the whole event. This leaves the audience questioning who she is giving the whole sequence a sense of mystery.
For the majority of the sequence each shot is fairly long in comparison to most thriller sequences, however this helps with the build up of tension, dragging out the eventual deaths of the characters we see on screen.
The purpose of this sequence is to introduce the main plot of the film, showing the Woman in Black and her murderous past.
The Ring
The Ring is a horror/mystery/thriller about a young journalist investigating a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of watching it.
As with the other two opening sequences, the opening of The Ring takes place at night, creating the dark and nightmarish sense often typical in most thrillers. However unlike the other two this sequence is set in modern day, which makes it more relatable to the audience. The sequence shows one character on her own, creating a sense of isolation.The key function of this sequence is to introduce the idea of the video that kills anyone watching it, shown by the flickering television and the implied death at the end of the sequence.
Similar to the other two sequences, the sound makes up the majority of how the tension is created and built up as the sequence progresses. Judging by the characters reaction to the sound effect of the television turning on to a blurred screen of it's own accord, the audience can learn to associate this with some bad happening, which is useful later on in the film. Also with minimal dialogue the only other soun is a scream/flickering sound of the television at the end. As the audience we aren't shown the cause of this scream, but as with the other films we imply that something horrific as happened and the character is most likely dead.
The Ring also has a large amount of close ups on the characters face, showing their fear and general emotions, allowing the audience to emphasise with this character, making them feel like they are there in the scene with them, experiencing what the character is. The shots are often long and drawn out, as with the Woman in Black. These are both important in the build up of tension.
Summary
In short, tension is one of the most important factors of each of these thriller opening sequences, and in all thrillers in general. Without tension, there is no scare. Without a scare it's not really a thriller.
This tension is often created by the sound effects and chilling music, like in Suckerpunch and The Woman in Black or with an eerie silence and the occasional, yet creepy noise like in The Ring.
The choice of close ups is also important, as showing the fear plain and close on the characters face helps the audience to emphasise, feeling the fear as much as the character.
A mixture of fast paced action and slow build ups should also be used in thriller films as this creates a mixture of keeping the audience on the edge of their seat and shrinking back into it, hiding with fear. When titles are shown, they are often dark and creepy to go with the dark theme of a thriller. Threat is often implied, not seen and in each of the three sequences above a chilling scream is heard at the end of the sequence.
All of these factors can be taken into consideration when making our opening sequence. This will help our group to create an opening sequence that can easily be classified as a thriller.
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