1. ESSEX BOYS (2000)
How Terry Winsor establishes the thriller
genre in the title sequence.
By Nature Wesby
2. • The opening credits immediately intrigue the audience because it has
a chilling factor that most thrillers have. It doesn’t waste any time
getting audiences’ on the edge of their seats. The scratching noises
make most people cringe, and the soundtrack reminds me of a weird
fantasy film.
3. • This first clip sets the stage perfectly for a thriller simply because of the lack
things the audience can see due to the chiaroscuro lighting. The lighting
automatically makes the setting mysterious, especially with very a limited
couple of props in view. The cage builds on the predatory idea of capturing
someone or something. The car and the cage are both claustrophobic objects,
and them being next to each other is very intimidating.
4. • The conditions of this location are very generic because garages are
usually dirty, old, and scarcely attended to, which makes the mood
uncomfortable. It’s an isolated place that brings an undeniable
tension to the scene. Even though the light is turned on, it’s dim so
the audience is still not able to become fully at ease with the
surroundings. The man’s costume is dark and uninviting, and the
way he’s standing causes suspicion.
5. • The man here is revealed in a very threatening way because there is
nothing in sight except him, and his proximity is quite intense. His
leather jacket has him appearing tough, but the patterned shirt softens
his cold look. The lack of light in this clip makes it suspenseful to
have the audience wondering what is beyond him. There is an anxious
mood set with the character being unpredictable. The filthy
windshield could symbolize that he is a dirty, ruthless, untrustworthy,
sordid man that no one wants to deal with unless they have to.
6. • This clip has an amazing vanishing point in a decaying tunnel that
takes the audience into another world as if you were driving into a
barrel of a gun. It’s a claustrophobic, closed in place that only has one
way out, and sets the mood of being trapped. It has a gangster
soundtrack, which suggests that something sinister is going to
happen.
7. • The theme in this clip is confinement. The imprisoned reflection of
the lights remind the audience of the bars from a jail cell. The driver
is trapped in the situation because of the line of work he does. His
passenger is dominant here through his clothing and relaxed
positioning.
8. • Both of these clips are full of anticipation, but contradict each other.
The man in the suit appears to be the predator in control of the
situation, but there is a twist in the next clip. He escapes only to fall
into another trap and is actually the prey being conquered by the
tough stylish guy. The business man looks psychotic in the first clip,
whereas he is clearly vulnerable in the second one. The ambient
lighting is continuously dim and hopeless.
9. • The common business man attire contrasts with the natural
environment of the marsh. He is exposed in the middle of nowhere in
a very humiliated way. There is no help in sight from this isolated,
empty, and nightmarish place, which is meant to put the audience on
edge. The lack of people and loneliness this presents could be very
scary for the audience.
10. CONCLUSION
• Terry Winsor follows the generic thriller conventions such as: themes
of uncertainty, danger, and suspense, as well as characters who are
criminals and down-on-their-luck losers. The opening scenes of the
film make the audience curious to how things will start to piece
together because it has a casual start with not-so-casual action
happening.
