The document summarizes thriller openings from three films: Gothica (2003) starts in darkness with a woman talking to the audience through a cage, setting up intrigue and danger. Brick (2006) immediately shows a death and running water, conventions of the thriller genre, with characters running from something unknown. Book Of Eli (2009) opens in a dead forest with the diegetic sounds of wind, then shows a body and man in a gas mask, using tension-building techniques like a red herring and slow motion to draw the audience in.

1. Thriller Openings:
Gothica (2003) -
Starts with a shot of complete darkness, with the diegetic sound of
a woman talking... Gradually gets lighter until you see the
woman's face. It shows a close-up of her straight on, this could be
in order to make the audience feel a connection with her and feel
that she is talking directly to them. The woman's hair is red, this
could represent evil, the devil or fire, which the woman mentions.
Lots of the opening is shot from the other side of a cage, this gives
the viewer the feeling that they should not be there and they are
intruding. This could also be in order to make the audience feel as
if the woman is dangerous and the cage is protecting us from her.
The woman (played by Halle Berry) interviewing the clearly
insane woman looks quite beautiful, make-up is used
appropriately in order to enhance her beauty. The insane woman,
on the other hand, looks tired, run down and a little beat-up. This
shows the viewer that Halle Berry is the good one between the
two. This is achieved with the Halo Effect (Thorndike) where you
perceive good looking people as having good personalities.
Brick (2006) -
In the opening scenes, we immediately have a death and running
water, two of the main conventions of thriller movies. There are
also numerous shots of feet, making the audience question if the
characters are running away from something...
There is also a dark tunnel, this could symbolize that the
characters are plunging into the unknown.
When the male character is on the phone to the woman, she says
“good to see you” even though she is not there with him... This
causes him to look around outside the phone box. This is a clear
reference to the notion of looking, another convention of thriller
movies.
When the car goes past and a cigarette is flicked out, you
immediately get a feel for the character that is driving. He is in a

2. black car, driving at high speeds and smoking, this indicates that
he is a 'bad boy' character. The cigarette burning could symbolize
her life burning away...
Book Of Eli (2009) -
Starts with an establishing shot of a forest, with lots of shadows.
This gives the viewer the feeling of isolation. It looks as if lots of
leaves are falling from the trees, but on closer inspection you
realise that it is ash and all the trees are dead, which indicates that
there has been some kind of disaster. You hear the diegetic sound
of the wind whistling and the trees creaking in the wind.
You are shown a shot of a gun and then a body... No explanation is
given about this man, which has the effect of making the viewer
wonder about his story and how he ended up there. You also see a
mangy looking cat, sniffing around the dead man. It is here that
you are made aware of another man, wearing a gas mask, holding
an arrow in a crossbow, aimed at the body, waiting... The non-
diegetic music builds and builds and when the music comes to a
climax... nothing happens. This red-herring throws the viewer off
track a little.
P.O.V shots are also used from the cat's view, this is a reference to
voyeurism, a common thriller convention. The diegetic sound of
the man breathing helps to build the tension back up until he
shoots the arrow...
At this point, a slow motion shot of the arrow flying past the
camera is used. This could be to make the audience question
where the arrow will end up, will it hit the cat?