Director/screenplay: Anthony DiBlasi
Cast: Jackson Rathbone, Hanne Steen, Laura Donnelly, Shaun Evans
Based on story by: Clive Barker
About the film: Three college students producing a documentary on the true nature of fear are slowly drawn into a world of nightmares when one member of the group begins exploiting the phobias of his fellow participants in hopes of seeking salvation from his own dark obsession.
One of the generic features of a thriller film that is featured in 'Dread' is the character types. There is Quaid- the psychotic individual with a dark past; and Stephen, Abby and Cheryl who are some of the 'innocent victims' who had issues from their own, individual pasts, which had a major impact on the rest of their lives. Quaid and stephen also have a very twisted relationship with each other-which soon expands to other participants of the study- which is another generic character feature of this genre.
Another generic feature of thrillers in this text is the locations used throughout the film. A conversation between Quaid and Stephen takes place within a car - which is a generic feature for thrillers- which is the exact model of the car Stephen's brother crashed and died in; which links back to the theme of their 'study' as that is the thing Stephen fears most. Another example of a generic thriller location is when Quaid and Stephen first have their conversation about studying fear, they are in a dimly lit, urban alleyway; which could make the scene feel more gritty and real - which is a generic thriller location. Similarly, Quaid's house is also quite dingy and dark; which creates a sinister feel, along with a feel of ambiguity due to heavy use of shadow- which also helps to create a sense of enigma. This could be reflective of his character as he is a very dark and sadistic individual, who is also suffering from psychological abnormalities due to his experiences from his 'dark past'.
Many of the shots located in this house have a heavy focus on the set of stairs - which is another generic location feature of the genre. The shots located in his house are focused on the stairs as they have a very strong link to the character and his dark past: Quaid had seen his parents killed by an axe murderer as a child, who then ascends the stairs after him, letting the axe thud against each stair on his way up. The film begins with this shot of Quaid as a young boy cowering away from the murderer as he was approaching on the stairs, and is later mirrored by Stephen near the end of the film -in a sort of 'call back' fashion. During Quaid's hallucinations, the colours of the scenes have been enhanced, which is very effective as it portrays to the audience how vivid and real they are to the character, and almost puts the audience in his position - through seeing his faulty perception of reality through his eyes.
"I suppose that is the worst part of it all. You live with the notion that the thing that causes you the most terror could come back at any time."
Well done Sian for proficiently identifying and explaining the purpose of the director's use of generic conventions in this film.
ReplyDeleteIn future case studies could you use paragraphs and think about utilising the technical possibilities the blog offers by presenting your work on a slide show or power point. In this way you could upload screen shots or clips and add captions explaining the purpose and effect of how generic conventions are established and used in a thriller text.