As my production group and I are creating a hybrid genre action/thriller movie, I have research similar products to our opening sequence plot to gain more understanding into this hybrid genre. The films ill be discussing include John Wick, Saw, Nobody and Gunpowder Milkshake.
Nobody
Nobody is an action thriller directed by Ilya Naishuller in 2021. The film follows a man who’s home get burgled but when he fights back he is sent into a crazy mafia filled chase. The film balances his casual family guy energy and brutally violent side very well so we can admire him a little. This is the energy we wanted for our hero as we starts as a victim that seems on the edge of death but suddenly changes and reveals hidden violent skills to save himself. The protagonists in both sequence are very similar as they both look like family men but have a dark past/side.
The costume is also very alike in the way this it is very ordinary outfits but through makeup and special effects they appear beat up with both their clothes stained and ripped, this is to create the gore that is always wanted with the action/thriller genre. Another similarity about the film would be the structure as with Nobody the film also starts at the end then has a flashback to how he got there, if our film was to go forward this is how the structure would go. Both protagonist also seem very composed when causing destruction as if it is normal suggesting that they both could possibly be experience and even take some satisfaction in the violence. The beginning of Nobody is also similar in the way that the main character appears isolated in a dark room which is what we are trying to achieve in our sequence, a disorientating atmosphere.
Saw
Saw is a thriller series/franchise directed by David Hackl, Darren Lynn Bousman, James Wan, Peter Spierig and Kevin Greutert in 2004. The plot of Saw is essentially a psychopath that traps people he feels have done wrong and processed to make them ‘play’ a sequence of killer traps to survive. The aspect of torture is very prevalent in Saw as each moment there is a different torture scene, this is delight in torture the villain has is also reflected in our sequence with our villain as well. In our sequence we have a calm and collected villain dancing to music while our protagonist is tied up with barbed wire - a hostage trying to survive. The villain also shows the protagonist the torture tools before picking one house on hi clearly enjoying the pain he is bringing. The setting of saw traps is very similar to our opening as well as their is both a feeling of isolation and no indication of where you are to disorientate the characters more. To create this feeling of a dingy, unlovable and isolated atmosphere we placed the sequence in a continuer so the space was also limited creating more tension. Obviously the characters of saw are always beat up in some way so their is heavy makeup cuts all over them, we also have these sorts of wounds on our lead as we felt we needed a gory finish to reflect the intense torture he just faced. The quick shot duration is also an aspect between both ‘films’ that create tension. There is also a similar use of surveillance as Saw is always using the tv to talk to his victims and is watching them through cameras and we wanted this reflection of a higher evil so we used a security camera to just hint to the bigger evil that will be shown later in our film. Saw is also similar in the way that we don't find our characters backgrounds and stories till the movie goes on, this creates mystery and suspense two things ideal in a thriller.
John Wick
John wick is once again a very similar film to our opening structure wise as it starts with the end of the film, this is a successful use to hook and intrigue the audience while still creating suspense. John Wick is also very similar to our sequence in the framing of the character as both characters are the victim of a tough situation but overcome it and rise to the challenge it offers while leaving with something in hand. for John Wick he survives a car crash, sews himself up and leaves with a dog. for our opening he is kidnapped, escapes his locks, knocks out the villain and takes bag full of money with a smile. both character are presented with some sort of normalise in connection with their difficult/impossible situations. John Wick is also very similar is the cinematography/camera work as when the hero is shown struggling the camera is slightly shaky, john wick's sewing his wound/Adam's pulling barbed wire hand cuffs off and when they are fine and calm the camera becomes stable often with wide shots, to suspend the tension but also create balance within the sequence. John wick is usually put together but in this opening sequence he is seen with large cuts and bruises which clearly took a lot of makeup and time and this is similar for my sequences makeup as we have to create realistic bruises and cuts because the lighting enhanced the wounds, both of these makeup looks cater to the gory and gruesome detailed conventions expected in action/thriller. Both Character have the similar traits of a hero type figure as well, as Adam has beat the bad guy and smiles as he leaves showing some charisma and john wick leave with a wandering dog to show his caring side which gains compassion for the characters in both situations.
Nerve
Nerve is an Action/thriller directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost in 2016. The film follows a group of young kids playing a high risk game of truth or dare to win money and fame. The similarity between this film and ours in more in the themes as our character is clearly partially driven my green as he is seen picking up and bag of money and smiling. My Group were heavily inspired by the settings and atmosphere of nerve so we took inspiration with many things. The first aspect of inspiration we found was the use of the container as a setting as it introduced this feeling of isolation and life or death another setting wouldn’t be able to offer. The other element that inspired our group was the neon lighting almost throughout the movie as it heightened the intensity while creating interesting shots, a specific colour would be the neon green. We also saw in the shot with the container in nerve how the container would look if lit up with LED’s which led us to steal that idea as it creates an unfamiliar and intense/cool vibe. The green lighting we stuck with also hold the implications of greed and jealousy which the characters in nerve are feeling because they need the money but also are frightened and with our sequence the man going so far just for money. In both films the camera work o using unstable hand held shots was very successful has it created an uneasy and dizzy feeling around both situations. In both films the situations they put themselves in seem like a game as with nerve It is literally truth or dare(but only dare) and the protagonist in our sequence clearly enjoys beating the villain up and getting the money s much so that it looks like a game to him. Both films demonstrate how far the limit are for what we would do for the right money.
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