Thriller conventions and what I have achieved check list:
Using existing conventions?
The fears generated in this film follows some of the society's fears, for example, the fear of death, the fear of being tortures. It also follows the fears of a child, such as NIGHTMARES, monsters, and negligence from friends and family. Lastly, it portrays parents' fears of not being financially stable, of losing their child, and of being fired from work
Also, I used the convention of low key lighting. The dream sequence is dark and dingy while the apartment scene is set in the middle of the night. I also applied vignette to the color grading process to make it a bit darker.
The nightmare challenges the protagonist (Scott) into overcoming them and think sensibly of the evidences gathered, while the murderer challenges Victor in catching and exposing him while putting them both in danger. This creates a double layered thrill.
I used a lot of close up shots to capture the characters' reaction shots. This follows the thriller conventions that I have researched early on.
A gun and a knife is used as mise-en-scene in the dream sequence. This is merely the use of props to create a sense of intimation and that the protagonists should be scared of the antagonist.
Challenging existing conventions?
The roles of the main character swapped. The main protagonist is Asian, while the action man (more of a side kick) is a Western man. Also, this movie follows the child protagonist instead of the male, grown-up, action man.
Movies with Asian side kicks and white male protagonists:
The color palette used in the apartment scene is also more colorfully vivid, in contrast to darker earth tone colors usually used in Thrillers.
Representing Social Groups? Issue?
THE CHARACTERS
The child protagonist is an Asian. This use of actor portrays the stereotype that the Eastern World is full of myths and supernatural orient. In contrast to the Western world where science develops, the East held the feeling of tradition and ancient civilizations of over thousand years, where there are martial arts, cultural beliefs in spirits and the world, mysterious aura of the sceneries, and various ancient ruins. In the Ace of Spades, Scott is a young Asian boy who has the ability to see evidences of a murder case committed by a serial killer. On the other hand, Victor only believes in what he sees and only follows logic (not instincts) until he decides to trust Scott for once.
Here are some examples of Western films that portray this stereotype:
Tomb Raider
- The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless. YES
The evidences from the dream sequence show the nature of the murderer's ways and crimes. The main characters were then forced to be in a position to solve the mystery. Also, the action man is found staring at the crime board helplessly, unable to draw connections. Who is the Ace? Why are there so many evidences? Are there too many evidences? (Like in the case of the Zodiac killer?) However, rather being alone and trying to solve it all, Scott is there to help him. Still, with little Scott being there, it causes him more concern and a more complexion of life problems to resolve, the fact that Scott is a child and that it is a vulnerable complicated matter.
We can link this to John Statham's 'Safe' (2012) where he needs to protect a young Asian child as well as keeping a top secret information away from the mafias.
We can link this to John Statham's 'Safe' (2012) where he needs to protect a young Asian child as well as keeping a top secret information away from the mafias.
- The narrative centres upon a crime E.g theft, murder YES
The Ace is a serial killer, while Victor(the guardian) is a private eye that tries his best to solve it. The story'a theme heavily follows the Zodiac, where there are too many evidences to gather and too many victims in a short amount of time. It is a race against time, there are so many suspects, and the main character (Robert Graysmith in Zodiac) has his own life problems to face as well as the crime.
- The protagonist is fallible and has a Achilles heel that is exploited. YES
The action man's weakpoint is the psychic child, while the child protagonist's weakpoint is how he yearns to be accepted in society and the feeling of negligence. A similar context is portrayed in Marvel's 2017 LOGAN. Old Logan has to look after Laura, a young mutant and makes sure that she escape over the border with safety. The main character threw himself into troubles - including sacrificing his own life and his long life friends in order to protect his child-figure.
Laura, a young mutant with a genetic resemblace to the Wolverine faces problem in the world beyond experiment labs. She does not fit with the rest of the world, does not know that she is somehow different from others, and has trouble making friends. Therefore, her main achilles heel is the feeling of care she has for Logan and Charles, and the yearning of a real family.
Laura, a young mutant with a genetic resemblace to the Wolverine faces problem in the world beyond experiment labs. She does not fit with the rest of the world, does not know that she is somehow different from others, and has trouble making friends. Therefore, her main achilles heel is the feeling of care she has for Logan and Charles, and the yearning of a real family.
- Themes of identity are commonly mistaken identity, amnesia and doubles/Doppelgängers MEH... NOT YET
- Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring-manipulation of perspective YES
The child protagonist dreams of the evidences while the real world is busy with finding the murderer, the viewers are made to believe that the person they saw holding the gun and handling the knifes is the killer through the perspective of the dream. The face had not been shown yet.
- A series of enigmas are set up - only to be solved at the end YES
Who is the Ace Killer?
Who is Scott? What is wrong with him?
What is Scott capable of doing?
Why is Scott, an Asian kid have anything to do with Victor?
Why are they living in a shabby, old apartment?
Where are his parents?
Why does Victor took on the case?
Will they get the Ace?
Who is Scott? What is wrong with him?
What is Scott capable of doing?
Why is Scott, an Asian kid have anything to do with Victor?
Why are they living in a shabby, old apartment?
Where are his parents?
Why does Victor took on the case?
Will they get the Ace?
- The audience is placed in a the ambiguous position of "voyeur" MEH... NOT YET
- Protagonist will be in Peril/danger YES
From the shots with the guns, we know that the antagonist carries a weapon in his hands, while the apartment scene does not seem to be equipped with any visible weapons. The way the child protagonist tries to tell his guardian that the SPADE symbol has something to do with this case also creates a foreshadow that these two characters are throwing themselves into danger.
- The narrative presents extra ordinary events in ordinary situations/settings YES
The child protagonist dreams of a solution to solve the crime in a shabby old apartment which is temporarily converted into a detective office by the action man. The setting of the film is contemporary, therefore, viewers can relate their fears and insecurity with the crime.
The theme of psychic powers can be grouped in with the idea of fantasy and supernatural thirller sub genres. Example thriller films that link supernatural powers focusing on crimes are Solace and iZombie (series).
The theme of psychic powers can be grouped in with the idea of fantasy and supernatural thirller sub genres. Example thriller films that link supernatural powers focusing on crimes are Solace and iZombie (series).
- The micro-elements are used to build suspense YES
The voice over sounds and the sounds of news reporters are used to create a sense of confusion and chaos. Also, the track shot of the camera following the child protagonist through the dark, abstract doorway indicates the fact that there may be unseen danger up ahead.
This is similar to how the Zodiac creates tension in the basement scene. The setting is dark, and the micro elements create additional tension. How the guy from the theatre was portrayed (dark shadows over his eyes indicates evil) in the dim lit basement enforces the idea of suspicion towards the audience. The moment I got to this scene, I was convinced that this man is probably the murderer. It is not said whether the footsteps Robert heard were real or not, but viewers can most imply that there was tension and fear of being murdered rising in Jake Gyllenhall's facial expression as he decided to retreat.
This is similar to how the Zodiac creates tension in the basement scene. The setting is dark, and the micro elements create additional tension. How the guy from the theatre was portrayed (dark shadows over his eyes indicates evil) in the dim lit basement enforces the idea of suspicion towards the audience. The moment I got to this scene, I was convinced that this man is probably the murderer. It is not said whether the footsteps Robert heard were real or not, but viewers can most imply that there was tension and fear of being murdered rising in Jake Gyllenhall's facial expression as he decided to retreat.
The fears generated in this film follows some of the society's fears, for example, the fear of death, the fear of being tortures. It also follows the fears of a child, such as NIGHTMARES, monsters, and negligence from friends and family. Lastly, it portrays parents' fears of not being financially stable, of losing their child, and of being fired from work
Also, I used the convention of low key lighting. The dream sequence is dark and dingy while the apartment scene is set in the middle of the night. I also applied vignette to the color grading process to make it a bit darker.
The nightmare challenges the protagonist (Scott) into overcoming them and think sensibly of the evidences gathered, while the murderer challenges Victor in catching and exposing him while putting them both in danger. This creates a double layered thrill.
I used a lot of close up shots to capture the characters' reaction shots. This follows the thriller conventions that I have researched early on.
A gun and a knife is used as mise-en-scene in the dream sequence. This is merely the use of props to create a sense of intimation and that the protagonists should be scared of the antagonist.
Challenging existing conventions?
The roles of the main character swapped. The main protagonist is Asian, while the action man (more of a side kick) is a Western man. Also, this movie follows the child protagonist instead of the male, grown-up, action man.
Movies with Asian side kicks and white male protagonists:
Dr. Strange
The Green Hornet
The Killing Fields
The Walking Dead (Series)
The Maze Runner
The color palette used in the apartment scene is also more colorfully vivid, in contrast to darker earth tone colors usually used in Thrillers.
Representing Social Groups? Issue?
THE CHARACTERS
The child protagonist is an Asian. This use of actor portrays the stereotype that the Eastern World is full of myths and supernatural orient. In contrast to the Western world where science develops, the East held the feeling of tradition and ancient civilizations of over thousand years, where there are martial arts, cultural beliefs in spirits and the world, mysterious aura of the sceneries, and various ancient ruins. In the Ace of Spades, Scott is a young Asian boy who has the ability to see evidences of a murder case committed by a serial killer. On the other hand, Victor only believes in what he sees and only follows logic (not instincts) until he decides to trust Scott for once.
Here are some examples of Western films that portray this stereotype:
Tomb Raider
- An adventure in the ruins of an ancient Asian civilization with traps and labyrinths.
- words of wisdom from an Asian monk
Dr. Strange
- A white man journeys to the Eastern world and learns the secret of the Ancient One
Safe
- The Asian girl has the mental ability to remember a secret code and is the prime target of the antagonists
The Mummy - Tomb Of the Dragon Emperor
- The protagonists fight Chinese mummies, resurrected back to life
- Went to the mythical world of Shangri-La
Another social portrayal that can be seen from the opening is of the representation of teenagers. Children at around this age (12-17) needs love and affection from others. In this case, Scott is neglected from the people around him due to his 'weird' powers and personality. At the same time, his guardian, Victor, is bias towards the side of his work, towards finding a job more than caring after him. This presents a current issue in today's society. Parents are more concerned about their finance that they do not spend enough time with their children. As a result, this could later on leads to juvenile delinquency when teenagers follow the wrong paths.
Maybe... in an alternate universe, the nightmares are caused because of Scott's inner feeling of being tossed aside from the society, and not only because of his powers.
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