The Inspiration for my Thriller

Memento is the film that inspired me to create my thriller. The use of crime and the twist to create a psychological thriller really intrigued me. Although I made my film quite different, I used the sub genres used in this film and put my own ideas to it.

I was originally going to have the stalker taking photographs of the family which I got the idea from this trailer with the camera sounds however, I realised when editing that it would be more successful if I show the rewinding and fast forwarding which is more interesting to watch and represents the stalker watching the videos back. 'Memento' also uses a rewinding effect when the man is shot. Here is an example from both 'Leverage' and 'Memento' whereby there is a rewinding effect to go against generic conventions of going back in time. 

I chose to use the rewind effect during the drug deal to symbolise the stalker watching the video he has taken. I think this is effective because the constant change in time means that the chronology doesn't have to be in order like other thrillers. 



 In 'Memento' we can see the bullet is rewound into the gun after the shooting and the gun is rewound back into his hand. I thought this was effective because you get to see it happen again to show it's significance.

I was inspired to change the chronology of my thriller after seeing it being done in 'Memento' as Nolan has chosen to tell the story backwards. He starts at then end and finishes at the beginning. To reflect this in my own opening, I have started with heavy breathing on a black background to create tension and I have ended my opening with that same breathing with the visuals to show the audience why he was breathing like that. I like how this created suspense from the start and makes the audience want to know whats happening so it helps build the narrative and keep them engaged. It was not my original intention to adjust the chronology of my thriller when I first started editing however, I wanted to be more creative and intrigue my audience, therefore, I thought it would be good to make my thriller different to most.

I was also inspired by a thriller called 'The Call' which was released in 2013. The plot of the film focuses on the role of 911 operators in law enforcement. Specifically, it follows Jordan, an operator who is still suffering emotionally from a bad experience with a teenager who she couldn't help in time and therefore, died which she feels responsible for. This links to the backing story of my thriller where the dad had something to do with the stalkers daughters death and therefore, his revenge is kidnapping his son. The idea of a kidnapping was used from this film because I think it was filmed really well and I like the man playing the kidnapper which is also a convention I chose to use. This was the main inspiration of my narrative whereas 'Memento' inspired my edit.

'The Call' focuses on kidnappings and murders however I have only used the idea of a male antagonist being a kidnapper. I also chose to stick to the conventions of not revealing his face to keep a sense of hidden identity until the audience see the entire film.