'Overhaul' Analysis - Student Thriller

Overhaul student thriller from Tom Bailey on Vimeo.

We open the student thriller ‘Overhaul’ with the production logo ‘Black Rose Media’, a name significant in connoting dark passions, which deliberately use the binary oppositions of black and white to connote the familiar conventions of thrillers. After the logo fades, the audience see a black screen for a long period of time (14 seconds) along with the diegetic sound of footsteps conveying the idea of anonymous villains which we expect to see in thrillers which adds a sense of eeriness and ambiguity to the opening, making the audience wonder what’s going to happen rising tensions. We see that the door is part open as we can see some movement within the slit, connoting that we can only see part of a situation. This shot also applies to the ‘rule of thirds’ as the slit is located on the far left third which is a creative and innovate composition of shot. There is no long establishing shot used, just a close up, to make the audience relate to the claustrophobic surroundings. The chiaroscuro lighting conveys a thriller and as the door opens we see an over the shoulder shot with a man stood on the outside in a long beige coat and formal dress such as a tie which connotes wealth in this production. We straight cut to a mid-shot of a young male with his head held low and his eyes tied behind his back - a key indication that he's the victim. His blood stained and mud saturated top juxtaposes the formal wear of the predator. There are a series of what looks like photographs used which use jump cuts to create a sense of disorientation, perhaps these are 'mug' shots for the attacker, for him to keep in a psychotic state. As the young male's movement is shown in a series of images, we see that he has duct tape over his mouth, making him very vulnerable. This particular shot is at the same level as the eye line of the viewer, not only making us sympathise with him, but also making us relate to the character. The audio which is used is industrial rock music, creating a stressful atmosphere to the viewer.

We cut to a long shot of the predator hoisting the victim out of a woodshed in the garden, which is central. There is use of chiaroscuro (low key, high contrast) here to focus all our attention on the action taking place and also to establish the time of day - night time. The harsh beats music continues to disturb the audience and acts as a sound bridge to link all the shots together creating smooth cuts. The camera pans round when the predator drags his victim into the house, the fact that he is not struggling means that he's probably been tortured or hurt previously by the villain, connoting his psychotic and violent behaviour. The door quickly slams behind them symbolising the victim's hopeless situation and we see a close up of this happening, which almost implies that we 'don't know what occurs behind closed doors'. There is mystery and enigma made from this as the audience want to know what's happening to the character we had previously related to, the sound of the door closing creates a definite atmosphere as the audience feel helpless. This occurs again within the next long shot when the curtains close, blocking the action from the outside world, putting the audience in the dark, reinforcing the idea of being trapped, which may suggest that we don't know the full scale of the abuse bound to happen as we're 'in the dark'. A fade here is used effectively as we're in the dark and it only fades the light coming from the window situated on the top, right hand third, in terms of the 'rule of thirds'. This fade acts as an ellipsis edit as a period of time passes before the next scene.

Another close up of the door is used, as we see the predator leaving the house. He's now got an overall on over the top of his jacket, with splatters of blood down the front. This creates more mystery and sympathy for the victim as we do not know exactly what has happened to him but are sure he has suffered violence. The fact that he has an overall on represents him trying to keep his formal clothes clean and perhaps trying to uphold a reputation that he has. The sound track here turns to brief intervals of disturbing noise which sound like drills, this creates unease to the viewer and connotes pain. We pan to the predator opening the woodshed he had previously come from and take out a saw. The sighting of the saw is immediately connected to the previous shot of the victim who we know is still inside the house as he's not left, we fear for the character as the amount of pain and torture that could be inflicted with this 'weapon' is undoubtedly tremendous. We cut to a strange angle in the next shot which connotes meaning to the viewer, whilst the shot is focused on the lamp post covering the right 'third' creating a fantastic composition, our focus is on the character moving below us. Perhaps the cinematographer has tried to connote the idea that the viewer is in danger if they're seen to be watching the predator, and that even though they try to hide (behind a lamp post) they will be found eventually, this is an effective way of trying to captivate the audience. Another fade transition is used here to denote a passage of time, without it being anchored by text. 

This fade transition for a swift and smooth change of scene and location, we are now inside the house. We do not see the fine details of the house to create mystery and enigma but we see a high angled, close-up of a sink at a high angle, as drops of blood dissolve into the water to captivate our attention, we have empathy for the victim who we had related to. Hands are placed into the bowl, which remind me of 'Macbeth' when 'Lady Macbeth' keeps cleaning her hand in her disturbed psyche. This shot also gives the impression that the predator cares more for his own 'look' than the distressed victim who is still perceived to be in the house. An extreme close-up dominates the frame and the amount of glowing red blood in the frame gets increasingly more, creating fear that the victim has died due to blood loss or extreme abuse. Violence and terror has been signified throughout the opening, connoting the genre of the piece. Unlike horrors, we don't actually see any of the gruesome and gory detail in thrillers, we do however have disturbing images and their connotations playing on our minds as we try and 'fill in the blank' and read into the enigmas raised.The blood drains away, symbolising the life of the victim draining away as we watch creating mystery and suspicion as we are not sure as to what action has actually occurred. The intimate sound of the drips remind us of the drips of blood seen previously which creates unease within the audience. The fade following a close-up shot of the villain drying his hands ends this scene nicely as we have another ellipsis edit into the next scene.

As the predator dominates the frame when entering what looks like a living room, tension is created through chiaroscuro lighting with only one light in the central frame. This room looks like it could be potentially cosy and homely, but due to his distasteful life style of abuse and crime, the mise-en-scene is uncomfortable and makes us want to distance ourselves from the villain. Close ups of liquor being poured and a warm fire connotes that the predator is content and that the crime he has just committed seems quite regular, and hasn't affected him mentally in the slightest, which is in itself, quite psychotic. More close-ups follow of cigarettes being lit and food being eaten symbolising a regular night at home with nothing having gone wrong prior to this moment. A fade ends this particular set of of shots and we continue onto full screen titles. These titles are black and white (monochrome binary oppositions) and are of the key principal participants when making the film (students) this also includes the author of the music sound track (Sikth and Tool). The audio of classical piano music continues as a sound bridge over all of these titles connoting that 'all is well and calm' now that the victim is dead, and the predator can rest. The final title is that of the name of the production 'Overhaul'.

On a personal note, there are many contributing factors as to what makes this a successful thriller opening, one of the key attributes being the enigma created through not actually seeing the detail of his proposed death. In my own opening of a thriller, I hope to emulate this principle by creating mystery and enigma by not showing the detail of Joe's death. Other factors include the use of chiaroscuro lighting which has ask influenced me to use this in my piece when Kym is in her room to connote the eerie, tense and depressed atmosphere, and the way in which sympathy is created for the victim. In my own opening I hope to create empathy by showing both Joe and Kym happy together before Joe commits suicide.