Thriller One- Blood Simple - Textual Analysis :

How does the opening of the film Blood Simple create tension, and what techniques and conventions are used to do so?

Lighting: Several different lighting techniques are used throughout the opening of the film. The opening is very dark and gloomy to create a sense of mystery. The dark lighting creates the audience to feel unease and the tension increases as it is unclear to see what is happening. Many people fear the dark therefore; it forces the audience to feel suspense as they are anxiously waiting for something bad to occur. The lighting helps create a an unnerving opening scene and makes the audience want to continue watching the film.

Music: The music that is used throughout the opening of the thriller is created to seem edgy and makes the audience feel afraid. The audience are on edge about the unexpected and therefore, they fear that something awful is about to take place. The music is very quick and the pace increases to make it more eventful. When the music stops it leaves the audience tense as the pause is held for along period of time therefore, the audience are waiting for something to happen however, nothing does. This follows the conventions of thrillers as it tries to give you a clue about what is going to happen but it is false as the driver behind them waits for a moment and then continues on driving.

Enigmas:
‘Where Are They Going?’- The weather conditions are not safe for driving, so it creates the audience to feel that where they are driving to, must be important.
‘Why does she scream stop?’- Seems mystifying, but leaves the audience on edge as they feel that something is going to happen to them. However, nothing does.

Narrative: The structure of the thriller is complex. The lighting is unclear and the weather conditions make it difficult for the audience to understand the plot at the start. This leaves the audience feeling suspense as they do not know what is going to happen.

Camera Angles: The camera shoots them from the back making them look like silhouettes; this again creates a very mystery feel to the thriller. It forces the audience to try understand what is going on however, it is difficult to tell. We are unsure who the characters are, their relationships with one another and where the actual characters are going to.