Lesson 1

[BG]

[Thriller] Day 1: The Conventions of Thrillers

ASSIGNMENT

Subject line: COMA (1978) Thriller Conventions (place in first line)

What I learned doing this assignment: During this exercise, I organized my ideas for my own screenplay according to the conventions of the THRILLER genre, and now, I’m wondering how I’m going to be able to invent all those set pieces.

2. Watch the movie and as you do, note the conventions of THIS story.

• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A young doctor, Susan, realizes that otherwise young and healthy patients undergoing routine surgery are going into coma. As she tries to find out what is causing this, she puts herself on the radar of hospital management. Over time, she discovers that there is a deadly conspiracy to sell organs for transplantation and she brings her ingenuity to the fight.

• Dangerous Villain: Dr Harris, the head of the hospital and the covert head of the conspiracy, wants her dead and sends assassins after her.

• High stakes: Susan’s life, patients’ lives, the janitor’s life, and the exposure of Dr Harris and the ‘organs for sale’ conspiracy.

• Life and death situations: Patients going into coma in the OR, the electrocution of the janitor, hitman chasing Susan in the hospital, the fight in the Jefferson Institute, escape from the Jefferson Institute, and finally ending with Susan on a gurney ready to be operated on by Dr Harris.

• This movie is thrilling because? Throughout the story, we are constantly worried for Susan as she tries to solve the mystery. Each mystery she uncovers puts her in more danger.

3. What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?

• Big Mystery: Why are otherwise young and healthy patients going into a coma during routine surgery?

• Big Intrigue: The ‘organs for sale’ conspiracy that’s covertly tracking Susan’s investigation and sending assassins to stop her.

• Big Suspense: Will the conspiracy succeed in killing Susan?

4. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller? This movie fits the Thriller conventions to a T.

[Lorraine Passchier]

This assignment taught me about the potency of the unexpected in crafting suspense and delivering a gripping finale. Additionally, it underscored the importance of leveraging a unique concept—such as the seven deadly sins—as a foundation for weaving together mystery, intrigue, and suspense. It’s a testament to how these elements can elevate a film’s overall impact and leave a lasting impression.

Se7en

Resourceful Hero: Detective Somerset: A seasoned investigator on the brink of retirement, he begins the film with a world-weary perspective, disillusioned by the relentless darkness he’s witnessed. Yet, as the story unfolds, he rediscovers his faith in humanity, realizing that despite the grimness, it’s still worth fighting for.

Dangerous Villain: John Doe is ruthless and meticulous in his planning. His atrocities, driven by a twisted sense of justice, send shivers down the spine, each act a grim testament to his depravity. His ability to anticipate his adversaries’ moves showcases his evil mastery, culminating in a final showdown where Detective Mills is thrust into an agonizing moral dilemma.

High Stakes: The stakes couldn’t be higher, with each victim representing one of the seven deadly sins. As the body count rises, the race against time becomes paramount. Can the detectives outsmart John Doe and halt his reign of terror before more lives are claimed?

Life and Death Situations: John Doe’s sadistic methods push his victims to the brink of existence, creating a relentless cycle of horror and despair. Throughout the investigation, every moment teeters on the edge of life and death as the detectives try to prevent further bloodshed. The unexpected twist of John Doe sparing Detective Mills adds another layer of intrigue, the revelation of his motive unveiling a chilling truth at the film’s climax.

This movie is thrilling because? The pacing never lets up, and there are so many unexpected twists that it’s difficult to guess what will happen next.

<strong style=”background-color: var(–bb-content-background-color); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>Big Mystery
A serial killer is meticulously executing a series of murders, each one tied to the seven deadly sins, adding a chilling layer of complexity to the investigation. The killer’s identity remains shrouded in mystery in the classic vein of crime thrillers. However, what sets “Se7en” apart is the profound enigma surrounding how the killer selects his victims and why he spared the life of Detective Mills. Even as the perpetrator is unmasked, the ultimate mystery deepens as the final victims are chosen, unraveling a web of intrigue and horror.

Big Intrigue
John Doe emerges as a figure of profound intrigue, his actions steeped in calculated malevolence. He subjects one of his victims to a year-long torment, demonstrating an unnerving level of planning and a disturbing connection to dark literature. Detective Somerset, grappling with the complexity of John Doe’s psyche, questions the origins of his twisted knowledge: “What has he been studying to do the things he has done?” Yet, even as John Doe surrenders himself to the authorities, the veteran detective is haunted by a fundamental query that encapsulates the essence of the film’s intrigue: “Who are you, John?”

Big Suspense
Even as John Doe surrenders himself to authorities with thirty minutes remaining, the tension in ‘Se7en’ continues to build. His surrender is a sinister twist that propels the narrative toward its harrowing climax. The unexpected turn in ‘Se7en’ heightens the relentless pace towards its climax. The film hurtles forward when John Doe tells investigators he will lead them to two more bodies. John Doe directs Somerset and Mills to a remote location where he has a mysterious box delivered. Somerset discovers the identity of the next victim when he opens it. The suspense builds as he grapples with the weight of this revelation and tries to protect his partner from the impending horrors orchestrated by John Doe.

[Gloria Katch]

What I learned during this assignment is: starting a thriller by looking at the hero, villian and red herring, especially the red herring. It gets one thinking in a different direction.

My LOGLINE: A snitch is blamed for the killing of two cops when she gets high one night and finds two cops dead in their squad cars at the side of the road. She gets her sister, who works for a high-powered attorney, to help solve the crime and get her off.

The Hero is Emerald Scholar, a paralegal who works for a criminal lawyer. She is strong, feisty, knows the law and is continuing to work her way through law school.

The hero has friends in the right places and resources. Her boss has put a lot of people away and has a lot of enemies. She has access to a lot of private information. She is 29- years old and is dating another man, Eric, a few years older. He is smart and works in the attorney general’s office. She wants to marry him, but she wants to wait until her school is finished. Then she wants to have two children starting at about 33. She is a planner. However, Eric is not a planner, and he isn’t quite ready to marry her.

She lives in a state where there is no capital punishment.

Her parents are alive and are from a middle-class neighbourhood about an hour away.

She is an idealist, a hard worker and has a diplomatic way about her. She did a lot of pro bono cases and feels bad that the justice system has dollar signs attached. She is usually polite, respectful, but can have a bad temper when she gets angry. She is bright, but her looks are deceiving –she looks younger than she is and comes across as sweet and harmless.

Her hobbies include: playing baseball. She’s on a girls’ softball team and was good at sports in high school. She golfs, walks and has a dog she takes everywhere with her. She has good instinct and reads people well. She is astute on computers and research. She is inquisitive and would’ve a good journalist or detective.

Emerald has two siblings, an older brother, and a sister about a year-and a half younger. The family are quite close and supportive of each other. They still get together about once a month for Sunday dinners.

She was born in the month that Emerald is the birthstone and so that became her name. Her mother is Asian and her father is British. She takes after her father’s side.

Her wound is a result of trauma and fear. She was about six years old and she and her best friend were playing hide and seek and her friend hid in a tree house they were not supposed to be in. Her friend fell going down the ladder and hit her head. Emerald was afraid to say anything so she ran inside, and said she needed to use the bathroom. Then she told her friend’s parents she was going home and they didn’t find her until about a half hour later. When they asked her where their daughter was, she just said outside playing. Her friend died and she never forgave herself for not saying anything. Now protecting whistle blowers is her thing.

The Red Herring is Emerald’s sister, Darla. She was in the army working as a paramedic, but she became injured even during a peace keeping effort. She ended up with a limp and got hooked on pain killers. She came home and has been in a rehab clinic, but still tends to fall off the wagon now and again. She has a lot of trauma from the war and is trying to straighten herself out, but is struggling with her mental health. She is streetwise and hardened. She’s blunt and can be forward and in your face when she’s drinking.

She got caught up in a drug bust at a dealer’s house and the police were going to throw her in jail. Her sister’s law firm got her off and she is trying to stay straight. She has a crush on one of the police officer’s that arrested her, but he doesn’t want anything to do with her. She doesn’t blame him.

Darla is more of a free spirit, but she has a caring nature and a sense of responsibility to others. However, lately she seems to care less about her own well-being. She has had a feeling that she lacks purpose in her life and feels like a failure since she left the army — wound. It doesn’t take much for her to feel down about things. She is at a crossroads in her life about not knowing what to do, moving forward. She says she won’t take charity so she won’t live with her parents and family and she is staying at the YWCA, a flophouse. The real truth is that she is really afraid that her parents or family will find her passed out doing drugs. However, living at the YWCA reminds her of being in the war and staying in rooming houses and barracks. She has a few possessions as she pawned many of her things for drugs. She goes to NA meetings a few times a week and volunteers at a women’s shelter. She is on methadone and hopes to stay stable enough to get a full-time job soon.

Darla’s goal is to get a full-time job that she likes and an apartment. The problem is she craves excitement, which not many jobs offer. She is weighing her options.

The VILLIAN – Wilhelm Bitter he is German, but he is really a Russian who changed his name. He came to America when the Berlin wall fell in 1990. He knows Germany and Eastern Europe well. He appears cultured and cosmopolitan as he has travelled around the world extorting money, runny syndicates for the Russian mob. He has wealth and is middle aged and is trusted in his organization. He is ambitious and he wants a piece of the arms smuggling in the states to support the Russian war. He is assisting with sex trafficking as he has helped bring many Russian and Ukrainian women and girls that can work in the sex trade throughout Europe.

He likes guns and has a collection of antique guns. He likes trains and for an indoor sport, he loves to bowl 10-pin, although he is the last person you would think would be in a bowling alley. But his father would take him bowling as a kid and he loves the smell and sound of a bowling alley, especially those that still make fountain sodas. So he bought two bowling alleys and he also says he’s in the real estate business if anyone is asking. He doesn’t have a wife, but has plenty of women and they help with his recruiting and grooming of women. He likes to take them out to dinner and dancing. The limo driver will take them, but often he likes to drive himself around when he goes out and has two sports cars.

Wilhelm runs his businesses, but usually keeps a low profile than most criminals. He doesn’t flash around a lot of money. He has people watching his girls and taking them to parties.

Occassionally, when he is invited he’ll attend, but most of his friends are European. He does like to go skit shooting and hob nobs with a few people at the gun club and golf course.

He often doesn’t get his hands dirty, but he will shoot anyone who stands in his way without blinking an eye. Oddly enough, he has kind eyes, that only turn firey if his mood changes. He doesn’t do drugs, but will deal in them if he’s asked.

He likes western music, western movies, discos and drinking. His only siblings in America are his brother, whom he trusts. The rest of his relatives are in Germany and Russia where they are protected and can’t be used as leverage or revenge by any enemies here against him. If his relatives visit, he has parties for them at the bowling alley. He enjoys being around well behaved children.

[Ashley Sarikaya]

Angels & Demons Thriller Conventions

I learned that the final reveal doesn’t need to happen before the Climax scene. In this film, it happened afterwards. It’s interesting to create a Climax scene without a visible antagonist. In this case, it was the Illuminati, but we don’t know who.

• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Robert Langdon is a Harvard symbologist with a scientific mind. While he is an expert in Catholic history, he doesn’t have faith or believe in a higher power. But these qualities make him a resourceful hero to solve the mystery.
• Dangerous Villain: The Illuminati are fascinating and mysterious characters with a valid motive to want revenge.
• High stakes: The anti-matter could cause a catastrophic event.
• Life and death situations: Four cardinals are kidnapped and will be killed one by one if Robert can’t locate them.
• This movie is thrilling because? Someone on the inside of the Vatican is one of the Illuminati and we don’t know who.
• Big Mystery: Who is the traitor in the Vatican? And where is he hiding the cardinals?
• Big Intrigue: The Illuminati have a covert, cryptic plan to execute their revenge against the Vatican.
• Big Suspense: If they don’t solve the mystery, the anti-matter will fall out of suspension and destroy Vatican City and more.

[Donna Donna Hoke Hoke]

Anybody else a little upset that ALL classes are now being offered for $79/month and that includes instant feedback on all the assignments? Feel like that offer could have waited until we weren’t literally in the middle of a class that cost more than that for less.