Lesson 4

[Lorraine Passchier]

Rain’s BI Stacking Suspense

Things that will help me write stronger thrillers

• Plan carefully before starting to write. A solid framework is essential.
• Ensure the tension is palpable and that each scene carries significant consequences.
• Keep the audience in a “thrill” state by making them believe something could happen anytime.
• Tease the audience by planting clues; don’t give it all away. Mystery is a seduction.
• Create fascinating characters by giving them unusual traits and interests to ramp up intrigue.
• Apply MIS to the main characters and create cool supporting characters.
• Learn how to stack suspense and take a more analytical approach to scriptwriting.

Things learned about Thrillers in this assignment

• Keep the audience engaged from the outset to the final scene. Basic Instinct is fundamentally a whodunnit, yet it continuously engages the audience with its execution and flair. The big mystery is who kills during a tryst using an ice pick after tying up the victim with a silk scarf. The audience is left guessing who the murderer might be until the end, and even then, there is some debate.
• The audience is kept in suspense by creating plausible suspects and red herrings. One possibility in Basic Instinct is Catherine, who is attracted to killers herself. Her lover Roxy was one, and another murderer in her circle is Hazel Dobkins, who is also introduced at the beginning. Hazel appears near the end in a scene that suggests they might be lovers. Would she kill for Catherine? Then there’s the final scene with the ice pick under the bed, suggesting it might be Catherine.
• The audience is kept in a “thrill state” throughout the film by having them constantly wonder what is going to happen next. The triangulation between Catherine, Beth, and Nick unleashes a psychological/sexual game. You know someone has to die, and the intrigue is hinged on who will get the better of their opponent. Make each player a worthy adversary.
• The pace of the reveals and payoffs teases the audience. Part of the suspense is the unpredictable nature of the main characters, as their backstories are slowly revealed while the overall pacing is intense. The analysis reflects the amount of crafting that goes into a great thriller and how to apply the stacking suspense model.
• The audience is given multiple clues and puzzles to solve. Catherine knows things about Nick that only come from IA. How did she get the information? Catherine was at Berkley when a professor was stabbed to death with an ice pick, but so was Beth. Nick learns that Beth’s husband was shot with a .38-caliber pistol while walking home and that she lied about not knowing Johnny’s therapist. Everything has a twist.

[Donna Donna Hoke Hoke]

Just finished BASIC INSTINCT and apologize in advance that I will likely not finish SILENCE over the weekend as its jammed with birthday stuff for my daughters. I will catch up on Monday.

My biggest takeaways from BI:
*intriguing dialogue makes for intrigue and increases suspense even when there isn’t any
*the top suspects continually throw shade on the other suspects so you can never be too sure. This was a BIG one for me
*It works well when all suspects are all somehow related, even if those connections don’t necessarily point to a killer. It increases suspicion and raises tension throughout
*Surprise increases tension, even if it’s innocuous

What I didn’t like were all the red herrings that didn’t add up to anything (and if I missed answers to these things, let me know):
*Nick goes back to being a drinker and smoker, which added to intrigue but ultimately meant Catherine did put him back on a self-destructive path–why did she want to do that?
*How did Catherine know all the things she knew about Nick, including what his wife called him?
*What was the $50,000 about?
*Curious when Beth decided to use a gun and when she decided to use an icepick as that inconsistency made it very easy to cast doubt elsewhere

STRAY THOUGHTS
*Who uses icepicks in real life lol? But Catherine and Nick both do
*Re: Beth, the cape is “her size” lol. Like they’re not basically one size fits all
*Are we supposed to think that Roxy didn’t try to kill Catherine’s other men because she could tell what she had with Nick was different?
*What was Beth’s actual revenge plot–kill everyone Catherine loved? Did she also kill her parents?? And if so, why didn’t she try to kill Nick? Or Roxy? One could argue she only followed the books except Manny did not.

[Mary Sawyer]

Mary’s BII assignment

What I learned from watching BI with this chart was … wow

There can be so many levels in a scene, and I kinda want to add more levels to this chart that k Clyde the old fahh ch prices like characters wants and things like that.

BUT thinking about every scene I. Terms of how can it be thrilling and layering the MIS does take it to another level.

I have always li es this movie. And only tonight was I wondering g why the heck they make him go to therapy with his ex girlfriend. Lol but that’s there so…

I also am struggling with the concept of intrigue. But I’ll keep watching and asking.

I also never thought of Catherine as the red herring before. But of course! I think i always thought red herrings were shorter arched characters. Eye opening!

[Donna Donna Hoke Hoke]

I got the feeling they started sleeping together once he was in therapy– so unprofessional and should have been a red flag about her. But also everyone in the department seemed to know about it so why did they keep her on staff AND keep sending him back to her??

[Mary Sawyer]

Mary’s SOTL stacking assignment

What I learned: I got to work the muscle that was demonstrated in the BI exercise.

Keep<font face=”inherit”> questions in</font><font face=”inherit”> every scene. </font>

<font face=”inherit”>Keep the audience afraid and worried most of the time. </font>

Give a small rest after intense scenes.

Give the audience reasons to sympathize with the villain also… e.g. we all find Chilton unlikable.

Layering is a great tool!

Let us know the characters vulnerabilities

[Donna Donna Hoke Hoke]

So I’m halfway through SILENCE and while I can identify the elements, I’m having trouble determining the difference between the mystery and the intrigue. Has anybody come up with a neat way to differentiate between the two?

[Donna Donna Hoke Hoke]

Is there a way we can attach our work to show our results for SILENCE?