Reviewing a previous AS class Thriller

In thursdays lesson we looked at previous classes Thriller openings. As a class we looked at 5 from the last two years and each chose one to review. I have chosen to review 'Silent Whisper'.

The colours seen in 'Silent Whisper' were very typical of the thriller genre, there were many blacks, whites and reds. As it was shot at night, the reds and whites stood out. The credits were disguised in the opening sequence, one of the characters was writing them onto pieces of paper or they were in the background.

I liked this opening more than the others because it didn't give away its story line as some of the others did, I felt that some groups wanted to fit a story line into their opening but the group that did 'Silent Whisper' left a lot to be decided on the audiences part.

We are introduced to two characters. First is a young girl. The girl is dressed in white and we first see her sitting by herself her back turned away. The white gown she is wearing gives the audience an idea that she is innocent. The white against the dark of night also makes her seem ghost like, especially as the way it has been filmed we can't really see her legs. We never see her face which makes the audience question her innocent look, she could be hiding something from us. The other character is very mysterious, we only really see his hands in the opening, and even then they are gloved. We see the hands writing letters and dropping rose petals. We feel that this man is some sort of a villain even though we do not see him do any kind of evil things.

The themes seemed to be Supernatural and could maybe incorporate Voyeurism. The Supernatural element was undeniable but we aren't given enough information about the relationship between the two characters to decide more, this already building interest and suspense.

The director chose very good shots and it was editing very well in my opinion. I particularly liked how some parts were sped up to make the girl look like a ghost, a technique often used in Hollywood films. Sometimes the camera work was shaky but I felt that this lends itself to the genre, it puts you in the position of the character and can simulate the fear the character would be feeling.

The musical score was also good, like any good thriller score it created tension and its main technique was to use jumpy high pitched keys to do this.

Overall 'Silent Whisper' was very effective, I was on the edge of my seat and genuinely intrigued as to the story behind the two characters. A very good opening in my opinion.