First Ideas for a Film Storyline-Lucy Billinghurst

As part of our brief, we needed to come up with a storyline for our thriller. At first we found this very difficult to think of a storyline. We needed to consider the codes and conventions of a thriller, and the iconography used within thrillers.

We then took inspiration from other thrillers that we had seen in class or in our spare time. At first we considered the film Scream, a psychological thriller. We came up with a similar storyline for our film; a young girl, home alone, being sent instant messages on her computer. We then decided that this would not be suitable as it is within the genre of horror.

We then decided to research other thrillers. We thought that if we could find a list of the best or favourite thrillers, we could compare them and draw a similarity between them. Here is the list from www.imdb.com:

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
3. The Dark Knight (2008)
4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
5. Rear Window (1954)
6. Cidade de Deus (2002)
7. Fight Club (1999)
8. The Usual Suspects (1995)
9. Psycho (1960)
10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
11. North by Northwest (1959)
12. Memento (2000)
13. The Matrix (1999)
14. Se7en (1995)
15. Léon (1994)
16. Taxi Driver (1976)
17. Vertigo (1958)
18. M (1931)
19. Double Indemnity (1944)
20. The Third Man (1949)
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Alien (1979)
23. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
24. The Departed (2006)
25. The Shining (1980)
26. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
27. L.A. Confidential (1997)
28. Aliens (1986)
29. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)
30. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
31. Rebecca (1940)
32. Metropolis (1927)
33. A Wednesday (2008)
34. Some Like It Hot (1959)
35. Touch of Evil (1958)
36. Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
37. The Great Escape (1963)
38. The Prestige (2006)
39. Strangers on a Train (1951)
40. Salaire de la peur, Le (1953)
41. Sin City (2005)
42. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
43. Notorious (1946)
44. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
45. The Big Sleep (1946)
46. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
47. No Country for Old Men (2007)
48. Diaboliques, Les (1955)
49. Jaws (1975)
50. Batman Begins (2005)


We noted that most of these films are actually crime or police thrillers, rather than psychological thrillers. From this, we decided that our film should have elements of crime.

We also considered the film Rear Window, which features on the list above, and the similar film Disturbia. These films centre on the storyline of someone witnessing a murder in a house opposite to theirs.

We then thought about what an opening of a thriller would entail. The aim of an opening to a thriller is to create enigma, pushing the audience to keep watching. We also agreed that an action before narrative would again create enigma. So we thought that if our storyline was of a murder but we did not know who the killer was, would create enigma. We then thought of a plot vaguely similar to the film Halloween, but with an element of crime to it. Our first comprehensive storyline idea, was to have a business women entering her house. The women would appear to be nervous, panicky and paranoid. We would then have a shot of the women, with someone behind her who would hit her on the head, leaving her on the floor. The identity of the killer would remain unknown. The film go back into the past, following the women, and uncovering the motives for her murder. This is our first idea, which is not definite, but can be adapted into what we feel suitable.