Thriller Opening Analysis - Running Scared

Running Scared film opening analysis

This film opening is about 6mins long and it establishes typical thriller characters, setting and narrative.

“Running scared” starts off with a man carrying a small boy to his car and racing off (these are presumably the main characters); this is shown in slow motion (which is common in thrillers) before they race off,. It also shows that they are in a race against time to get help which is important in establishing the suspense that thrillers require. The main character Joey (Paul Walker) is all banged up and the small boy is covered in blood which implies that he’s been shot. This presents an enigma because you don’t know what’s happened and how they were both hurt, and you want to keep watching to find. They race off trying to get somewhere, presumably to get help. You see the main character drops a gun into the car before he gets in, which could mean that the boy was shot. It is set in New York (you see this on the licences plate of the main character’s car) which is common for thrillers to be set is an urban area.

Then it goes back to the beginning which started 18 hours before (flashbacks being another feature of thriller narratives). It starts off with the man we saw at the beginning (Paul Walker) with his boss Tommy (Johnny Messner) and associate Sal (Michael Cudlitz) involved in some sort of exchange (probably a drug deal); we see all of the men carrying guns, which is the most common and most iconographic weapon in thrillers. It also shows that this is a crime thriller because the main character is a criminal. Then it’s interrupted by 3 masked men with shotguns.

 The camera shots of the 3 men are from a low angle to make them seem more powerful. They try to steal the money and drugs but the men fight back and it turns into a shootout where most of the men end up dead including 2 of the masked men. This sort of action set piece is common in thrillers. As soon as the 3 masked men burst in, the editing becomes very fast paced and the camera is moving very fast to show the expressions on everyone’s faces. The 3 men tell everyone to lie on the floor and slide their guns under the bed. The camera angle is at floor level and is moving around the room showing all the criminals sliding their gun under the bed.

As it turns out, the men that were trying to steal the drugs and money were cops. The opening of “Running Scared” is very important because the shootout between the crooked cops and the main character and his friends is most likely connected to what happens 18 hours after. In the beginning, you are shown the end and start, which makes the audience want to see what happens next. This kind of opening is not very common but it is shown in a lot of thrillers. Crooked cops are very common thriller characters because villains in thrillers are usually more powerful than the hero’s and cops have the law on their side and they use this to manipulate people and get their way.

When the main character and his boss realise they’re cops, they take the money and drugs (more key elements of thriller narratives) and run out of the apartment. Then there is a shot of them in a car, getting away from the shootout. The main character’s boss hands him the guns used in the shooting of the dirty cops and tells him to get rid of them. The audience will assume that something will go wrong before the main character can get rid of the guns (which it always does in thrillers).

In the opening, it has already set out the narrative which is where the main character (Paul Walker), his boss (Johnny Messner) and associate (Michael Cudlitz) killed 2 crooked cops which resulted with the main character and a boy being hurt. This is quite a common narrative for thrillers where a criminal is being chased by a dirty cop for something illegal (in this case money). The opening has established most of the main characters and how they are involved except for the boy.

The music in the background is very faint and some people might not hear it because this film gets straight to the point and the sound that you hear the most from the beginning is the sound of gunshots.

Thriller posters analysis

Lucky Number Sleven poster

Lucky Number Sleven is a typical thriller

 The shadow figure in the middle of the poster suggests that this is the main character that the film is based around. The light surrounding the main character in the middle could suggest that the main character will find out the truth about something important, “shed light on something” that will be a big part of the film. The hidden identity of the central “silhouette” connotes the element of mystery, essential to a thriller.

The 4 characters in the shadow figure suggest they will be a big part of the narrative. Morgan Freeman (on the left) is a typical “mature” thriller character who looks worried because he is shown looking over his shoulder, suggesting the thriller theme is paranoia. The characters in the middle that all look serious as befits thriller characters, except the character with two guns with silencers, this could mean that this character is a hitman that has targeted the main character, this is backed up by the fact the shadow figure is also hiding a gun with a silencer, which could mean he is afraid of him or that both men are out to kill each other. This is a common narrative for thrillers, where two men are at “war” or the main character is in a situation in which he can’t control. The iconography is also classic, in particular the guns which are the most common type of weapon in thrillers.

The tag line “wrong place, wrong time, wrong number” could suggest that the number “7” in the title could mean because there is a hitman involved that the 7^th target is the shadow figure is the 7^th target, so the Bruce Willis (hitman) is after the main character.  

The font of the title is a stereotypical font for thrillers. The word “number” is in red which could mean that “number” is a main part of the film and this could also be the main focus of the danger, because every thriller has an element of danger. The shadowy, dark background is very “film noir”.

Hitman Poster

Hitman is a typical action thriller

The shadowy figure in the middle of the poster is typical in thrillers because it represents darkness, and something unforeseen that is dangerous. It presents the characters as an “enigma” to make the audience want to find out more. This usually represents the enemy, however in this film the shadowy figure is the hero. The shadow figures are usually in gangster (Goodfellas) or conspiracy (Enemy of the State) thriller. However this represents a Hitman which could be found in all types of thrillers.

The bullet holes represent danger and in this case represents evil. However, the light shining through the bullet hole could represent someone who was bad, becoming good and changing his ways, so the darkness becomes light. This can occur in thrillers where a former “bad guy” becomes good and tries to do the right thing. This is a quite common narrative for thrillers.

The bullets holes could also represent the fact that the “Hitman” is untouchable because all the bullet holes are around him and he is standing still in the middle, not afraid of the gun fire.

The contrast of light overpowering the darkness could mean that the “Hitman’s” life could be impacted that would make him changes his life, like an explosion ripping through his life. This could also be foreshadowing lots of explosions during the film, which forms part of the narrative and iconography.

Another iconographic element, the guns, are typical in a thriller because this represent power (whoever has the most skill with a gun usually wins). This is iconography. This usually connote violence which is typical in thrillers. The guns usually connotes violence and death, which is very likely to happen in a thriller