Short essay piece

I decided to write an analysis of a modern psychological thriller to show the typical conventions shown in that of a thriller and to show my understanding of the genre.

How is the idea of suspense and tension created in the thriller, "The number 23"?

"The number 23" is a psychological thriller directed by Joel Schumacher. It is a story of obsession and follows the character Walton Sparrow as he discovers countless similarities between himself and the main character in the book entitled "the number 23".

The ideology of a thriller begins straight away in the opening credits. With blood stains blotting the screen and eery music accompanying it, suspense and tension is created. Along with these blood stains, there are also lots of numbers obviousely linked to the plot of the film. This already gets the audience guessing about what their importance is and influences them to continue watching. There are lots of quick, sharp cuts in the credits too, giving everything an edge and never focusing on one thing for too long.

Throughout the film, there is a non-digetic voice-over narration of the book being read. This voice is constantly flat, unemotive and serious so nothing is given away about what could happen next. It makes it clear to the audience that there it something very wrong about the motives behind the piece of apparent "fictional" literature. There are several times where non-digetic voices are used in the film. For example, when the main character Walter is remembering several things at one time, all the voices are heard in a loud, echoey tone. This portrays the fear and confusion the character is feeling and this fearful emotion transfers to the audience too. At one point in the film, the fast pace of disturbing visual shots is combined with the slow talking non-digetic voice. These compliment eachother well and keep the audience constantly aware of what's happening on screen.

The mise-en-scene plays a big part in the tension created throughout the feature. Apart from the first few, all the scenes are dark and shadows are used to give a creepy, uncertain feeling. The lighting is used very effectively, hitting only the necessary places such as the face which shows all the emotion. Binary oppositions are conveyed to the audience with everything to do with the main character being dark and negative, such as his clothing and the lighting. The settings are always very dingy and dirty which creates tension because it's not the sort of place you'd feel safe and secure in.

Finally, the camera shots include lots of close-ups to show the dramatic emotion on the characters faces. The camera angles tend to show things from the characters perspective in an important part, for example when Walter is looking up and seeing shadows on the ceilings or having nightmares of him killing his wife. It takes you through these things as he would see it which adds to the tension because you are seeing it as if the main character was you. Camera shots are used to create confusion, fear and tension, keeping the audience gripped and constantly thinking. Many things are unexplained, and just when you think there's a valid solution the plot throws something new and unexpected at you. This all adds to the exciting thriller that really makes you think and always keeps you guessing.