Analysis of thriller clip - Miss Miller

Se7en Analysis

Se7en is a brilliant example of a hugely successful thriller which has all the essential conventions a thriller needs, in order to be successful.

It throws you right into the action with the title sequence. The titles themselves flash and twitch in and out of the screen and have a font type which makes them look handwritten. I think this effect has been used to make it look more childlike and reflect the simple mind of the unknown protagonist.

Camera angles are effectively used in this opening. They don’t use any wide shots or mid shots which could possibly reveal the killer – by keeping the mystery of who the person is, it intrigues the audience and makes them want to carry on watching. The use of both close up shots and extreme close up shots ensures we focus on the important and disturbing aspects of the scene. This builds up intrigue within the viewer. The editing of these clips is very fast-paced and uses lots of transitions and effects. This is to give the impression of chaos and that his state of mind is disjointed like the imagery shown.

Mise-en-scene is quite important in this opening scene as it gives you a real glimpse of how the plot line will progress. This is the first time we get to see the killer and gives us key clues as to what he is going to do, his type of personality and who he is. The opening credits shows the man carrying out actions like, writing, developing photos, reading etc. This suggests that he is planning something thoroughly and from the way it is presented it implies that it is something bad. These images are surrounded by lots of black, which darkens the whole atmosphere implying that it is sinister. The colours used in these clips are very bland and no vibrant colours have been used. It almost looks as though a sepia affect has been applied onto the clips. The only bright colour to be shown throughout the opening credits is red. This may be to represent blood and ultimately death. 

 One of the more graphic scenes shows the man slicing off his fingertips. This suggests that he is going to commit a crime and doesn’t want to leave any evidence behind. It is not too much of a gory image, but it is very horrific which makes the audience feel much more tension. By cutting off his skin it indicates that he is very committed to what he does. He is willing to put himself through pain just to carry out these acts of crime. It also suggests that he is experienced as it is seems planned and that this is not just a one off killing. This keeps the viewers attention as they want to know what he is going to do next.

All the aspects throughout the short introduction illustrate it as very disturbing and horrific. This gets the audience right into the action and shows them immediately what the plotline and film is going to be like.

The music used is a remix by Nine Inch Nails called ‘Closer’. This sound has a gritty effect, and again sounds quite dysfunctional again to reflect the killer’s mindset. This builds up suspense and tension within the audience as the intensity of the music builds throughout the scene.

This is a successful thriller, because it uses all of the conventions which keep an audience interested and excited to see more.