People love suspense, that feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen, that something exciting, thrilling, or terrifying could happen at any moment is something that captivates audiences, and it what makes events such as professional sports (esports included) so exciting to watch. Suspense is also the lifeline in which action, horror, and thriller films live or die by. Fail to create suspense, and you fail to be effective with your audience. Suspense is important, but can easily be created; the issue is to make it effective, just having a few scenes of suspense won’t cut it in today’s films, in order to be effective in today’s media heavy world, you have to be able to keep the suspense running throughout the entirety of the film. Few movies have been able to do this properly, but if we take a step back a few years we will find that one movie in particular movie was able to pull this off better than almost any other movie to date. That film is the “almost-classic” film Se7en. Se7en follows the tale of two New York detectives in a riveting quest to catch a serial killer as he plots to torture and murder a person based off of the “Seven deadly sins”, a piece from the Bible, where God reveals the seven actions he finds the most deplorable: gluttony, greed, sloth (laziness), haughtiness (self-centered), lust, wrath, and envy. (Proverbs 6:16-19) The film’s pace is what creates all the suspense, it’s a slow burn, the movie starts off very slow, character development is set aside in order to create the atmosphere needed. The scenes of where character development takes place feel awkward and uneasy, but not in a way that works against the movie. The suspense still carries through the scenes of character development, it is never set aside, no scene in the movie feels safe or without suspense. What makes the movie so good is when the suspense really starts to build. About two-thirds into the movie is when the first scene with real action occurs. Using some connections within the FBI, the detectives are able to narrow down the list of possible suspects, when they confront the apartment of their suspect, a man in a trench coat pulls a gun on them and opens fire, and this leads to a 5 minute long chase scene in which the killer manages to escape. The movie begins to pick up its pace here, the killings begin to increase, and as the serial killer begins to edge closer and closer to his final plan, the detectives begin to become more stressed and jaded. The climax of the movie is where all the suspense boils over, we come face-to-face with the killer, the killer’s plan is close to an end, and we see what all the suspense of the movie has come to, before coming to a sudden and abrupt end. The ending if the movie is one of shock, the movie ends so swiftly after the climax, that you almost feel that there should be more to it, however, I feel that to extend the movie is to lessen the impact that the abrupt ending has, as it allows for it keeps the audience at the edge of their seat, even in the final moments of the film. Se7en is a movie that will be remembered for its endless suspense and gritty storytelling; it is a movie that excels in keeping its audience riveted to their seats, biting their nails, and locked in a state of suspenseful fear, even up until the final moments of the film. It is a movie all films in this genre to aspire to be, a slow burn, with meaningful action, that’s purposeful, but never over-the-top, the essence of a true thriller movie.
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About Me:Welcome to my blog! Here you'll find various articles about all sorts of topics. Politics, Music, Video Games, eSports, and many other topics I feel the need to write about. Archives
February 2018
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