Donnie Darko (2001)
We as a group loved many elements of Donnie Darko including it's time period, the 80's, the soundtrack and the cinematography used in several scenes. The film is a psychological thriller, ours is similar to the narrative of a troubled teenager. I thought The killing moon by Echo and The Bunnymen used at the start of the film as an introduction to the setting worked well. We wanted a retro feel soundtrack that created an 80's feel to the party. Also in the school entrance scene, creates an atmosphere and establishes setting very well. By the way the camera pans to the main characters with certain actions is a great way to introduce characters and makes audiences feel they are inside the film in a way. Also my character wears a hoodie like donnies character as this worked well to give our lead character a secluded personality. Because of these elements of the film, we wanted to pay homage to it.
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Also to show off our killer's odd features we wanted to shock audiences by using extreme close ups on different parts of his body while he gets changed. An influence from Silence of the lambs in the famous Buffalo Bill scene where he unnerves viewers as he puts on make up in a perverse manor. This intention to shock audiences is what we are aiming for although in a more subtle way.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Also in relation to the make up is The Joker in the The Dark Knight. His smeared lipstick and odd make up is really effective in giving the villain a unique and abnormal look. We wanted viewers to be "freaked out" by his appearance and giving him this distinct look would drive this forward. Also the viral advertising on the posters of the film gave us the idea that we should draw red circles around my face on pictures of me. The pictures are going to be pinned up onto the killers mirror as he prepares his make-up.
Shutter Island (2010)
Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island has several elements of influence for our film. First of all the soundtrack/score that is brilliant in the way tension is always present. We are constantly on the edge of our seats and the emotion in the score works well in relation to the dramatic acting Leonardo Dicaprio and my character gives. We are using the track "On the nature of daylight" by Max Richter for our the last part of our sequence when the boy is found murdered and the group of people stand around looking down at his body. The song works perfectly in impacting our audience as it is very emotional. We want audiences to take the ending as seriously as possible and this track helps us persuade that further. Also another influence from this film is the way it messes with the minds of viewers. The scene where Chuck jumps off a cliff yet shortly after rats come out from the rock. This is a brilliant way of unsettling the audience with strange imagery. We have a shot where I face the camera whilst arms come from behind me and stroke my body. I plan to speed this shot up so viewers see it shortly and ask themselves "Was that real?" and "What was the meaning of that?". We are taking advantage of the fact that we are only creating the opening sequence of the film so we can create strange yet symbolic imagery that would puzzle audiences yet we do not have to explain it. Another example of this symbolic imagery in our film is going to be a clip between the shot of me dead on the floor where my character kneels arms wide facing the group of people as they shout abuse at me. This will hopefully surprise viewers and creates deeper meaning to our character and possibly the narrative.