Representation Of Mr.

Harris

The close up is used to highlight the sweat on Mr. Harris’ face.

This connotes him as vulnerable to the audience, which is
stereotypical for the protagonist in a thriller.

Furthermore, we sustain this vulnerability throughout, through a use of long/mid shots as they make
him look small and alone on screen.

Although our main protagonist is weak, the use of a male as the protagonist is unconventional. However, by using a
feeble male we have been able to merge two of Propp’s character types. His feeble character symbolises him as
‘The Victim’, yet his male dominance allows him to also be ‘The Hero’ as we see him fight against the ‘Villain’ that is
the killer later in the thriller; which seems to be typical for the genre.
 Representations Of The Killer

The repetition of the three sentences is meant to be the killer’s thoughts.

This obsessive nature clearly fits in with the mental illness of a murderer
because it is repetition give a violent affect.

The use of low-key lighting connotes this character’s evil

nature. Furthermore, the use of distorted and jarring
music in this scene connotes a lot to the audience;
1. The music scares the audience, clearly establishing the
killer as ‘The Villain’ using Propp’s character types.
2. Connotes Mr.Harris as ‘The Victim’ as the fast paced
music represents his panic.

Despite these two being the same character, they

are portrayed with contrasting power. P.C Chandler
is seen as weak and feeble through the use of long
shot and subservient dialogue,' Okay! I’m coming!’.
However, as the killer, the use of the low angle
shot portrays him as superior. This denotation of a
‘split-personally’ yet again merges two character
types of ‘The Villain’ and ‘The Helper’ but also
sticks to the stereotype of a murderer having
mental issues. Moreover, this is typical for the
genre; an example being in ‘Fight Club’ when our
innocent ,unnamed narrator, is also the murderous
 Representations Of The Police.
The use of the iconic sign clearly denotes P.C Chandler
as a police officer, connoting that he represents safety
and justice. However, we challenge the ideology that
police represent safety and justice. This is done through
P.C Chandler being corrupt and the fact that the killer
managed to get into the station, unquestioned.
We challenge stereotypes in regards to hierarchy. D.I
Sharma is an archetypical leader, with his suit, title
(D.I) and importance, ‘Sir, you’re needed’. However,
his role in the thriller is undermined by the average,
working police officer, P.C Chandler who kills D.I
Sharma in the end of the thriller . Therefore, D.I
Sharma’s role is a red herring as acts in control
throughout drawing audience attention to him, yet it is
P.C Chandler who is actually in control and holds
power.
This point is further built upon but the use of
quick cuts, also adding suspicion to D.I
Sharma; representing the ideology that nobody
can be trusted.