Bomb Theory
Bomb Theory is a phrase coined by Alfred Hitchcock to explain his method of creating suspenseful cinema.
Bomb Theory is the method of putting the audience into a state of suspense by making them aware of certain facts, of which the characters in the film are unaware of. One example of this was found in the film The Stepfather a thriller that we watched in class. The antagonist in the film is a serial killer, we are shown this at the very start of the film. He kills his victims by integrating himself in their family and then, after a period of time he murders them and takes on a new identity and a new family to murder. The family he joins is unaware of him being a serial killer, this keeps the audience in suspense as we know he is going to try and kill them. The only thing is we don't know how his actions will manifest; only that it is inevitable.
False Plateau
False Plateau is a technique used to draw the audience into a fake sense of calm before a surprise. This is accomplished by making it seem that the initial 'fake surprise' was in fact the resolution to the previous suspenseful imagining of the audience. However it is then that the real action occurs, just as the audience falls in to a state of calm. In the film The Stepfather, multiple false plateaus were used in order to surprise and shock the audience. One of which was when an old lady returned home, immediately the scene was given a sense that something is not right, the audience is also already expecting the lady to be murdered, as it was hinted at in previous scenes. As the old lady In-counted her basement door the audience was led to believe that the murderer was right behind her. However after a quick shock to the audience it was seen to be only a cat. This resolved the suspense and allowed the audience to fall into a false sense of calm. just as the real murderer attacked the old lady.
No comments:
Post a Comment