Introduction
For
the past few days I have been studying the genre of horror/thriller and I have
been mostly watching to films that are quite famous in this drama, the crime
thriller’s Red Dragon and Se7en. Se7en was released in 1995 to high critical
acclaim from critics for its portrayal of Morgan Freeman’s and Brad Pitt’s
characters, a tired old cop and a headstrong rookie. It was also noted for its
portrayal of a serial murder mystery since another highly praised film called
“Manhunter”. Manhunter was reimagined into a prequel to the critically
acclaimed “The Silence of the Lambs” and was called by its original book title
“Red Dragon” which was the other film that I watched for my study. While
watching these films I began to see some similarities but let me first evaluate
each film on its own.
Plot
Se7en’s
plot consists of a ageing cop and recently appointed cop tracking down a serial
killer who basis’s his murders on the seven deadly sins like Greed, Gluttony
and Sloth. This movie immerses the viewer in its plot by using the sum of its
parts to tell a graphic but a believable story for example in crime scenes like
the gluttony victim scene, it uses both subjective point-of-view and handheld
camera (simulate a documentary feel), a heavily detailed set with close
attention to the mise en scene (to immerse us in this heavily detailed world) and
even some horror techniques to disturb and immerse the audience (the minimal
lighting and the reveal of the man’s face is a staple of the horror genre). It
is greater because of the sum of its parts.
Red Dragon's plot consist's of a retired CIA agent, Will Graham, being called back to to do some investigation work for a recent set of killings because of his "unique" talents. To catch the alleged "Tooth Fairy" killer he needs to visit on old friend,Hannibal Lecter, who is a incredibly intelligent psychiatric doctor but there is one problem, he is also a psychopathic cannibal and Will was the one who detained him. The plot focuses on these three main characters, Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter, and "The Tooth Fairy" and their interactions between each other and other people. This is shown through the use of camera work (constant use of extreme close ups on characters faces to show reactions and emotions) and the switch of focus between these three main characters and their effects on the story plot wise.
Camera Angles/Editing
Se7en’s
use of camera work was innovative at the time for it revolutionary camerawork
and inspired the use of the film in the late 1990’s because of the inspired,
clever trick of adding a chemical to the raw footage that makes the contrast of
light and shadow more obvious to the viewer. This was effective since it made
the dark scenes even darker and light scenes even lighter, symbolizing a black
and white view of crime and punishment and creating a unique and original style
to the film.
Red Dragon's use of camera angles are more creative then most action thrillers since it not only focuses on the police's investigation work on the serial killer but the serial killer as well to establish him as living human mind that has been twisted and disturbed by his past instead of just a generic disturbing villain and we are actually helped in the investigation by another serial killer. The killer has his past presented as visuals (an example being a picture of a elderly woman spanking a child in his scrapbook, representing his abusive grandmother) and a heavy use of mirrors in shots represent reflection and illusion.
The soundtrack of Red Dragon is compiled together to reflect the minds and emotions of our killers and characters so that we can get into the mindset of our characters and get the mood of the scene or moment. An example of this is in the opening of the movie where we just witnessed the take down of Hannibal by Will Graham who are both seriously injured. The music changes (from near silence to a full orchestra) to reflect the sudden shocking turn of pace and the great amount of speed that the events have unfolded in. This tense orchestra played through the credits to show how scandalous this event was and the impact it had on Will and then starts to quiet down when we learned he has retired.
Mise en Scene
Characters
Atmosphere and Mood
Similarities and Differences
One of the most obvious similarities between Se7en and Red Dragon is its opening intro which consists of imposing on the serial killer's journals with credits over the top of the imagery. Se7en was the first to use this kind of opening in its movie which was creative at the time and then Red Dragon did something very similiar with its opening. The way that is used in Se7en is to show how gritty and dark this movie is going to be with disturbing, gruesome imagery and even some foreshadowing to some later events in the film. In Red Dragon it is used to tell the viewers of what happened after the opening, like the arrest of Hannibal and the retirement. and also some symbolism of our main killer's past to foreshadow later events.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that both movies succeed in what they intended to do but my personal preference between these two movies is Red Dragon. The reason I enjoy Red Dragon more then Se7en because of my preferred sense of horror, which simple and subtle. Just like I was describing the difference between these films in the paragraph above you get the sense that Se7en is trying too hard to show everything at once, like the Sloth scene where is so much going on that it actually gets dizzying. There is nothing wrong in showing off but it doesn't leave much to the imagination and literally shows all the horrible imagery and detailed environments. I believe the most horrific imagery a director can conjure is to ignite the viewers imagination and let him make the connections since what you don't see scares you the most. It uses classic tricks like blood splatters and quick imagery to disturb the viewer and then shows our characters reactions to horrific events to let our imagination create what we think we saw. This is why I like Red Dragon more because of its olf-fashoined but effective scare tactics.
So here to finish off, Hannibals most famous quote...
Classic :D
So here to finish off, Hannibals most famous quote...
![](http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png)
A very thorough exploration of the codes and conventions. You understand the manner in which the films have achieved genre and audience expectations.
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