Movie Conventions Research: Intrusion

 

What elements of the genre that you chose to base your final task on does this movie have?

An elements shown in the movie Intrusion is that its set in a private location. The house where the intruders break into is built in what appears to be a desert with not many houses nearby. The owners of the house appear to be wealthy, therefore this creates a great scenario for the robbers, a house in a remote location with wealth owners. Intrusion includes Mis-en-scene such as costumes. The victims are dressed very minimalistic and clean. The husband is dressed in a slick suit and the wife is dressed very classy with a button up and a long skirt. While the intruders are dressed in all black with masks covering their faces. For makeup there were the occasional bruises and there was blood. In the first 20 minutes we see a fight breakout between the intruders and the owners. We witness one of the intruders covered in blood as he was shot by the hands of the owner with a gun he had hidden in the plants. Props were used such as guns, baseball bats, ties to cover ones mouth and bound hands together, video cameras, and rooms hidden until the push of a button, controlled by technology. For sound non-diegetic music is used during the fighting scenes. This music was fast-paced and exhilarating. When they wanted us to expect something ominous was about to happens they would play this low music, the music was quiet and creepy. Sound effects included the gunshots during the first couple scenes and the sound of a baseball bat hitting the side of someones head. These sounds tend to appear in all movies under the Thriller genre. 

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you liked? 

I liked how the movie took an unexpected post twist, It completely took me by surprise. I won't spoil to much but the plot twist consisted of the victim turning out to be the bad guy all along and the intruders were only there to save their beloved sister. Plot twists like this are exactly what makes a good thriller. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and it keeps you locked in. To successfully create this amazing plot twist, they used good filming choices. They used pans, long shots, wide shots, close ups, over the shoulder shots, low angles, zooms, tracking shots, they even used jump-scares. Angles and movements included really create the intense feeling of stress. They use these to belittle the protagonist and increase the power of the antagonist. I liked how they also dropped little hints of what the husband was truly up too. This created a sense of wonder for the viewers. For me this left me with a train of thought that was "what if the husband is involved in and evil crime, and are his true intentions are slowly appearing?"

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you did not like? 

There were elements of this movie that I did not enjoy however. As the movie proceeded we find out that the husband was up to no good. But there it appeared that he had nothing at stake. He was comfortable, we never saw him panic or get worried the truth was going to come out. Watching the antagonist drop hints of panic is something common throughout thrillers, it's what mainly keeps the audience interested. Another thing that I didn't like about this movie was that it started to become a bit of a cliche. Robbers break into a wealthy house, with an unknown motive, are they here for revenge or money. That is the plot the movie should have been based on, but this movie took a turn and it turned into a kidnap, torture and murder. Common themes found in a lot of thrillers.