Convention-ever After

In this blog post, I plan on discussing how my film compares with typical conventions of the same crime genre. There are purposefully some aspects of this production that will not line up with standard practices, and that comes from a place of me wanting to take my own creative liberties in order to tell the story I want to tell.

I want to begin with a statement on what I feel my film will be: a piece which uses the technical conventions and some content conventions of a psychological thriller, and the content conventions of a crime drama. Rather than focusing on the victim of the crime, Demoniac focuses on the criminal, kidnapper, Hader Jones. I think that playing to the mind of the villain has become a common practice for current psychological-thriller and action movies like "Glass (2019)", "Venom (2018)", "A Simple Favor (2018)", and "The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)". Delving into the supposed antagonist's mind is a perspective meant to intrigue, terrify, and disturb an audience as they experience the story take place from the criminal's side. Whether one finds themselves rooting for the character or not, understanding the emotion that takes place behinds a horrible action is an experience that creates a better understanding of the overall human experience, and influences one's perception of the world positively or negatively.

Hader is different from typical "criminals" in the crime genre, because he does not use weaponry to achieve what he wants. He uses a bit of charm to kidnap Sephone and never leaves her once he takes her to where they will stay. His armor is his intellect and dark psyche, rather than physical danger. The film includes a commentary on the pure evil that is evident in our world today that is manifesting into brain power and a powerful will. Using an attitude and persona as a weapon is something not necessarily seen before. It undermines the need for any physical violence in film, while drawing attention to mental and emotional violence.

The crime Hader commits is different from crimes normally seen in crime films because they do not contain prolonged action. The real action that will be seen in this film is in flashbacks of the actual abduction. Crimes that are typically seen are bank robberies, mob plots- violence with an ultimate goal. Films like "Baby Driver (2017)", "The Equalizer (2014)", and "Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)" all include a  constant stream of violent action that is supposed to enrapture the audience. The goal of the crime was achieved immediately with Hader, so what remains is the impact which I believe will have a stronger influence on the audience than the action.

I plan on continuing this analysis in my CCR!



RESOURCES:
https://www.slideshare.net/imogenmarsden/conventions-of-crime-films (Slide-show on the conventions of crime genre films)
https://www.slideshare.net/danielfotheringham21/generic-conventions-of-crime-dramasthrillers (Slide show on the conventions of crime genre film)
https://www.slideshare.net/paigewebbx/codes-and-conventions-of-a-psychological-thriller-16401609 (Slide show on the conventions of psychological thriller genre film)
https://prezi.com/mh5w4mkqh6ng/codes-and-conventions-of-psychological-thriller/ (Slide show on the conventions of psychological thriller genre film)