Research Tasks - "Joyride" - Chloe McGlinchey

Joyride (Gillespie), 1995

* During watching this sort film, i had begun to identify it to be of a horror/thriller genre, this is because of the setting where the film was placed. the film was placed in a derelict wooded area. The film is also set at night time; which gives it the extra mysterious and eerie vibe to it. The themes and issues of this short film seem to be based around violence.

* This film uses genre/style conventions in a subtle and different way to some other horror/thriller films. My opinion for this is because the way the film had started, and how the ending leads the audience to think that the victim gets away safe and alive. When the policeman jokingly says about offering him a cigarette even though the man has had petrol spilt over him, after this has happened the man walks over to the electricity pylon saying how if he wasn't there none of the previous actions had happened. The electricity pylon then has sparks flying off of it which leads the man being caught on fire.

* The advantage of the short narrative is that as the majority of the film has been filmed in a boot so the audience has been given the opportunity to have an imagination of their own. The narrative has been structured in a strict chronological story, which gives the audience a restricted narrative (which means hiding the story from the audience). so everything happens in sequence in order to make complete sense to the audience.

* The use of sound throughout the short film is fairly repetitive yet effective, it gives the film a mysterious and eerie feeling to it. The use of diegetic and non diegetic sounds makes what is going on in the film seem a lot more realistic and dramatic. The long held out notes in the music give the scene more suspense and impatience to the audience which; when music gets louder and suddenly stops all will be revealed to the audience who are waiting in anticipation.

* This short film seems to be about the term "Joyriding" simply because of the two villains who have stolen the "good guy's" car at thrown him in the boot. It also portrays kidnap, thriller and violence. It "positions" the audience in a way that makes you think twice about certain things that are going on in the film; this is achieved by constructing some scenes which make the audience think completely different things to what the director is trying to portray and show in their film.

Chloe McGlinchey