Thriller film research - Would you rather

I watched the film Would you rather , directed by David Guy Levy in 2012, to particularly look at characters, narrative and settings. This was so that when it came to finding ideas for my own thriller trailer I would be able to see how important these things are to the film and also some stereotypical conventions seen within these.

Narrative 

• The film starts with the audience discovering Iris' brother is very ill and she has come home to look after him. However a donor can not be found. 
• The doctor, a friend of Iris', calls her in for a meeting to say he has found a way to help. When she gets there Lambrick is there and the doctor explains how he 'won' Lambrick's game the previous year and received help he needed and therefore Iris has to play the game and win to receive all the help she needs. Lambrick's game will be held at a dinner party at his house. 
• When Iris gets there she meets a group of other people and they all leave their keys and phone in a room and go through to the dinner party, also at the dinner party is Lambrick, his son and their butler. 
• During the starter a meat dish is brought out and Iris explains how she is vegetarian. Lambrick says she should have told him earlier. He then offers her a large sum of money if she eats it. Iris caves and eats the meat. 
• Next, one of the table members denies an alcoholic drink when offered it. Lambrick realises he is a recovering alcoholic and the man, explains how he hasn't drunk in 16 years. The man is then talked in to drinking for a sum of money and ends up getting very drunk and argumentative before he is shot in the head for arguing. 
• The first round of the game is an electric shock round. The players are strapped up to an electric shock machine and so is the person next to them. They are then given two buttons and told to press one to shock themselves, or the other to shock the person next to them. 
• The second round is where they are offered the chance to do things to each other, for example stab someone in the leg. 
• After this people start dying as the rounds progress.
• Travis ends up arguing with Lambrick's son and this causes him to be punished and everyone gets offered the chance to whip him 3 times across the back or do something worse to someone else. Travis ends up being whipped so many times he passes out and bleeds to death, this causes him to be eliminated from the game.
• When there is a chance to, the remaining players try to escape. Iris is chased around the house by Lambrick's son who attempts to rape her but is stopped by the doctor who is then shot by Bevans, the butler. 
• When Bevans takes Iris back to the dinner party he explains to Lambrick what happened. Lambrick attempts to apologise for Julian, his son and removes him from the game. He explains how Julian's mother died "which is why he is messed up". 
• Round 3 is a case of the known and the unknown. The remaining contestants were given the chance to receive a punishment from an unknown card, or two minutes in a barrel, held underwater. 
• Peter, an ex-gambler, chooses the card and has to hold a firecracker while it blows up. This caused him to have a heart attack which killed him. 
• Lucas also chooses the card and has to split one of his eyes open. 
• Iris chooses to have her head held underwater for 2 minutes. During this time a flashback of her brother talking about a boat is thought about and shown which helps her to get through. 
• Amy chooses the card and is given four minutes under the barrel of water. Lambrick says "how long did it take your husband to drown your daughter?" 
• Amy drowns in the barrel.
• Then it is just Lucas and Iris left. Iris is offered the chance for her and Lucas both to leave with nothing or she can shoot him in the head. He begins to explain his story, however Iris shoots him. 
• Iris gets given the money and gets to return home. 
• When she gets home her brother is dead, he has commit suicide. 

This shows that although there is one main narrative going on throughout the film, at each task a smaller narrative or backstory is discovered.


Characters

• Iris - young girl. Portrayed as helpful as she came back to help her brother. Blonde and white, which is a stereotypical representation of a damsel in distress. First off comes across as strong as she says "i wont do it" when referring to eating the meat, however when she caves in she can be shown as weak or desperate. However as she is the character who survives until the end it shows her strength and power. 
  
• Mr.Lambrick - He is portrayed with a moustache. He is dominant and authorative, as well as rude and mocking as he taunts her for eating the meat. He is also very 'creepy' as the whole game is a deluded idea. 
  
• Iris' brother - He is shown as the weaker sibling due to being ill, which is a countertype as he is the male so would stereotypically be the stronger sibling. He is also portrayed as optimistic as he says " you cant always be the hero, sometimes you have to let go". However at the end of the film it is discovered that this is him hinting that he wants to end his life. 
• Julian (Lambrick's son) - punishing and manipulative, seen when he punishes Travis and when he try's to attack Iris. Scared of his father, this is highlighted throughout the film as he does exactly as his father asks. Very flirty, with Iris and Amy, the two young women.
  
   
• Bevans (the butler) - Known as a previous interrogator for MI5. He is authorative and stern throughout the whole film. He also seems to be emotionless as he shows no signs of weakness during any pats of the events, especially as it is him who carries out most of the tasks for Lambrick. 
  
• Doctor - At first seen as helpful as he offers Iris help. However then when the game is revealed it is questioned why he recommeneded Iris even though he knew what happens in the game. He is then seen as guilty and caring when he trys to rescue Iris, even though he does not suceed. 
• Recovering alcoholic - Strong willed at first as he argues about drinking the alcohol, however then he caves in. After that his addictive personality is shown before he gets drunk and careless which then causes him to argue ending up in him being shot. 
• Cal - nice, not selfish and a gentleman as he says "do what you gotta do" and trys to help everyone else escape, which he gets shot during. 
• Linda - old and weak. She is portrayed as a larger lady and looks like a stereotypical grandmother. 
• Amy - firstly portrayed as selfish as she shocks Linda, the old lady. However she is then showna s independent, not wanting to team up with everyone else. But then clever as she is the first to realise that it is everyone for themselves. She is then shown to be weak and vulnerable as the audience feel pity for her as her husband killed her daughter.
• Lucas - He is portrayed as a true gentleman. This is further emphasized by him saying "im not gonna shock you". He also seems like the most clever and helpful within the group as he is the one that advises people on the best option to take in order for everyone to benefit.
• Peter - Peter stabbed the older lady, even though he originally did not want to. This shows he could be a countertype as he is weak and caved easily.
• Travis - He is very opinionated and argumentative, as well as being defensive. This leads to him arguing with Julian and being punished.

Settings

The film is mainly set in one room in the same house. This is as that room is the dinner party. There is very little in this room apart from the table and chairs, whenever the room is seen low key lighting is used to make it darker and eerier.
There are some other settings at the beginning and end of the film, these are:

• Iris' house
• The doctors office
• The corridors when Julian is chasing Iris
• The hallway when they all go in
• In the car
• The basement

Music/sound

The film starts off to the sound of a drum which sets a steady beat to start the film with a high impact.
Piano are then repeated in a lullaby.
After the dining room is shown there is a long eerie sound played which begins to build tension and suspense within the audience.
After someone has been shot a slow, melodic music is played. This creates the emotions of sympathy and guilt.
The sound of the electric shock machine is asynchronous. This emphasizes the buzzing noise and makes the audience feel fearful of the machine and of Mr.Lambrick.
When Iris is on her way home the crickets chirping create an eerie atmosphere as it dawns on the audience that it is a new day, yet none of the other guests will see this day.
As Iris enters her house it is cold and empty, a whistling noise echoes through th rooms, foreshadowing what is about to come.
When Iris finds her brother dead, the non diegetic sound of her  screaming and crying is heard. This is when the true events of the night finally sink in, leaving a sad feeling with the audience.

Range of shots

During the dinner many of the shots are long and mid shots of the table or the guests eating the dinner. However when anything uncomfortable happens a close up is shown. For example there is a close up of the meat on Iris' plate when she does not want to eat it. There is also a close up of Travis' back when he is being whipped. There is also an extreme close up of Peters face after the firecracker blow up, just before his heart attack.