Thriller Opening 1- Panic Room

Panic Room (2002)
Director: David Fincher
Crime Thriller:





This film fits into the sub-genre “Crime”, and displays many typical conventions the audience would expect to see, defining its genre.


An establishing shot of a city opens the sequence and already the audience is introduced to a typical scene where crime commonly takes place. Editing evident is mainly cuts which quicken when the beat of the music changes and crescendos helping to create a sense of panic, mirroring what can be seen on screen; the title ‘PANIC ROOM’.


Mise-en-scene showing blocked square city buildings echoes the protagonist’s plight, block buildings representing the square room where two of the main characters have been trapped in during the film. Moreover the titles, which have been positioned in the foreground over clips, again reiterate the protagonist’s situation as the chosen font is serif signifying a sense of being trapped due to the solidness of the outline of the font.


Transitions such as fade in/out have been used at the beginning revealing to the audience what is to come. In addition low key lighting reflects upon the dark sinister feeling being created indicating that something bad is going to happen.


Non-digetic sound of police sirens can be heard at the beginning symbolic of danger and crime. Furthermore as the opening sequence draws to an end the audience is introduced to one of the main characters who later on in the film becomes the victim. Centralising the opening around the protagonists is typical of crime thrillers which tend to focus on the victims rather than the policemen and women.