Character development

For my thriller film opening, the main character is a teenage boy named Xander who becomes guilty of something serious. At the start of the opening, we see him covered in blood in his car while police sirens are in the background. This instantly shows that he is involved in something dangerous and possibly illegal. The goal is for the audience to question whether he is a bad person or if he made a mistake under pressure.

When the film cuts back to earlier in the day, we see him in his room worried because he hasn’t seen his parents. This helps show a different side of him. He isn’t introduced as evil but as a worried kid who cares about his parents. This makes him seem like any normal nice kid.

The phone call from the unknown man is important for his development because it forces him into a stressful situation. He doesn’t believe it at first, which makes it more believable and realistic. But when the caller proves it is real by mentioning the spare key under the doormat that is gone, the character becomes more panicked. His development in the opening moves from normal teenager - worried son - trapped and pressured - guilty and overwhelmed. This progression helps build the tension and makes the audience want to understand how he ended up covered in blood in the first scene.