Sound and Music In Thriller Films- Panic Room/Hanna

 

The Panic Room opening sequence starts with a puzzling sinister non-dieagetic soundtrack. The fast paced violin playing in the background is parralel to the ticking sound which is a typical trait of a psychological thriller, the soundtrack also builds up and boosts the audience's suspense. There are also elements of dieagetic sounds like the police siren at the beginning of the sequence and the dialougue between the two female characters at the end. The sound effects used at the beginning are parralel to the images the audience can see (the car driving in the city). There's also the use of incidental sounds such as the telephone ringing while the soundtrack was still playing.

The opening sequence of Hanna, begins with silence, then we hear the river flowing. There are lots of ambient sounds used, for example, we could hear footsteps when the deer sensed danger coming its way. We then hear the movement of the hunter followed by the shot of her arrow. We can also hear her panting (breathing heavily) while she runs towards the animal. The use of dialogue at the ends creates a sinister atmosphere when she said ‘I just missed your heart’, followed by the gun shot and the sudden appearance of the title. The fact that majority of the opening sequence is made up of ambient sounds, it creates a sinister atmosphere. The sounds we hear are parallel to the images we see. Overall, the sound creates suspense and tension which keeps the audience on the edge and wanting to know more.

There are common similarities between Panic Room and Hanna, for example, the sounds used are either parallel to the visuals or to the titles which builds suspense. They also introduce dialogue towards the end of the opening scene, for example in Panic Room we see two female characters discussing while in Hanna, we hear the hunter say 'I just missed your heart'. On the other hand, there're differences between Panic Room and Hanna. In Panic Room, there is a mix of non-dieagetic sounds and dieagetic sounds while in Hanna, we only have dieagetic sounds and mainly ambient sounds.