Aice Media Studies (summary)

 Alright here's the summary of my plot.

Inspiration:

• Using the psychological thriller/ horror genre, I developed a plot that I actually enjoyed and integrated into a film opening. I convinced my group about the story's overall structure. 
• I love zombie movies, watching the struggles of humanity and how many get together In groups to try and combat hordes, the changes in the world, and issues with distribution, teamwork, group affairs, etc...
• Although I love watching this, many zombie movies also highlight the idea of changes in people's mental stability, the changes in societal structures, and modern living vanishing, as if the savagery in people were coming out with these drastic changes to the world.
• The movie "Apocolypse Z" is a great zombie movie (a really new one at that too), expressing the beginnings of a man's adventures through the apocalypse as he tries to get in contact with his sister and her family. In the movie, there were instances where he could partner with people to benefit each other, while there were examples of people's ruthlessness, enslaving, and capturing others for beneficial reasons, this shows how knowing the worlds revolving to chaos nothing is holding them back. 

Plot:

• Alright, for the plot I'm making it revolve around a protagonist in his high 20s, venturing throughout the remains of the world, trying to find any civilizations. This would signal that the man himself was born already into the apocalypse, not briefly what "modernistic" living would be like as this type of living would die out throughout the newer generation. He goes throughout his life trying to imitate memories of "this life" while exploring the world. The story itself would take place 50 years into the apocalypse already. The apocalypse itself began in 2025, meaning this would be set around the time of 2055.
• 
  Unlike Apocolypse Z, the reason I chose the story to be so already far into the events of an apocalypse is because I find it somewhat unrealistic that in only 10-15 years modern ways of living through the use of societal structure could diminish as most people throughout these times of the apocalypse had experienced the old versions of living. 
  
• My main focus throughout the film is to truly highlight the idea that over time throughout this desperate era, people lose their sanity, resorting to wild-like living, resorting to savagery to get a proper meal. People wouldn't be held back by social norms, any restrictions, taking, killing, fighting, and endless struggles. While the main protagonist tries to survive and make friends in this world, the brutal reminder that not even zombies are the biggest threat in this world, it's "humans" comes to show throughout this film. This is my biggest focus, this is what I would want to show if this were an entirely planned out, processed, filmed, and edited movie. 

Plot of the opening:

• The setting would take place inside a house in the middle of an early establishment held by other people with rations, food, water, etc... 
• The problem is that the opening takes place when a horde of zombies has actually broken down the hand-made walls, entering the facility and leading everyone to panic. This wouldn't be shown throughout the opening but would be interpreted due to the voice lines I intend to add, as well as the sound effects of an alarm that would alert the people in the establishment. 
• The opening focuses on two characters which would be revealed near the end of the opening to be both the father and mother of the main protagonist. The main protagonist however wouldn't be shown till the very end of the opening as I wanted to create mystery on who the story truly revolved around and catch the audience off guard. (you'll see why)
• Their main focus is to get to this room at the very end of this hallway throughout the opening since they already have an escape plan waiting at the window of this room. 
• They'd climbed in through the back of the window of the room parallel to this room since their main doorway to the house was blocked. The father would be holding this bloody knife he'd used to fight while outside of his house. (This is to add context to the reason why he holds a whole-bloodied knife at the beginning of the opening)
• While they snuck out of the room, a dark leg appeared at the end of the dark hallway, instantly causing them to run into the room to their right. The zombie walked past the door, while the father watched from the creek of the doors opening. 
• The father would think they're in the clear, with the idea of closing the door behind the zombie and making a run for the room at the end of this hallway, verbally expressing to his wife that they're in the clear.
• This is when the horror aspect of the movie begins. Right from behind her a dark pair of hands would rope around her face, immediately dragging her to the floor. It's assumed that the zombie made it into the room and was hidden in the same way they did, through a window.
• The scene would be gruesome, showing the father trying his hardest to pull his wife out from the grip of the zombie's clutches, while the sound of screaming and munching echoed through the room to the halls. The dad would indeed give up, trembling in fear as he ran out the room behind the room, closing the door on his wife. A pool of blood would then flow from under the door.
• The husband would be panting while leaning on the hallway wall in pure terror of what'd just happened. Unbeknownst to him, he's faced towards the room the first zombie had run into, the room he climbed into a window from. He'd forgotten to lock the door, while all that sound was made. Hearing clicking noises, the arm of the zombie would appear gripping the side of the door. Without a second hesitation, the husband would run, while looking behind him, making a last-ditch effort for the room at the end of the hallway. Unlucky to him though, the zombie manages to grip onto his leg, making him fall right in front of the goal. The camera would shift towards the dark, void-like, emptiness of the hallway, while the only things you can hear are screams of pure agony and the sound of munching. 
• Blood would slowly just move through the opening of the doorsteps, now angling the camera next to the pool of blood towards a closet in this room with the slightest creek. The camera would zoom into the closet, slowly yet surely, and in the end, would highlight an extreme close-up of the eyeball of somebody, who would be revealed as the main character, the son who'd heard, and witnessed this all, adding trauma to this characters development.

I really, like REALLY enjoyed creating this plot, and coming up with an enjoyable yet actual achievable way to express the genre, making it about a topic I really enjoy watching. I was able to greatly assist my team, helping toward the overall development of the plot, opening, and storyboard. 

Aice Media Studies (Group meetings)

 Group Meeting 1 Reflection

Today during class my teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa separated us all into 4 groups (around that) so that we could learn what our peers were doing, gain some inspiration, and talk to our partners about what they should do better, strive to elaborate, just something we could all take as a learning experience. I actually like my peers' ideas, so I want to list their summaries here and tag their blogs so that others can see their process. Some people still haven't decided what their openings will be and just explain an overall view of what their plot will be, so for some of these summaries it's just the opening or the plot alone. 

Fabiana -

• Her film opening idea was inspired by a mystery novel her dad had written. The idea was about a man going to work as any other regular day, prompting viewers to think this is just a regular occurrence in his life, he sits in a taxi, and upon getting in he finds his own wallet. The driver already knows where to go, puzzling the protagonist as they arrive at the man's work. The man steps out of the vehicle and a newspaper is to appear at his feet, dating the exact same day a year beforehand. This article will highlight the events of a tragic car accident that had happened. This would trigger the immediate idea that the man had always been dead, that the driver had already known this, and that the man still tried to live his own life, in denial that he'd die. The genre is supposed to be a mystery.

Fabis Blogger

Jayden - 

• 
  His film is inspired by movies like "Love Exposure," especially the director who made them called Sion Sono (I think this was the director). The opening sequence is based around a little girl who at a young age had lost her mother, caring for her deeply. The father, taking time to move on had decided to move out, but the girl refusing to leave would cause her father to be abusive, hitting her, while taking the picture of her mother and burning it. Jayden chose his genre to be a psychological drama. 
  

Jaydens blog

Amparo - 

• 
  Her idea is to make a movie with inspiration from Project X. The plot is focused on a huge party, people just enjoying themselves and partying all night, (this is what I mean by Project X) until something bad apparently happens, and to figure it out they go questioning people who had been at the party that night. Wyatt had actually offered a great idea that even Amparo said she would probably use it. The idea was to find out what happened the characters would collect footage from multiple viewpoints of the party, different people taking videos, and photos, using Polaroids, etc. They would continue using these different sides of the store and viewpoints to figure out the events of the previous night. The movie genre is to be a mystery thriller film, where they're questioning the events while mixing the anticipation of what truly happened.
  

Amparos Blog

Wyatt - 

• 
  His idea was inspired by movies like The Truman Show. His opening consisted of a man waking up one day to continue his regular life until he felt something was wrong, missing, or different. He had no idea what it was, but it was like an immense gut feeling. Everyone continued on normally, everyone else continued their regular living, not having this same type of sensation the man did. The opening is played from the point of view of the main character, noting, discovering, and showing his entire thought process, giving a sense of mystery to the plot as well as the viewers as they have little to no idea of this random "change." The movie's genre is that of a mystery, leading the viewers to question his reality. 
  

Wyatts blog

Kailen - 

• Her idea was actually inspired by our group, helping her choose what ideas would be best for her overall subject. The plot is about a girl who wakes up some morning believing to going through her regular day until one of her friends appears at her doorstep confronting her with a supposed picture of her from a party the previous night. She'd apparently done something bad, prompting anger and frustration from her friend and they're apparently in trouble, while the girl puzzled has no idea about the actions she's being famed for. The genre of the film is a mystery due to the girl attempting to clear her name while figuring out who'd begun this issue.

Kailens blog

I actually did get a lot of help from this group meeting as the constant review from my friends helped me keep adding to my plot, giving me an entire idea for the plot and opening to the movie which I actually enjoy. I talked to my group about it and even they said they'd like my idea wanting to fully pursue my idea of a dystopian zombie world.  

Aice Media Studies (Research)

 Welp, there isn't really a set direction it's just a research post!

Target audiences:

    Alright, let's talk about the target audiences of genres like horror and psychological thriller.

Age:

    -Psychological Thrillers

• Psychological thrillers are popular with people under 25 and adults up to their 50s. This broad age range gives the genre the potential to reach a wide variety of people.
• Adults rather than children below 18 are targeted for most psychological thrillers because the nature of this genre is often intellectually demanding, violent, and/or psychologically disturbing.
• With regard to gender, slightly more women watch psychological thrillers than men. This is most likely because thriller subgenres like crime and action lack physical conflict, which is common. Emotional and mental conflict attracts fewer males than females.
• Research shows that females are more attracted to psychological mysteries that delve into the intellectual side of thrillers, with the inclusion of psychologically challenging behaviors that feature in them. 

  Moffatt, S. (2016, November 29). Psychological thrillers: Target audience. prezi.com. https://prezi.com/_tx5rlgdlb1u/psychological-thrillers-target-audience/

    -Horror films (in general)

• Unlike Psychological thrillers, Horror films tend to attract a slightly younger audience, especially those under the age of 25. Roughly 42% of horror audiences are women, with 58% being men. Horror films tend to intertwine with thrillers in ways that thrill and scare by dividing audiences into a world that isn't their own. Younger audiences tend to be more prone to seeking out this feeling, hence why horrors don't appeal to elders.
  
  
  
  

Weebly. (n.d.). Genre: Horror films target audience: Http:// ... GENRE: HORROR FILMS. https://cmpalexgilbey.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/8/7/38878453/horror_film_research.pdf\

How do I want to integrate this into my opening?

    Knowing these now that I've researched, I want to make an intro with darker aspects (which I've mentioned before) that audiences that enjoy the build-up of suspense and tension in films can enjoy. I want to feed and fill my consumers with that thrill that all horror lovers strive for. I want to introduce characteristics like low-key lighting, awkward angles, and shaky movements (hand-held cameras) which can help build up this wanted tension. Hopefully, me and my group can accomplish this goal and turn it into a project we're all proud of and able to call ours. Recently me and my group have shifted ideas from demonic entities like Smile and twisted characters like the slashers from Scream into ideas like zombie cliches, being able to bring out the true fear in humans as the end of the world is among them. Although we might change our minds and delve into different storylines, I hope we;re able to reach a solidified goal and get this right. 

Aice Media Portfolio (three credit sequences)

Researching Three Credit Sequences.

All these credit scenes are meant to help me and my group brainstorm ideas to depict these psychological aspects while containing the idea of horror. All the following sequences give credit to the authors, directors, producers, and main cast.

Credit sequence 1: "American Psycho" 2000

In this credit sequence, many factors help the viewers understand the type of man Patrick Bateman is. The sequence contains a bland white background, using fancier fonts, allowing viewers to expect this man to be one of class. The director chooses to create an image of red liquid drops. This could be depicted as blood, when in reality is sauce for gourmet food. Further images are shown when a chef swings a knife down on a piece of meat. This provides some types of violence throughout this depiction of elegance and professionalism.  This can be further implied by the classical type of music which helps create an unsettling atmosphere, adding beautiful sounds, mixed with the disturbing depictions. This helps develop the story's tone, by offering insight into the professionalism exuded by the sequence, while hinting to a disturbance in this elegance, like something off.

Watch only the beginning 1:48 seconds of the video to watch the opening credit sequence.

Credit sequence 2: "The Black Phone" 2021

In the Black Phones credit sequences, I really enjoy the VHS-style credit sequence they make. The movie takes place in 1978 so it makes sense to do this, but it also adds a form of disturbing visuals with the constant bugging and glitching in the credit sequence, as if it were breaking, and decaying,  adding a more unsettling tone to the style the credits are played. Throughout the entirety of the credit scene, the music used is extremely sharp and eerie, haunting, making the sequence more horrific to listen to. The credit sequence contains a lot of imaging, showing constant missing persons posters, hinting at the overall plot of mass missing person cases throughout that area. The images played throughout aren't played vibrantly like in regular fillings, but due to the quality of the VHS tape style, makes these colors more dreadful, darker, and bland setting a darker tone for the movie hinting at the terror it's supposed to induce. 

 

Credit sequence 3: "Alien" 1979

In the movie Alien, director Ridley Scott chooses to begin the title sequence with a slow build-up of a camera just shifting from left to right. This build-up mixed with the simple visuals of just space just gives off the sense of isolation. These dark, empty spaces, it gives the immediate idea of the cold and known space, giving viewers the truly known fact that nobody could hear you in space. In Alien, they don't offer the idea of looking at the stars and seeing "wonder" all you see is dust and darkness. The music used in the title sequence contains two parts, these ambient droning sounds which sound to be used to show the echoes of space, but at the same time, the other part is this high-pitched, screeching sound which gives this tone to stay on edge. This greatly helps to build on the psychological tension.

I've actually been enjoying these credit sequences, they keep me on my chair feeling the pure utter terror that they're meant to start the film with. Sometimes I even take off my headphones for these or lower the volumes cuz they disturb me. Especially that black phone one...

 

Aice Media Portfolio (Schedule)

 Making a followable schedule!

Here I'll write and list the planning schedule myself and my group for the development for my portfolio and Aice Media Film Opening Project. We're all trying to work on the same schedule, being able to hold meetings, plan our actions towards the project, and thought process when doing our blogs.

1. Research

• Research over the chosen genre (Horror, Psychological/thriller)
• Analyzation over several film openings, for encouragement for the final project.

2. Planning

• Decide on a genre.
• Develop the background, context, and plot of the film opening
• Storyboard development
• Deciding the casts of the characters
• Location and dates for filming
• Script
• Uses of songs in the opening.
• Costume elements, mise-en-scene props.

3. Production

• Record Foley scenes, sound effects.
• Produce the film, successfully filming each scene. 

4. Editing

• Edit in the title, in either the beginning or middle of the film opening.
• Include credits to the opening, Including, Authors, Casts, Producers, etc..
• Use proper editing tools for the film opening like Adobe Premiere Pro

5. Revision

• My group plans to go through the final production of the film, checking to see if it meets all the qualifications, if we exceeded our expectations if all the editing is correct, and if everything is in order.

6. Have fun

• I know I'm going to enjoy this process, watching films for references, and being inspired and encouraged by my peers.
• I enjoy getting to film and plan to work out with this group of friends I have. 

The project is due March 25th, meaning I only have eight weeks to plan and complete all of this production. My group and I have also planned our schedules, so we can work together at our owns times.

Week 1: 1/29-2/2

• This week encouraged us to introduce ourselves to the blog postings and plan and discuss initial ideas for the project.
• We were told to post about 2 possible genres

Week 2: 2/3-2/9

• We were meant to finalize decisions on our genre, we chose options like horror and psychological/thriller.
• Meant to decide on our groups: Me, Hannah, Nicholas, and Shira
• This week's blog postings.
• Plan to draw out the storyboard, and develop the plot.
• Choose castings and locations for the film.
• Meeting with Mrs. Stoklosa to discuss plans, and make sure everything's on task

Week 3: 2/10-2/16

• Blog Postings of the week.
• Beginning the film production
• Using sounds from databases, or utilizing Foley sounds.
• Develop script (I'll be using that storyboard I did previously now)
• Commence the group meetings

Week 4: 2/17-2/23

• Develop characters, and express their plot and overall story.
• focusing on mise-en-scene elements.
• focus on audio components.
• begin film editing.

Week 5: 2/24-3/2

• We'll analyze the film's first version, ensuring it's all right.
• We plan to create multiple versions, maybe 2 or 3 more edited versions to identify which is most liked.
• Complete the corresponding blog postings

Week 6: 3/3-3/9

• We'll choose the best version possible, analyzing it even more
• Reflection 
• We'll work on the 1st question of the CCR post.

Week 7: 3/10-3/16

• Continue research on the following CCR questions (2-4)

Week 8: 3/17-3/25

• The final week of the project, making sure that every goal is reached, and everything is completed and ready to be posted.

We'd all joined a call that night to prepare ourselves for the upcoming production days, editing days, etc. Hopefully, everyone's able to stick to this schedule and not have any last-minute plans or somewhat.

Aice Media Portfolio (The Three films)

Research/Analyze/Discuss Three Film openings About my genre

Opening 1: "Fall" 2022

In the Fall, it begins the scene showing Becky, her husband Dan, and her BFF Hunter. They're climbing up mountains with little to no equipment, most likely hinting that they're experts in this field of expertise. The beginning sequence starts with lively music after a very risky jump Becky had to make to get to the other side of this crevice along the mountain. The camera angles cruise throughout the mountain tops, and sides, showing inserts and different viewpoints of the entire mountain from a long shot to sometimes extreme long shot point of view. This leads audiences to believe everything will go well, a sense of freedom in this sense of living, showing what this trio enjoys best. The entire mood of the opening switches as the camera is then placed inside what seems to be a hole, zooming inwards while facing the exit of the whole. Mise-en-scene can be used to discover that the hole most likely is used as a bird's den, following the depictions of feathers throughout the hole.

As the camera zooms farther and farther in, the tone of the music switches from the lively one mentioned, transitioning to this more eerie and sharper vibe. Following this Dan (The husband) reaches into the hole (to apply an anchor to hold him) and unfortunately loses footing, plummeting down, snapping the safety thing holding him, and falling to his death. This opening scene helps introduce the viewer into the environment of what is to be the movie, immersing them in the high-stakes that this type of hobby includes, forming the suspenseful environment, and encouraging them into the sense of dangerous heights, isolation, and the threat of danger. I believe this is an excellent choice of how to set the mood for a psychological thriller, adding intense moments with near-death experiences, as well as adding crucial moments to the development of characters like giving Becky, a traumatic experience, giving her mental issues, and insecurities. This is a crucial part of developing the psychological aspect of the film. 

Fall (2022) Opening sequence

Opening 2: "The Invisible Man" (2020) 

In The Invisible Man, dim lighting is used throughout the entirety of the sequence. It shows a blonde-haired woman, Cecilia, escaping her abusive partner in the middle of the night. (not specified but implied) She carefully moves all cameras angling into spots where she can check them if needed to know if her partner wakes up. This house uses a lot of mise-en-scene, to emphasize the fortress-like appearance of this home. It includes a lot of white coloring, like paint, using darker furniture to show off the modern type atmosphere of the home. This sequence focuses on the intense atmosphere that he created throughout every precise movement. This creates a feeling of urgency and anxiety, showing the audience that this woman desperately needs to escape. Mise-en-scene continues to enforce this stress, showing props like duffel bags filled with money, passports, and legal transcriptions to show how this woman is packing to leave the home.

Further mise-en-scene is used to show a laboratory of some sort within the man's home, showing countless PhDs, multiple computers, and mountains of high-tech equipment for possible research and experiments. This offers attention to detail of the surroundings, cold, lifeless, bland, and unsettling atmosphere. Furthering in the opening, more establishing shots are taken of just empty, showing low-key lighting, encouraging this idea of the unsettling and empty environments, as if something could be watching. As she starts changing her clothes, with everything ready to escape, the scenes become her high pace, showing her speed walking through the house, incorporating tracking shots to follow this haste. This offers further insights into her paranoia and fear of getting caught, offering uncertainty about whether she'll be caught. Right before she leaves, she goes back to the dog of the boyfriend, using mise-en-scene with props and costume design, viewers can tell the dog has a shock collar on, not letting her get so far. This further implies the idea of abusiveness of the boyfriend as even he keeps the dog captive. (As soon as the collars are removed, the dog goes sprinting out, so it's also implied) In the final events of the opening scene, Cecilia runs out of the garage while taking off the dog's collar, the dog bumps into the car, setting off an alarm. This inclusion of Digetic and NonDigetic through the pace of the music, as well as the car's alarm, adds intense amounts of intensity to the scene, a thrill whether she'll escape or not. I believe this is a good example of an opening for a psychological thriller as it includes traumatic experiences, as well as troubled pasts, as someone like the abusive ex-boyfriend could haunt her psychologically. The thrill, mixed with paranoia and uncertainty also exemplifies how horrific a situation like this could be for anyone. This helps prove, that you don't need ghosts or monsters to create terror, the situation is enough.

The Invisible Man Opening Sequence

Opening 3: "10 Cloverfield Lane" (2016)

I also believe this opening is a great example of a psychological thriller, also like "The Invisible Man" the scene incorporates mise-en-scene to show the main character, Michelle, picking her things up, packaging her belongings, offering near empty room to the audience, while zooming on an abandoned wedding ring, this signifying she's also running away from something or someone. Before this, she was on call with someone, showing uncertainty in her expressions, hinting at relationship problems, or emotional trauma. Throughout this entire part of the opening, no diegetic sound is used, relying only on the characters, facial and body language to incorporate the anxiety shown throughout this part. With this tone mixed with the non-diegetic sound of the pace of music, it creates a feeling of mystery. 

To further the opening, the following scene incorporates inserts of shots using, long shots of the outside of the vehicle as it drives on a road, using close-ups to show the character's facial language, and then switching to an extreme long shot/ Master shot of the camera zooming backward, tracking the car, as it moves down the highway. This builds up tension with the recurring theme the author uses to incorporate the feeling of distancing away.

The story shifts, further building the tension as throughout the night while checking through her phone, bam! She gets struck by another car. This immediately ends the music played, switching over to purely dietetic sound, including inserts, showing different mid, close-ups and hand-held camera shakes to incorporate the dramatic switch within the tone, enforcing this violent crash. The opening ends but uses cuts in between the scenes showing the crash to show the credits. This type of cutting allows the viewers to take in what they're watching, understand this, and drag the devastation of the crash. The opening ends, leading with mystery to what happened. I really like this opening, as it starts the movie, making viewers believe it to be a sad coming of age as it leads those into thinking that'll be a Coming-of-age movie while adding some sort of urgency to why the woman is leaving. The dramatic switch leads audiences into a state of shock and confusion as the crash is unexpected, allowing it to make audiences truly think about what this story could lead toward.

10 Cloverfield Lane Opening Sequence

I actually really enjoyed going through these openings, finding them on YouTube, and watching them. I hope my analyzation.

Aice Media Portfolio (The 2 genre choices)

 The horror begins!

Why'd I want to choose this?

So my group and I agreed we wanted to work on horror! (finally..) We chose this genre because it's genuinely one of the most entertaining to watch and take in. I like the idea of working with darker elements, seeing how the suspense can build up, and then releasing it in a single moment to horrify its viewers.

Characteristics of horror:

There's a wide variety of different characteristics of horror, like the natural setting choices, the well-written characters, supernatural elements, gore, and many more. The whole point of horror movies is to create a sense of terror, including that thrill that gets your heart pounding, and racing! Outside of Smile and Scream (two movies that I mentioned in the introduction), there are so many more movies that could help us identify the characteristics of horror. For example, Jeeper Creepers (2001) (genuinely one of my favorite horror movies, monster, and entire plot and concepts.) 

The movie follows many of the characteristics I mentioned. For example, the natural setting would be the specified county in the movie where all these missing cases appear. Another great example of the setting would be the Creeper's mysterious cave where he stashes his victims harvested corpses, in the House of Pain. The movie uses supernatural elements like the "Creeper" an immortal being that wakes up every 23 years, hunting for healthy organs to consume for 23 days upon its awakening, "every 23rd Spring, for 23 days, it gets to eat..." The movie includes characteristics of gore, showing decapitation, blood, corpses, etc... The movie really uses the idea of using emotional response to its advantage because the entire point of the way the Creeper picks out its victims is to use fear, "There's something in fear, something it can smell."

Psychological thriller.

Another possible genre choice my group would like to include is the subgenre Psychological thriller (yeah, yeah I know it aligns with horror, but it works as its own thing.) We chose psychological thrillers because (well I do) the idea of how it's supposed to mess with the characters, focusing on their minds and behaviors, making them feel different emotions, like anxiety, pressure, and overwhelming thoughts, leading them to near insanity. The build-up these emotional responses offer the overall suspense of the stories, make them so much more interesting to watch. 

Characteristics of Psychological Thriller:

With the use of emotional responses, many of these films tend to include complex characters, characters that always have some type of trauma, secrets, and troubled pasts. Flaws like insecurity, jealousy, or substance abuse disorders. A great recent example of this would be Skye Riley in Smile 2. She has suffered a traumatic car accident, where her now deceased boyfriend Paul Hudson has passed. This led to many blocks in her music/dancing career, leading up to substance use. Even for the rest of the movie, they show how she struggles in communication with her mother, causing family problems. In this genre of films, it's also very known to include plot twists, showing ideas of moral ambiguity, identity issues, and more. I think a movie that would work well would be the first Saw (2004) 

In the Saw franchise, people are put into deadly situations in which they must play games for the chance of survival, it basically follows the idea of using mind games as a way to manipulate the victims. In the first movie, the two characters Lawrence Gordan and Adam Faulkner are both chosen as the victims having to play this game. Following the characteristics throughout the film Lawrence is manipulated into thinking that the only way his family would be spared by the killer was to follow the instructions of the game and kill Adam. Nearing the very end of the film, although the family is already safe, with the emotional pressure that the Jigsaw games insinuate, Lawrence cuts his own leg off to escape the facility he's in. Even still after cutting his left, his moral ambiguity is destroyed, the belief he thought that they could both survive is gone. Lawrence leaves the room, crawling, leaving a deathly injured Adam on the floor after he shot him with a bullet and gun that were found in the room. This is a great example of how all this tension helps the suspense build-up to the final parts of the movie. I'm sorry to spoil but the grand twist at the end of the entire film is even after Lawrence is crawling away, out of the room and out of the screen, the main jigsaw killer, the supposed dead guy on the floor, gets up, leaving Adam in the darkness of the room, ending the movie.

I feel this is a great example of how the power the villain has over the victim's lives shows tensions In the story, by abusing this the characters are easily able to be manipulated into doing things they'd never imagined. These types of films even trick the viewers, adding insane fear in paranoia to the context of these events. 

Well, this is it for this portfolio, these are the genres me and my team are hopefully going to be able to pursue with this film opening.