Comparing Sixth Sense and The Terminator

Comparing Sixth Sense and The Terminator

The clip that I watched from the Sixth Sense indicates that it follows the typical conventions of a thriller as it builds mystery and tension by gradually introducing the audience to the horror that this boy endures. As soon as he tells his mother about his condition, the camera focuses on her to purvey her emotion, this scene also features no diegetic sound; this has been used to ensure that the audience solely focuses on the scene with nothing to distract them, it may also have been used to reflect the secretive nature of the ghosts as they are silent when they roam. The film has been designed to shock the audience and it effectively does this when we see the dead body appear next to the car, these shock tactics draw the audience in and make it very watchable. When he tells his mum his revelations she is in denial, she wants her son to be normal but she believes him when he reveals some information that only her dead mother can know, this is also following traditional conventions of a thriller as the audience doesn’t see it coming which compiles the sense of mystery.

The clip I watched of The Terminator is considerably different to the Sixth Sense as it starts off by immediately engulfing the audience into the scene and placing us straight in to the peril that this woman faces. The club that she is in is very poorly lit and features a red shadow which could indicate the typical connotations of red; danger, blood, lust etc. we associate the club with danger straight away as we see the Terminator with a gun and he aims the gun at the woman, once again red is used, this time in the form of a laser, the previous red silhouettes could have foreshadowed the upcoming danger. Another form of foreshadowing is used in the form of the music as it features lyrics that connate with danger. At the start of the clip we see the Terminator behind a fence, perhaps showing that he is trapped but he easily finds a way around it, this could suggest that it’s incredibly difficult to contain him. As the danger levels increase the camera movements and the editing significantly slows down, perhaps showing the audience the true extent of the inevitable peril.