Thriller Development #2: Synopsis

Opening Sequence

We see brief snippets of the daily routine of the protagonist: getting up and opening the curtains in the morning, leaving the house to catch the bus, the bus journey to work/college, walking the dog. During each snippet of each part of the routine, we see a figure in the background, apparently watching the protagonist. The figure is never seen clearly, and is stood off-centre in each shot. The music is quiet, eerie, and ambient. The shots of the daily routine are inter cut with shots of the protagonist talking to a therapist, in a small office. The protagonist explains that for some time they have been watched. They never felt threatened, or scared – just that they were being observed. We then see a shot of the protagonist’s front door. Through the frosted glass of the front door, we see the blurred silhouette of the antagonist. They raise a hand, and scrawl a message on the glass backwards. They rest their hand on the glass, and the sequence ends.

Sequence

1 - Inside therapist's office. Protagonist begins to talk.
2 - Protagonist continues into voice-over. Shot of them opening bedroom curtains. Antagonist is seen in the street outside, under a street lamp.
3 - Tracking shot of protagonist walking down the road, to bus stop.
4 - Shot of protagonist at bus stop, then boarding bus, and bus leaving.
5 - Shot from protagonist's P.O.V. looking out of bus window. Antagonist is seen in the distance.
6 - Protagonist leaving college/work, antagonist lurking behind them/in the background.
7 - Protagonist leaving house, walking dog in woods. Antagonist seems closer.
8 - Shot of protagonist's hallway and front door. Antagonist stood behind door. Camera zooms in slowly/tracks toward the door, as the antagonist writes a message on the glass. Antagonist rests hand on glass, leaves bloody handprint. Sequence ends. 

Possible Titles

"Creep" 
"Quietus" 
"Delirium" 

Final Title Choice "Hysteria" We chose this title because of the connotations of the word. The two possible definitions of the word are 
(1) an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter or weeping, 

and (2) a psycho-neurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks, disturbances of sensory and motor functions and various other abnormal effects. 

If a person is hysterical, we define them as being emotionally unstable, and possibly physically violent - a danger to themselves and to others. Although the beginning of our opening presents the antagonist as being calm, and not particularly intimidating, in the very last shot we see the antagonist suddenly as being extremely threatening. This sudden change reflects the sudden, violent outburst that the title alludes to. Even the protagonist is represented as someone who is undergoing therapy - clearly they too have a fragile mental state, in need of repair.

(Taken from Abigail's blog and I contributed with evaluating why we chose Hysteria as the same of our Thriller)