Comment on Caveman technology
uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
Around 2010-ish someone made a supercut of all the times in thriller cinema the phone service disconnected, since writers still felt the need to close the circle.
So I got the idea for a mystery / slasher / thriller called Cell Plan based on the family cell provider plans at the time, where groups were discounted more based on the size of the group.
A group of teens / young adults get a giant group cell plan right before their vacation out at Camp Scream. It’s a great plan with great connectivity, and everyone can even see where everyone else’s phone is on their GPS / Map service.
Moreover, the cell service never fails throughout the story, even in places that it shouldn’t work (no explanation, nothing supernatural, just that communication blackouts are not part of this story). People might even think it’s bizarre when they’re way out in Whispering Lake or down in the Bloody Mines, in places where service normally cuts out.
And then throw bunches of cell phone tropes that elevate the suspense: The first victim’s phone is found before her body is. One couple who sneaked off together get split up but take each other’s phones. Someone forgets their phone back at the cabin, which is then grabbed by the killer (who then uses it to get close to a victim). The killer is holding someone’s phone and stalking a running teen while another one sees them on the map and is giving directions.
Eventually, they’ll do all the open-circle things: Call the police (they’ll show up an hour or two later), call family, maybe even get help from an expert to get the power on again.
AscendantSquid@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
How do you mean “close the circle” in this case? Do you mean the writers of the films were trying to limit the amount of characters involved in the story? I read through the link but I’m not sure I understand what you mean by the “circle” stuff.
uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
The closed circle of suspects is a mystery trope that has commonly carried onto the slasher / thriller genre even though it’s not necessary. The purpose isn’t necessarily to limit suspects, but also to keep the victims within the killing box (Fringe examples might be Phone Booth or Speed ).
In cozy mysteries, this was a narrative device not just to box in the culprit and the victims, but also to make it clear to the reader that this is your set of suspects. (Mysteries traditionally were puzzles that the reader was supposed to be able to follow along and solve with the clues found by the investigator… though the authors didn’t always play fair.) The classic example is the bridge between mystery-thrillers and slashers, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, in which the trek to the island and an imminent storm really secures the notion that no-one is getting in or out. (Plot point: – 🤓 – Vera Elizabeth Claythorne, a PE instructor is quite fit and a strong swimmer, and might have been able to swim to shore and either outrun or weather the storm. She chooses not to, though.)
This whole exercise was started by a supercut of movie instances in which phone service failed, a narrative device to lock in the participants (killers, investigators and victims alike) and lock out anyone else, and this was during that societal transition as people adjusted from often being separated, to always having a connection handy.
My point for the exercise was to note that instant communication may make a circle leaky, but it adds bunches of cool new tropes, and doesn’t require turning off the phones (or the prior murderer trick, cutting the house phone lines.)
I have a different rant about the police, who, in mysteries go from clever and central to the solution to totally useless without the investigator. But in the 21st century, they can also turn your mystery into a dystopian horror as they SWAT into your home, kill all the minorities (and the dogs) and arrest everyone else for the homicides they committed.
AscendantSquid@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
I really appreciate you taking the time to clear that up for me, I see what you mean now. I was never really into scary movies but the kind of movie you’ve described sounds really interesting.
uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
You’re quite welcome. I’m a whodunnit genre nerd so I love talking about it.