Stills from the movie Antiques Central Bureau (2021). (Infographic/Figure)
"Fame and Fame" and "Door Lock" that broke 200 million yuan at the box office have set a record for domestic cinema films in November 2021. Both are suspense films that stand out in the traditional off-season of movies. Entering December, the genre remained a hit in the market, with a suspense film released almost every week.
In addition to the "Antiques Bureau Central Bureau" and "Manslaughter 2" that have met with the audience, whether it is the "Flame on the Plains" starring the powerful faction, or the final chapter of the billion-dollar box office "Anti-Corruption Storm Universe" "Anti-Corruption Storm 5", it can be said that the most popular New Year films in 2021 are concentrated in the suspense genre, and if there is no accident, the New Year box office champion will also be born in it.
So, why is the suspense film hot?
The movie "Anti-Corruption Storm 5: The Final Chapter" is scheduled for December 31, 2021, and the picture shows Zhang Zhilin's stills in the film. (Infographic/Figure)
The "gene" of suspense films
A major feature of suspense films is brain-burning, testing both the IQ of the choreographer and the IQ of the audience.
Professor Su Mu of the Beijing Film Academy advocates the "2.5 principle" of film drama practice, in short, if you use 2.0 to quantify the audience's imagination space, 2.5 is the imagination space that the film should achieve. Each plot point of a Hollywood movie is dedicated to appropriately exceeding the audience's imagination. This principle is most appropriately applied to the suspense genre, and the film creators and audiences are the most typical wisdom confrontation and brain competition in the suspense genre.
The biggest difference between suspense films and so-called popcorn movies is that they need to be watched with their brains, and their brains must run at high speed during the movie. Moreover, high-reputation suspense films usually have strong dramatic conflicts and meticulous and unexpected plot settings, which also makes the audience can't help but immerse themselves in it, and it is easy to share the fate with the characters in the film.
At present, the reason why the box office reputation of domestic suspense films is relatively stable is that there are original works or original zhuyu in front, and such works generally have a better foundation. Taking the recent (upcoming) films as an example, "Door Lock" starring Bai Baihe and Fan Chengcheng is remade from the Korean movie of the same name, "Antiques Bureau Central Bureau" and "Flames on the Plain" are adapted from the novels of Ma Boyong and Shuang Xuetao, "Manslaughter 2" is remade from "Imminent" starring Denzel Washington, and "Assassination Storm" is adapted from Zhou Haohui's novel "Death Notice: The Dark one"... Of course, adaptations and remakes are also a hard bone that cannot be taken lightly. After the original book or original version provides a reliable base, the test is the creator's ability to adapt and control the narrative rhythm, and not all adaptations or remakes of suspense films can satisfy the audience. Previously, "Hide and Seek" and "You Are the Murderer" and other suspense films with the blessing of the original book were also remade from Korean movies, and suspense films such as "Psychological Crime" and "Chang'an Dao" have not been able to achieve word-of-mouth and box office success.
As a commercial genre, suspense films are easier to graft on other genres, resulting in a 1+1>2 movie viewing effect. For example, "Door Lock" grafts horror in the suspense genre, "Flames on the Plains" grafts love, "Manslaughter 2" grafts crime, "Anti-Corruption Storm 5" series grafts police bandits, action... Multiple types of miscellaneous, if used properly, will give the audience a sense of satisfaction that it is worth the fare.
Most of the suspense films in the film market today are medium investment, and the investment is smaller than the costume fantasy films that focus on visual effects, but it is larger than the comedy and family love movies that rely on shaking baggage and tear-jerking, and the actors do not have to be "big coffee", which also saves a lot of film remuneration. Suspense films like "Fame and Fame", the actors' acting skills are all online, the story rhythm is good, although the beginning of the market is not necessarily huge, but it can go out of the circle with good word of mouth and become the dark horse of the film in 2021.
Xiao Yang (left), Wen Yongshan (right) and others starred in the film "Manslaughter 2" (2021), which is a remake of the American film "Imminent" (2002) starring Denzel Washington. The picture shows the stills of "Manslaughter 2". (Infographic/Figure)
An important promoter of domestic suspense films
In recent years, the rise of domestic suspense films is inseparable from several key figures.
Chen Sicheng, who created the "Detective Chinatown" series and supervised the "Manslaughter" series, can be called a leading figure in the domestic suspense genre, and "Detective Chinatown" uses suspense and reasoning to graft comedy, which not only creates a new genre, but also expands the market share of suspense films. Of course, audiences have mixed reviews for this, such as the box office of the "Detective Chinatown" series of movies, but the reputation has deteriorated. The most enjoyable thing about the series so far is the end of the first part of "Detective Chinatown", Zhang Zifeng's chilling evil smile, because it is the most in line with the true meaning of the suspense genre.
The success of the "Detective Chinatown" series may stem from Chen Sicheng's "true love" for suspense and mystery novels, the script of "Detective Chinatown" is only 40,000 words, he actually wrote a 100,000-word biography of the character, and then went to visit the Japanese reasoning master Shimada Shoji. He once said, "I want to be the one who makes the cake, not a piece of cake that is divided." As far as the total box office of the three "Detective Chinatown" series reached 8.7 billion yuan, he said he did it. On the other hand, he not only brought fire to the suspense film, but also used the web drama "Detective Chinatown" to link with the movie, and discovered the newcomer directors Ke Wenli and Dai Mo from the web drama series, who were also the directors of the first two parts of the movie "Manslaughter" series.
Chen Sicheng's great commercial success has objectively raised the box office ceiling of suspense films, and has also made suspense films receive more and more attention in the market, making it possible for more filmmakers to turn their attention to this previously unpopular genre. In addition to him, Taiwanese director Chen Zhengdao is also a fanatic of suspense films, and Chen Sicheng's idea of grafting suspense into comedy, Chen Zhengdao's eyes focus on the fusion of suspense and thriller, from "Master of Hypnosis" and "Master of Memory" to "Secret Visitor" in 2021, although the box office performance of these films is far less than that of the "Detective Chinatown" series, but in terms of the screenwriter's brain hole and the completion of the work, Chen Zhengdao is a school of his own, and has also gained a lot of fans.
Cao Baoping, Diao Yinan and Xin Yukun maintain full authorship in suspense films, and their adherence to suspense films is more shown in the development of artistry. Cao Baoping's "Li Mi's Conjecture", "The Pursuer", and "The Burning Heart of the Sun" respectively use suspense to graft love, comedy, and crime, all focusing on complex human character portrayals, good at creating and capturing actors' reactions in extreme states, and winning trophies for actors involved in his films. As he said when reviewing the creative process: "What I have done since the earliest days, in a sense, is a change in type, hoping to use the shell of type to express some more complex and deeper type of change or theme." ”
Diao Yinan's fledgling debut was a blockbuster, "Daytime Fireworks" won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and also won the Berlin Film Emperor for Liao Fan, which can be described as the ceiling of the award for domestic suspense films. Since then, "The Party at the South Station" has been shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival, and his violent aesthetics and the creation of the environment and atmosphere have had a positive impact on the artistic expression of suspense films. His advice to young filmmakers was: "I think it's a little braver, not to be too much in your comfort zone, to be bolder and to make films that require greater mastery." ”
Xin Yukun's two suspense films "Labyrinth of Hearts" and "Bursting Into Silence" are undoubtedly more niche than the works of the previous two directors, but he seems to be the best domestic suspense film director on Douban so far, "Labyrinth of Hearts" 8.7 points, "Bursting Silent" 8.2 points. Its drama level is particularly worth studying, "Labyrinth of Hearts" is completely starred by ordinary people, but the setting of one link and one link firmly grasps the audience. "Bursting into Silence" focuses on reality, multi-line narrative, using some metaphors and slow-moving shots to create a sense of suspense.
Whether it is the commercial genre development of Chen Sicheng and Chen Zhengdao, or the artistic exploration of Cao Baoping, Diao Yinan and Xin Yukun who pay attention to personal style, they have played an indelible role in promoting the development of domestic suspense films. Excavating the depth of genres and expanding the breadth of expression, it is their non-stop efforts that make the status of suspense films rise continuously, and finally usher in today's sudden rise.
The movie "Flames on the Plains" is scheduled for December 24, 2021, and the picture shows Liu Haoran's stills in the film. (Infographic/Figure)
The future of the suspense genre
Suspense films are a slower film genre in the Chinese film market. In this regard, unlike The Treasure of Hitchcock in Europe and the United States, which was filmed early on, benchmark suspense films such as "North by Northwest" and "Horrors", and influenced latecomers to create a number of suspense masterpieces such as "Mulholland Road", "Fight Club", "Very Suspect", "Disappearing Lover", "Invisible Guest"; nor like Korean movies that can be created on a large scale due to grading, there are classic suspense films such as "Memories of Killing", "Chaser", "Mother"; it is not like Japan, there are many mystery novel masters, Provide a steady stream of text support for suspense films, and give birth to successful works such as "The Dedication of Suspect X", "Golden Dreamland", and "When the Prayer Ends". The Chinese film market is maturing step by step, and suspense films must also undergo a lot of exploration in order to develop and grow.
When the domestic suspense film "Memory Master" was released, director Chen Zhengdao told the media: "Chinese films started relatively late in the suspense genre, and as long as the audience enters the theater to support, it can make suspense films have a greater possibility in the Chinese market." "Previously, due to unstable production and uneven quality, the audience's motivation to enter the theater to support suspense films was insufficient. With the continuous appearance of excellent suspense films on the big screen in recent years, the audience's enthusiasm for watching movies has gradually been ignited.
Suspense films are not only piled up in the 2021 Lunar New Year file, but there are also many suspense films that have not yet been released that are worth looking forward to. For example, the final chapter of Chen Zhengdao's "Master of the Master" series, "Master of the Mind", the story revolves around school bullying, wealth, revenge and so on. He also has a "Loop" based on the novel of Tianxia Baxiang, which is reported to be starring Huang Bo and Yang Yang, and supervised the production of "Rescue" directed by newcomer director Ke Zhennian and starring Shu Qi and Huang Bo. Cao Baoping has a highly anticipated suspense film, "Wading through the Sea of Anger", starring Huang Bo and Zhou Xun for the first time, which is a murder of a young girl and uncovers the truth of human nature behind the two families of the suspect and the victim. Chen Sicheng directed the film "Disappeared Her", based on David Finch's high-profile suspense film "The Disappeared Lover", starring Zhu Yilong and Ni Ni.
In addition, the domestic suspense films that have not yet been finalized include "Fearless" recently launched in Canada and starring Zhang Hanyu, "A Knife Paradise" starring Duan Yihong, "Prosperity is Coming" starring Wu Zhenyu and Ren Suxi, "The Victim" starring Feng Shaofeng and Tao Hong, "The Man With the Wig" starring Huang Xiaoming, "The Eighth Suspect" starring Dapeng, Lin Jiadong and Zhang Songwen, "Genius Game" starring Peng Yuchang and Ding Yuxi as the two male protagonists, and "Edge Walker" starring Ren Xianqi, Ren Dahua and Fang Zhongxin. As well as iQiyi's Chinese version of "Invisible Guest" directed by Ye Weimin and Cheng Weihao. It seems that these suspense films are well-formed.
The fire of suspense films can be traced back to a few years ago when the copyright of Keigo Higashino's novel was robbed in China. In 2016, Su Youpeng's film "The Dedication of Suspect X", based on Keigo Higashino's best-selling novel of the same name, won 400 million yuan at the box office, boosting the IP popularity of Keigo Higashino's novels in China. Domestic suspense films based on Keigo Higashino's novels are currently to be released, such as "The Blade of Wandering" starring Wang Qianyuan and Wang Jingchun, and "Cloister Pavilion" starring Ren Sushi and Liu Mintao. In the web drama, there are iQiyi's "Ten Day Game", as well as the episodic version of "Cloister Pavilion" and "Eleven Character Killing".
In addition to the "Higashino Keigo Department", domestic suspense film and television dramas also include the web drama "Detective Chinatown" supervised by Chen Sicheng, the web drama "Skyscraper" directed by Chen Zhengdao, the "Mist Theater" opened by iQiyi, and the "Suspense Theater" opened by Youku. At the same time, more and more new movies have entered the suspense genre, including Dai Mo, director of "Manslaughter 2", Liu Xiang, director of "Disappeared Her", Chen Zhuo, director of "Wandering Blade", Lai Mukuan, director of "Cloister Pavilion", Ke Zhennian, director of "Rescue", and Cheng Liang, director of "Genius Game"... This batch of rising stars may make the suspense genre drama more novel, the narrative more bold, so that the 2.5 principle becomes a sign of suspense films, bringing the audience a higher level of viewing experience.
Southern Weekend contributed to Zhang Fangfang