The Boy Next Door research.

Narrative:

The Boy Next Door is a psychological thriller about a 19 year old boy taking a forbidden attraction too far. A couple are waiting for divorce papers but in the mean time they still live together with their teenage son. Whilst the Dad and the son, Kevin, go away for the weekend, the mother, Claire is asked to go round her next door neighbour's house. The 19 year old (Noah) persuaded Claire (aged around 40) to have sexual intercourse with him. She had been drinking and he made her very vulnerable. The next day, Claire knew it was wrong what happened. Noah decided to threaten Claire throughout the film and kills people so they can run away together. In the end, Claire saves her family and kills Noah as a result of self defence.

Settings:

During the film, there was an establishing shot of two houses which tells the audience that is the main setting. Within the houses, there were many rooms involved such as the living room, dining, kitchen and bathroom. Following from this, a hardware shop was used too. Another main setting was college. This shows the young characters are still in education which is a similarity with the audience viewing.

Main characters:

Claire- Played by Jennifer Lopez. She is a middle aged mum who is waiting for divorce papers to come through. She works at college as a teacher. She is seen as the protagonist at the end of the film through saving her family and killing the antagonist. This is counter-typical as protagonists are usually strong, fit men.

Noah- He is a 19 year old boy who recently moved next door to Claire. He lives with his vulnerable great uncle. He has a history of being kicked out of his previous college and anger issues. It is also revealed that he killed his parents.

Kevin ( on the left) is Claire's son and makes friends with Noah. he is a teenager and attends college. The dad ( on the right) is waiting for divorce papers but still living in Claire' house. He is viewed as vulnerable in the end of the film.

Vicky- Claire's work friend. She is also middle aged and is Claire's best friend. She helps Claire out but ends up being killed by Noah.

There are additional characters involved. There is a teenage girl who works in the hardware store. Laura Mulvey's theory can be used such as the male gaze. Many boys will find her attractive as she is young, thin and desirable.

Conventions:

There is a storm which connotes something bad is about to happen. This is stereotypical for a thriller because it builds tension through the low key lighting and emphasised diegetic thunder. This can be seen in many thriller films such as The Last House on the Left.

There is a scene in the boys toilets at college which has low key lighting of red. The colour red connotes danger which also makes the audience feel on edge.

There is an action code used at the end when Noah sprays the barn in petrol. He then gets the lighter and sets the barn on fire. This is effective due to the fast paced cuts used which builds tension.