Thriller Idea 2, feedback and my response

Idea 2: Whole film: There is a group of friends who head out on a normal day, to do a normal thing. The question is how could a dog walk with your friends end so badly? Three friends with three different secrets, we learn that sometimes telling the truth can save you. The film follows the horror and heartache that people can cause each other. But the question is who is the killer? And what is their motive?

Idea 2: Opening Scene: Four friends get in an argument they decide instead of sitting in their flat arguing they should head out so they take their dog and go for a walk. Half way through the walk it is still absolute silence no one has said a word we just hear the leaves crackling beneath their feet. Next thing you know. THEY HAVE LOST THE DOG. They split up in two’s and one follows a trail of the main path they find a trail of blood so immediately start running, whilst the others soon hear a scream just like the sound of a dog yelp they thought they had just previously heard. They start running towards the cries but why do they not seem surprised? They pause from running and look at each other for a few moments then carry on.  The scene then ends with the last camera shot focused on one of the friend’s shoe that has fallen off but no sign of the friend.

 Idea 2: Feedback

Positives: They liked the cliffhanger, and that it is very tense and action packed keeping the audience captivated at the beginning, and agree I have all the right ingredients for a good opening scene with girl’s, wood and killer but need to change it a bit to work better and match the genre more closely.

Constructive Criticism:

It is more a cliché of a horror and I am trying too much to get across the plot line of the whole film in the opening scene, which is not really the purpose of an opening scene. It is not a bad thing that it’s a cliché but it does need to be changed to work successfully. The main issue is the genre and that it is too much of a horror film and not so much a thriller. Some people also questioned how you could film with a pet (dog) it could be tricky and complicated when under a time pressure and getting it to do what you want at the right moments in time. 

Idea 2 my response: 

The first thing I would focus on is simplifying it to make it more like an opening scene rather then trying to convey the whole plot line. I would scrap the bit when they are in the flat having an argument and start it right in the woods but the friends would not yet split up instead they would hear their dog yelp out and all start running together towards the sound making it less revealing and adding more mystery as to what is going to happen and hopefully less like a horror with the trail of blood that I originally thought about using. I have thought about scrapping the dog however I do like the idea of using an animal and although it may prove challenging I would like to try and make it work.