Triangle - Christopher Smith

A psychological thriller “locate[s] the dangers and distortions that threaten normal life in the minds of bizarre and deranged individuals.” (Corrigan and White, 337) These films incorporate elements of horror and mystery that intrigue and confuse the audience. Themes such as the mind, guilt and reality are common themes, often portrayed in unique and fascinating ways that catch the attention of the viewer. The ending sequence of a psychological thriller is particularly important as it can change the whole meaning of the film in a few short minutes and leaves the audience with a lasting impression.

Triangle directed by Christopher Smith and released in 2009 falls into the category of a psychological thriller through its mysterious tones and complicated narrative. The story centres around Jess, a young mother with an autistic son who is forced to climb aboard a strange abandoned ship after a yachting trip goes awry.

The ending sequence of this film is extremely important in this film as many mysteries are revealed. Most importantly we learn that Jess abuses her son Tommy out of anger towards the fact he is autistic. This is a shocking revelation as we would not have expected this of Jess’s character, and it really sets the mood for the rest of the grim sequence.

Sound is an important element of the psychological thriller genre as it can create suspenseful or dramatic moods that impact the audience in different ways and help create a connection to the characters. As Corrigan and White state; “Music is a crucial element in the film experience; among a range of other effects, it provides rhythm and deepens emotional response.” (195) It is only in the ending sequence of Triangle that much of the rest of the movie begins to make sense, and the audience is hit with a sense of awe. Sound heightens these realizations the audience experiences and emphasises how shocking they are. For example the dark and spine tingling score, composed by Christian Henson, builds suspense as Jess sees herself yelling at her son and realizes she has been living the same day over and over again.  The music continues to build suspense in this ending scene, letting the audience know that the climax is coming and setting us on edge. This spine tingling feeling is one of the best parts of psychological thrillers and Triangle’s score captures this nerve wracking feeling perfectly. 

Another interesting aspect of sound in this final scene is when the underscoring falls completely silent, leading up to Jess killing the ‘other Jess’. “Music quite literally underscores what is happening dramatically” (Corrigan and White, 198) and the fact that this scene has no non-diegetic sound reinforces the brutality and horror of this moment and gives the scene verisimilitude – that is, having the appearance of truth.

Sound also combines with other elements such as editing and cinematography to make the end of this movie even more disturbing.  We see Jess’s counterpart violently hitting her son, Tommy and hear the asynchronous sound effect of the slap. This shot is juxtaposed by another shot of Jess standing outside the window. The guilt on her face as the camera zooms in is evident. The combination of the shock cut and sound effect in this moment creates a jarring effect that really stays with the viewer.

Triangle is an excellence example of a psychological thriller and the ending sequence is especially important as we learn that everything is not as it seems – that Jess has never been the perfect mother we assumed her to be at the beginning of the film. This sequence changes our whole perspective of her character and makes us question the entire film, which is an idea that will be discussed in future blog entries.