Intertexuality in Thrillers

In media, Intertexuality is basically the influence of the style of a media product on other media products.

In film this would mean that the mise-en-scene, camera and editing of a film can influence other films in that genre.

Intertextuality is often shown in thrillers and the following are some examples.

- the 'White Bathroom' scene has been used in many thrillers. It was first shown in the 1960's film Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

In this scene a white, young blonde haired woman is murdered in a completely white bathroom. The fact that the bathroom is completely white is effective as a clear contrast is shown between the colour of the white tiles and her red blood.
This has been incorporated in many other films such as:

 - What Lies Beneath 
- Fatal Attraction 
- The Stepfather 
- Full Metal Jacket










(watch from 1:31:30 to 1:32:25)

Obviously the scenes can differ, the victim could be male or female, they may not have blonde hair and the murder might not take place in a bathroom. But the point is it makes the audience reminiscent of the original scene from Psycho. 

- Another scene borrowed in many thrillers is one with someone falling and shattering glass. 

The aftermath of a fight is someone falling potentially to their death due to standing on a weak floor board in an attic thus breaking the glass of a table or some other furniture. The fall is meant to be so drastic that the character is believed to be dead, but it is revealed later they are still alive. 

This scene is used in the film 'Obsessed' and also the film 'The stepfather'. 

 (watch from 3:00)

(watch from 1:32:57 to 1:35:04)