Below are a few of our favourite thriller opening shots from well known films

Touch Of Evil- The touch of evil opening shot creates great suspense in the opening seconds as the audience see an unknown character looking very shifty as he plants a device that looks like a bomb in the boot of a car.
The tension builds as the camera follows the car through a series of streets on its journey. The audience are left waiting for the bomb to explode as the car passes large throngs of people who slow the advance of the car. This leads the audience to believe that the bomb will kill the surrounding bystanders and the shots used generally create a very tense atmosphere. The camera then starts to follow a couple who are walking alongside the car as it slowly progresses through the streets. The light hearted nature of their conversation contrasts with the impending doom that the audience feel.



North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a comic thriller by Alfred Hitchcock, the film involves a case of mistaken identity, here we see the protagonist, Cary Grant, framed for the murder of a UN representative. He then flees the building in an incredible shot filmed from on top of the building which seems almost unreal in how it captures the scale. Throughout, the music creates atmosphere and in particular the theme song is especially thrilling and adds a pace and dynamism to the scene.
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index/?o_cid=mediaroomlink&cid=318048

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlqatMQSgI

Memento
Memento uses a unique non-linear narrative which