When I was at Durham University I saw John Boorman’s 1972 Deliverance for the first time. It is a chiller/killer/thriller that starts innocently.
Four friends from Atlanta take a last fishing trip in canoes down a river about to be dammed and flooded to make a reservoir. The men are played by Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. This early scene, superficially innocent, is already unsettling.
https://youtu.be/gsC4kf6x_Q0
Three of us chaps went for a walk to a neighbouring village yesterday morning. It is very tranquil high up in the forests of the Tarn; not even any birdsong. As we walked through the forest the silence was broken by the baying of dogs. Being a Saturday the locals were out hunting. We later found a sign warning us to keep away but we had gone into the forest from Garrhan, not from the road. As a rifle can kill at a mile and we were not wearing high vis jackets we were somewhat nervous. After about an hour we came across two vehicles and a group of hunters. They had killed a boar, the chasse was over, we were quite safe.
This relaxing of tension is a well-known device in literature, theatre and film. We strolled merrily along the earthen path down to the gorge admiring the views and anticipating big glasses of Leffe Blonde. The first two we met were dressed in red overalls and had abseiling ropes. Then there were men in blue carrying a stretcher and medics in white overalls. On the road there were four emergency vehicles with blue lights flashing. What had happened? Apparently somebody had fallen down a cliff and had a heart attack. It reminded me of Deliverance and likewise the storm clouds are gathering here.
