Conventions of the thriller genre

Conventions of the Thriller genre

There are many noticeable techniques used in the thriller genre, which are constantly used within most thriller films despite what kind of subgenre or genre hybrid they are.  They include similar characters, plots, themes and camera techniques. By definition the main aim of the Thriller film to create ‘thrills’ if this is not done, no matter what subgenre it is, then the job has not been done.

 

A thriller film includes...

Ø  Suspense

Ø  Tension

Ø  Anticipation

Ø  Plot twists

Ø  Enigma

Ø  Intense excitement

Ø  Uncertainty

Ø  Anxiety

Ø  Realism

Ø  Red herring

Ø  Cliff hangers

Almost all of these factors are

 taken into consideration when making every thriller film. 

These are extremely important as the aim of the thriller film to create a ‘thrilling’ sensation for the audience. Therefore by include factors such as suspense and enigmas create this kind of feeling, which overall would produce a successful thriller film.  Thriller also progress with danger and excitement. One of the most important factor to consider is realism, this is because a lot of the factor can also be used in other film genres.

 However using this factor along with realism is what a thriller film is, therefore it is very important to include when creating the opening scene of our thriller.  For instance, thriller often get confused with horror films, the two are closely related but are still quite distinct. However horror will be more graphic and the audience will feel more fear and disgust rather than tension. Which is why realism is important, as thrillers creates a more real life situation than a horror film would.

Plots...

Strictly, a thriller is a film where a single minded goal is relentlessly pursued. Such as flightplan (2006)

 where the main goal here was for ­protagonist to get her daughter back, no matter what it took.

Thrillers are essentially about the battle of Justice versus Injustice, good versus bad and protagonist versus antagonist.

Thriller films will also keep the audience on the edge of their seat as the plot builds towards an intense climax.  Plus they revolve around a hero thwarting an enemy rather than uncovering of solving an exciting crime, which thriller can often overlap with a mystery/ crime film.

Thrillers are often set in an exotic location such as in foreign cities, deserts, Polar Regions, or high seas.

Characters...

Main characters in thrillers are usually placed in menacing situations from which escape seems impossible. The protagonist is often an unsuspectingly placed in a dangerous situation. The menace is often abstract, uncertain or shadowy.

Therefore common character types include:

Ø  Criminals/ fugitives

Ø  Stalkers

Ø  Assassins

Ø  ‘innocent’ victims caught up in events

Ø  Police

Ø  ‘femme fatal’

This character types are used to create normality (which shows realism) therefore does not include characters such as zombies etc. Then these characters are placed in a situation for them to handle in which getting out of it would create tension.

Most protagonists tend to be ‘hard men’ accustomed to danger such as these spies and soldiers shown in the list. However they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident. Traditionally, the protagonists have been male however female protagonists are becoming increasingly common, such as in Alien (1979) Sigourney Weaver’s character is the protagonist.

Themes...

There are many common themes used in thriller films as it is only certain themes that can give off the best suspense and anticipations. Themes are commonly based around society’s current fears and worries.

Therefore themes such as:

Ø  Terrorism

Ø  Political conspiracy

Ø  Espionage

Ø  Pursuits

Ø  Dangerous romantic liaisons

Ø  Psychological crime

Ø  Oppressive but unseen supernatural occurrences

These themes create a plot that exerts more tension in them for an overall tense film, as all of these themes already carry a lot of enigma with them, therefore expanding on these can become very useful in creating a thriller film. This would be a good consideration to uphold when making our thriller opening sequence.

Common camera and editing techniques...

The camera techniques used need again, need to create tensions and suspense, therefore techniques such as:

Ø  Extreme Zoom shots (forward or reverse)

Ø  Prolonged cross cutting : the longing wait would create more tension

Ø  Quick cut Montage: this would create confusion and therefore a tenser situation if the audience does not know what is happening, it would create a ‘grip’ feeling.

Ø  Use of profile or Silhouette: such as the ‘from Russia with love (1964)’ the antagonist was cast in a long shadow, which create are more mysterious feel.

Ø  Dolly zoom shot

Ø  Quick cutting: again this is similar to the quick cut montage, it would create confusing situation that build tension.

Ø  Use of ‘enigma code’ in the narrative: This is good techniques to use as the mystery would create anticipation which would leave the audience wanting answers. This need of ‘wanting answers’ is very good to build tension as the audience will long for the answer.

Sound and lighting...

The sound used plays a major role for creating suspense, or the absence of sound can also be effective. Both used in the correct way is perfect for building tension and anticipation of the scene. Such as when sounds is synchronised with an important action movements and when key changes occur. For example in psycho pleonastic sound was used for the shower scene to enhance the action, this would build more tension for the audience. Therefore dramatic, tense or foreboding scores are often used.

Lighting is also essential, especially with the use of shadows and silhouettes. This is used to give a ‘creepy’ feeling for the audience as they cannot uncover what is under the shadow for instance. Lighting tends to be dark and low key; however this is not often the case such as in Phone Booth (2003) where there are not shadows used to create this suspense.

Other...

Mirrors and stairs are also conventions of thriller movies, as again different images and close-ups in mirrors can create tension and illusions and also add suspense.