Forms and

conventions of a thriller

film

Thriller is a genre of film that uses; suspense, tension and excitement as

the main elements. Some subgenres of thrillers are: mystery, crime and

psychological thrillers.

What is a thriller film?

Thrillers are mostly characterised by a mood of menace, violence, crime and murder by showing

society in a dark dangerous way. The majority of the time they often

feature a happy ending in which the antagonists are killed or

arrested; justice is usually served in the end. Thrillers feature devices

such as plot twists and cliff hangers. They also use

atmospheres of anticipation, adrenaline rush, anxiety and

sometimes even terror. The tones in thrillers are usually coarse, slick

and explicit.

An authentic thriller is one that

provides thrills and keeps the

audience at the 'edge of their

seats' as the plot builds towards a

climax. The tension usually

rises when a character is placed

in a threatening situation, or in a

predicament where escaping

seems impossible. Lives are at

threat, typically because the main

character is unknowingly involved in a dangerous or

potentially life threatening situation.

Characters and themes of thrillers

Characters in thrillers consist of; criminals, stalkers, assassins, victims on the run, characters with dark pasts, psychotic

individuals, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, psycho-fiends, and more. The themes of thrillers often include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles

leading to murder. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently ordinary citizens not used to

danger.

Thrillers mostly take place in ordinary suburbs/cities. Though

sometimes, they may take place entirely or partly in

exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, Polar Regions,

or high seas. Some thrillers are an exception to this and they are set in surreal unrealistic

environments which you would not come across in ordinary

everyday life.

A lot of the time the thriller genre uses enigma to capture an

audience’s attention, there is often a question or dilemma that the target audience can relate to that is then played around with and resolved or left unresolved.

To capture an audience’s attention and give them a sense

of thrill directors may use sub genres to suit the intended target

audiences taste; for example horror thriller, psychological

thriller, comedy thriller and so on. Thrillers often overlap with

mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale - the crimes that must be prevented are serial

or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of

governments. Jeopardy and violent confrontations are

standard plot elements. A thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the antagonist, saving

others lives and his own.

Sound and editing plays a big part in thriller

movies, the sound and editing is what makes an audience want to watch

a thriller again and again. Quick cuts and a variation of shot sizes and camera angles, as well as a great use of incidental music all

contribute to making an amazing thriller. Mirrors

and stairs are a convention of thriller movies, lighting and especially the use of

shadow can have great impact. In some thrillers

you are made to feel sorry for the protagonist where you are told their

story with the use of flashbacks and elliptical editing, psychological thrillers use this as it plays with the target audiences mind and

makes them think about the action taking place.

In a thriller, the hero must throw the plans of an enemy rather than uncover a crime that’s

already happened. Whilst a murder

mystery would be spoiled by an early revelation of the

murderer’s identity, in a thriller the identity of a

murderer or another villain is typically known

all along.