Generic conventions of Thriller films

Psychological thriller                                                                          

Religious thriller

Sci-fi thriller



Generally, films in the thriller genre consist of a battle between the protagonist character and the antagonist, and show justice and injustice (good and evil) When there is disruption in the equilibrium, the story then shows a chain of bad events that begin to build tension and suspense ready for the climax. The protagonist aim is to restore justice while the antagonist seeks to destroy this.

The storyline for a typical thriller will usually be shown from the protagonist point of view following the events of the heroes will over come, this allows the audience to become more involved in the events that are going on and will help them get a close relationship for the character. However some films do show short snappy clips from the villains prospective allowing the audience to see how the antagonist reacts and how they act when alone, and often lets the audience realize why they have become involved in this activity and become party of the evil party. Typically events that are covered in the film are important to the progression of the film and lead directly on from a previous scene , usually there are a lot of action scenes between characters making the audience guess what is going to occur next.

Thrillers are often shown in a film noir style; this means that they would be shown in black and white and using the typical conventions, techniques such as shadows found to be used more extensively in this genre and as a result of this the tension and the suspense has a greater effect, the effect is heightened due to the enhancements of the film noir. The use of cliff hangers create a greater sense of tension and make the audience crave for more of the film.


Common conventions of a thriller include.

• Low key lighting 
• shadows
• quick cuts 
• angle changes in shots 
• black and white shots 
• montage 

The protagonist often is portrayed as a brave male whom seeks to restore equilibrium and the antagonist will have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film progresses, the antagonist often seeks revenge based on past events.

Characters tend to include...

• spies 
• psychotic characters 
• convicts 
• innocent people that get dragged into danger
• law enforcement officers.

Props Theory of characters.

• The villain- struggles against the hero and usually wears dark clothing, this is a juxtapose between the hero and the villain; to highlight their differences. In the film Batman, Joker provides us with an evil presence.
• The Helper-This character typically helps fight against the evil, and Robin from batman helps Batman help fight off the evil and destroy the villain.
• The princess-This is a character that needs to be rescued from the evil villain

Iconography

• Guns 
• cars 
• confined spaces 

Cinematography in thriller films include a lot of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist character, this is done in order to show their emotions and also can be used in order to focus on props that will aid the narrative.

The shots of the antagonist tend to be cut quickly in order to keep their identity on the low, for example a shot of the back of them or a low key shot, or the silhouette of them.

In terms of the editing there tends to be a lot of jump cuts in order to create tension, as the audience will be un aware of what is occurring, but this is essential for the film to make sense. Cross cutting is also key as it is used to build up suspense. Editing conventions are also often focused around creating an uncomfortable or suspenseful atmosphere, camera angles are often disorientated. Tension is key in the thriller genre as it is what keeps the vast suspense at a steady pace throughout the film and then is able to expose with a conclusion of action or an overwhelming resolution which spectators may have not expected.

Sound in thrillers is very essential and the music is also in order yo understand the mood of the characters and convey significant events that will occur in the film, further more the sound adds tension and it will often start off slow and build up to make the scene more dramatic.

High pitched sound is used to make a spectator uncomfortable and shows that the scene will be unpleasant. Other uses of sound maybe that thrillers with dialogue is usually unique as internal monologues or perhaps narrators can be found and this creates a more direct tension to the spectator of the film, as it will make it seem like they are experiencing what the characters are.




Hybrids are often seen in thriller films where you take two or more elements from a genre and include them in one film.