thrillers follow lots of specific codes and conventions but there is debate over what generally is a thriller. thrillers are known for keeping the viewer concentrating closely on the story and keep them guessing and wanting to though how the story unfolds. all of the most succesful thrillers are known for having strong narrative driven stories which require close attention from the audience, most directors take advantage of audiences who watch closely by throwing in plot twists which really is the bread and butter to a good thriller film. thrillers rely on a complex storyline that will force the viewers to stay engaged in the film, some thrillers for example 'Inception' are so complex you need to watch it twice in order to fully understand whats going on. allot of thrillers have aspects of other genres in them and expand further on the market. some examples of sub genre thrillers are:
. psychological thriller
. action thriller
. supernatural thriller
. spy thriller
. conspiracy thriller
these types of thrillers use aspects of other genres to make them relevant to the plot but usually follow the same camera angles,lighting that are in traditional thrillers. thrillers are know for making an audience think about what is going on, they can engage the audience mentally in order to scare them. for example if a killer is attacking people whilst they are asleep in bed, then the audience can relate to that and feel more involved emotionally. in order to scare people thrillers play on emotions, a lot of the time they use the fear of the unknown element and play it through the entire film with hints and twists to who or what is causing the disturbance.
camera work is used very effectively in successful thrillers which use pan and tracking shots most commonly. an example of this is the famous bank robbery scene in the dark knight where the camera follows the group at certain points. another frequently used shot which is most commonly used in thrillers is the close up which can work on a number of levels to show all kinds of emotions on a persons face. mainly to show mystery in the beginning of a film, the film Kill Bill uses this. in some action thrillers a long shot will be used to set the scene where the action will take place. high angles are used also to show a character having power, by the fact they are towering above the audience and example is on terminator when a high angle shot is used to show the terminator looking down on the camera. the colour in thrillers is usually a dark grey sort of colour but lighting can be used to add additional colours to sub genres and hybrids. for example if you have a sci-fi thriller there might be a hint of green in some places, as well as in thriller horror films there might be red in places.
thrillers editing styles are a key aspect to building suspense during the film. jump cuts are used during a fight scene for example to show small snippets of what is going on without giving away to much. a famous example of the use of small shots and quick cutting is the shower stab scene in psycho when it is obvious what is going on bit it is happening so fast it adds to the rush and terror of it all.
music is also a key aspect to emotions the audience feel when watching a thriller, for it helps with dred and suspense. in some cases the in a particularly scary scene that might be building up to an encounter with the antagonist of the movie, the sound will be silent. this is extremely effective in thrillers, especially if the encounter of the antagonist is going to make the audience jump because they where expecting it but they didn't know when it was coming. silence is most defiantly a strong convention for the thriller genre.
characterisation is a very important aspect in thriller films because we have to be emotionally attached to the protagonist so that when something bad happens we will feel engaged and worried. there are a large variety of antagonists and protagonists in thriller films, perhaps they vary most in thriller films for the story can involve an anonymous antagonist who of which the director has deliberatly made unclear to the audience who it is.this again realtes back to the structure of the complex plot points which thrillers use. characters in thriller films usually are realistic and believable as normal people, however they may not be what you expect and usually are unsuperior to the antagonist. a classic example of this is in the film 'misery' where out protagonist Paul is in wheelchair and is unable to walk due to him suffering from a car crash. the antagonist is possibly one of the most complex and unexpected in any thriller film to date, she helps Paul but at the same time keeps him prisoner in her own home due to the fact she is obssed with him. here is a list of heros (antagonists) found in thriller films:
. false hero (example Natalie on memento)
. handicapped hero (paul on misery)
. picaresque hero (james bond)
. unaware hero: someone who becomes involed by accident
. unreliable narrator (lenny on memento)
here is a list of the different types of antagonists found in thriller films:
. anti hero (catwoman)
. government (conspiercy thrillers)
.companies (conglomerates)
. handicapped villian.
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