Thriller Forms + Conventions

There are five areas of forms and conventions that make up the typical Thriller film, television show, or book. They are:-

Characters

In the thriller genre there are many different types of characters you will find, but there is always two type of characters that are not only typical through thriller films but a lot of different genres and the characters are, the hero/ine and the villain, both of these types of characters branch off into many different types of characters. Sometimes you can get a cross over between these two characters for example, in the movie Leon, the character Leon is a hit man (villain) but then he turns into the hero when saving the little girl Mathilda. When these two main types of characters branch off there is a endless list, for example: corrupt cop/ detectives, innocent victim who wants revenge, low-life characters (drug dealers etc), the gangs, FBI/secret service etc.

Cinematic Style

The cinematic style is the use of camerawork, lighting and sound in the thriller film. In thriller films the camerawork, lighting and sound can be a lot different from one an other for example: in Leon there is a lot of fast edited, noisy shootouts, but in Enemy of the state there is a lot of dramatic tense music with fast editing also there is jerky hand-held camerawork with canted angles but also unusual angles, another example is in Silence of the lambs there is a lot of low-key lighting.

Iconography

The iconography of a thriller film all the 'visual elements' e.g. props, settings, costumes, etc. The typical setting in a thriller film happens to be in a urban city based place. There are many different props used throughout the thriller genre some of the typical ones found in most thriller films are, guns, drugs, fast cars, high-tech equipment. The costumes in a thriller film changes with the character, so for example, in Se7en they are in detective uniform (trench coat, hat etc).


Narratives

The narratives in a thriller movie is the story line or key story elements. For example in The Resident, the key elements of the film is suspense. There are many different things that can make up a story line to a good thriller, for example, a vulnerable character that we all care about, danger for the character, character in either confined situations (cant escape) or isolated situations (nowhere to escape to), dramatic irony is when we as the audience know more than the characters, violent murders, exciting chases etc, the list is endless.

Themes

The themes of a thriller film is the basic ideas behind the narratives. There are many different themes that a thriller film can consist of. Some thriller films may consist of many different themes but they normally have one main theme to the movie. For example, in obsessed the main theme of the film is revenge, but the film also consists of obsession, jealousy, madness etc. There are also many more themes like alienation, love, paranoia, espionage etc.

Thrillers I've Seen

Action Thriller

2 Fast 2 Furious

The A-Team

Crank

Die Hard

Die Hard 2

Die Hard With a Vengeance

The Fast and The Furious

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

First Blood

Hitman

Kindergarten cop

The Long Kiss Goodnight

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible II

Mission: Impossible III

Rambo: First Blood Part II

Rambo

Snakes on a Plane

The Transporter

The Transporter 2

True Lies

xXx

Conspiracy Thriller

Enemy of the State

Fantasy Thriller

The Crow

Noir Thriller

Sin City

Mystery Thriller

Angels and demons

The Da Vinci Code

The Happening

Psychological Thriller

Devil

Hannibal

Hide and Seek

Phone Booth

Pulse

The Resident

Se7en

The Silence of the Lambs

What Lies Beneath

Revenge Thriller

The Bodyguard

Harry Brown

Kill Bill Vol. 1

Kill Bill Vol. 2

Leon

Man On Fire

Obsessed

Taken

Sci-fi Thriller

I, Robot

I am Number Four

Jurassic Park

Spy Thriller

The Bourne Ultimatum

Supernatural Thriller

Blade

Blade II

Blade: Trinity

Dark Water

Gothika

Underworld

Underworld: Evolution

White Noise

Suspense Thriller

Deep Blue Sea

Jaws

Open Water

Target Audience of a Thriller

The target audience for a thriller, I think is around the ages of 15 onwards, because some of the films like The Da Vinci Code is very hard to understand and follow. Although there are some thrillers that cater for younger ages like Jurassic Park, the typical thriller i aimed at 15 onwards.

                                                 

The target audience is also for people that enjoy a lot of tension, suspense and surprise. They will have to like a thrill and feeling of excitement otherwise they will not enjoy a thriller.

Thriller Definition

A thriller is a genre of film, television show, literature. The thriller genre is full of many sub-genres, but the usual thriller is action packed, that's creates a lot of tension, suspense, surprise and uses them as the main aspects.

Thrillers create a lot of different moods, anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, suspense, excitement, tension, terror. If the film, television show, or literature doesn't trill then it's not doing the job.

To me a thriller is normally very action packed, trying to make the audience sit on the edge of their seat for all the people in the situations. But the thriller genre is split up in many sub-genres.

The sub-genres that are in thriller are:-

• Action Thriller - this is when the character is put in a very difficult situation, it's a race against time there is a lot of violence, for example: Die Hard, The Transporter etc.

• Conspiracy Thriller -  this is when a hero/heroine faces a large, extremely powerful group of enemies, but only the hero/heroine know the full extent of their power, for example: enemy of state.

• Noir Thriller - this is a style of thriller that is very black and dark, this isn't very common but is used, for example it is used in Sin City.

 

• Mystery Thriller - this is when there is a problem that a single character or group has to solve, to save a town or country or even the world, for example The Happening.

• Psychological Thriller - this is when there is a bad metal and emotional problem rather than physical with a group or single character, until often the very violent resolution, for example Pulse, Hide and Seek.

• Revenge Thriller - this like the main genre concentrates on suspense, tension, some action and fast-pacing. The characters are normally going after someone or a group that have harmed then in the past or their family, for example Kill Bill.

• Sci-fi Thriller - this is when not real elements are used in the film, television show, literature. the main character has to fight against this force to save them self and others, for example I, Robot.

• Supernatural Thriller - this is when the main character has a special ability, or power. Otherworldly elements are mixed with the normal suspense, tension, and surprise, for example Blade.

• Suspense Thriller - This is when he main element is suspense and the film is based around surprise and tension, for example Deep Blue Sea.