Research of the Thriller Genre

Research into the Thriller Genre Conventions

Characters: The characters in thrillers are often placed in menacing situations from which escape for the protagonist seems almost impossible. The menace is often abstract, uncertain or hidden until the end, in which the antagonist’s identity is revealed. History suggests to us that women are weaker and more vulnerable and in historical thriller films it is stereotypically a man that is the antagonist and the woman who is the victim. However recently in contemporary thrillers these stereotypes are being challenged with ideas such as women protagonists and antagonists with the modern idea of a ‘femme fettle’ rising above men.

Themes: The main themes of thrillers throughout history are stalking, murder, political conspiracy, espionage, dangerous and romantic liaisons. The more contemporary modern thrillers contain themes such as terrorism, war, crime/urban themes and even extraordinary unnatural suppressing forces that would come under extraterrestrial themes.

Common cinematic techniques in thrillers: Extreme close ups, quick cut montage and the use of profiles or silhouettes of characters are used extensively to create unnatural images that create tension or uneasiness that can be witnessed in Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ shower scene. Other use of cinematic techniques to create a thriller effect can be kinetic camera movements that create realism to make the audience feel anxious. Other thriller techniques can be zoom shots, prolonged cross cutting, and quick cutting.

Common sound techniques in thrillers: Sound is very important in the thriller genre, as Hitchcock demonstrated with his violin stabs in the shower scene in ‘psycho’, just using the right sound at the right time with the right pace can create suspense and tension. This can be efficiently done by introducing a slow placed, quiet and relaxing score, eventually increasing in pace and volume to a large climax that is synchronised to the climax of the actions in the film.