Research into the thriller genre
Sub Genres of the thriller genre
​
Murderous passions, which involve the classic love triangle of husband,wife and love and usually involve the murder of one member of that triangle. Examples of these are The Postman Always Rings Twice (Garnett, 1946, US) and Double indemnity(Wilder, 1944, US).
​
The political thriller which usually involves a plot to assassinate a powerful person or a conspiracy by a government against the people. Examples include All The Presidents Men (Pakula,1976,US) and JFK (Stone, 1991,US).
​
The thriller of acquired identity, where the protagonist has to come to terms with an unaccustomed identity which is linked to murder. North By NorthWest (Hitchcock, 1959, US) sees Cary Grant being forced to assume another man's identity.
​
The psycho-traumatic thriller involves crime or murder and the effects of a past trauma on a current love affair. One of the best examples of this sub-genre is Marnie (Hitchcock, 1964, US) where the eponymous heroine has turned to crime because of childhood psychological trauma.
​
The thriller of moral confrontation of good versus evil, such as Strangers On A Train (Hitchcock, 1964, US) where two complete strangers embark on a plan of exchange murders.
​
The thriller of the innocent on the run was a favourite of Hitchcock's and can be seen in The 39 Steps (Hitchcock, 1935, UK) where the innocent Richard Hannay is thrown into spy conspiracy which threatens national security and is forced to run from both villains and police.
Generic Conventions of Thrillers
Thriller films often use low key lighting, shadows,tense music and quick cuts. These conventions help create a tense feeling and keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Also changes in the angles of shots, diegetic sound of breathing, black and white shots, montages and the protagonist is in the mercy of the antagonist.
​
The protagonist is often a brave male who seeks to restore the equilibrium and the antagonist will have a hidden identity that the audience uncovers as the film progresses, often the antagonist goes out for revenge based off previous events. The story line is designed so that the audience can think that whats happening in the story can happen to them which will make them feel scared.
​
There will be lots of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist character, this is often to show their emotions, also it can be used to focus on props to aid the narrative. The shots of the antagonist character will be cut quickly and will aim to hide their identity e.g a shot of the back of a character, a low key shot, the silhouette or shadow of the character.
​
There will be lots of jump cuts because there will be lots of things happening that the audience is unaware of but is essential for the film to make sense. Cross cutting is a key point in editing as it is used to build suspense which is essential for a thriller and continuous editing is used to help the audience understand the film easier.
​
Music is essential in any film to understand the mood of the characters and hint at a significant part in the film. In a thriller it adds suspense and tension. It will often start at a slow paves and the then build up to make the shots more dramatic for the audience.
​
The location is important for the film because it help the audience establish the theme. The Lighting is often low key, the antagonist will be in dark clothes if you see them and the protagonist will be in ordinary everyday clothes.