CONVENTIONS of the thriller genre

BY Stacio

Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)• Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock was considered one of the scariest films of its time. Created in 1960 it

broke the conventions of film shocking audiences, leaving it rated X, now rated at 15 people of today wouldn’t understand the shock factor it had in the 60’s but is instead seen as a classic and a great horror film for the conventions it broke for all films.

• Psycho first hit our screens in 1960 directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It faced major controversy, as it was different. Horror films before this were more unrealistic and gruesome. Psycho was a ground breaking film of the horror genre. It was more realistic the events could happen in reality. Censorship was very strict at this time. Film standards agencies censored films showing sex before marriage, nakedness, violence and gore. Fortunately, Hitchcock overcame these restrictions in many ways. He used a series of shots to film the shower scene instead of continuous shot. He used chocolate sauce for blood and he had a knife stabbing a melon to imitate the sound of the butcher knife stabbing Marion. The use of the high pitch sound was also effective as it made the shower scene iconic. When ever you hear a high pitch sound like that you would refer it to the film psycho.

The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999)

• The idea of traditional thriller conventions has been adapted hugely within the opening scene of ‘The Sixth Sense’ however Shyamalan has used many original conventions and interpreted these traditional views further.

• The typical convention of having an isolated or an abandoned house has been interpreted and then twisted to the idea of an isolated cellar within a house which two people live. The idea of a female victim has also been portrayed through the opening scene but then undermined as it becomes clear she is living with her partner.

• Similarly to many other thriller and horror films, in the opening scene of ‘The Sixth sense’ we are introduced to a rather strange, and almost odd character who seems to be some-what different from the other roles.

• The use of mise en scene within the first few minutes of ‘The Sixth Sense’ was crucial and significant helping to reveal the plot of the film. Even though it suggests possible film plots, it still does not give away too much information about the main meaning behind the story line.

The A Team 2010• The A-Team is a 2010 American thriller film based on the television

series of the same name created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell. Co-written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the film stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, and Brian Bloom.• The soundtrack album of The A-Team was released on June 21, 2010,

by Varèse Sarabande. On December 1, 2009, it was announced that Alan Silvestri would compose the film score. This piece is such an iconic sound track when it comes to A Team.