Jacob Whiting

Genre is a style or category of an art form like film, there are many genres of film like sci-fi, thriller, horror, crime which make it easier to

sort films into categories so they can be listed.

Thriller is a genre in which suspense is a main aspect, it is used to build up tension and

excitement. Typically thrillers use moods and emotions as a way to entertain the audience for example: anticipation, anxiety, uncertainty and terror are all used to make the film enjoyable for

the audience to watch.

Audiences expect many of the things mentioned in the previous statement like the use of mood

and emotion to entertain. Also they expect some plot aspects like red herrings, cliffhangers and twists to further heighten the enjoyment of the

movie.

genre

One of the earliest thriller films is Harold Lloyd’s ‘Safety Last’ which came out in 1923. Quite soon after in 1926 came ‘The

Lodger’, the first thriller from the well known thriller director

Alfred Hitchcock.

From there many more thrillers were made,

Hitchcock’s next being ‘Blackmail’ (1929) which also happened to be his and Britain’s film sound

film, from then on most of the films he directed were

thrillers.

History of thriller

Thriller hybrids and sub-genresThere are many hybrids and sub-genres of thriller which keep films original and interesting as they have been around for many years. Some examples include:• Crime Thriller e.g No Country for Old Men, Seven

• Psychological Thriller e.g Shutter Island

• Action Thriller e.g Die Hard

• Horror Thriller e.g The Woman in Black

Narrative conventions and mise-en-scene

Some narrative conventions of thriller are enigma codes, twists, cliff-hangers and red herrings. These all add to the overall plot of the film and are things that can be

expected of thrillers.

The typical mise-en-scene of thriller includes: Moody non diegetic

soundtrack, Low key lighting, dark colours black and brown with often some red to represent blood. Also thrillers feature props like knives, guns and explosives as weapons

often are a main feature in thrillers.

Character representationThe two character roles mainly found in thriller are the

Protagonist, also known as the hero, they are the main character who features most in the film and who the plot is mostly

revolving around.

Then there is the antagonist, also known as the anti-hero or villain, they are the one who is the enemy of the protagonist and often either they are plotting to kill the

protagonist or are the one who the protagonist is trying to stop.

Antagonist Protagonist

Camerawork often seen in thriller is made to give the audience an

uncomfortable feeling, for example, thrillers feature shots from unusual angles and mirror shots. These are

both shots that are not comfortable to look at and make the audience feel

uneasy. Also there are a lot of close up shots and shots that hide the identity

of the subject, close up shots are effective at showing emotion and identity hiding shots add to the

uncomfortable feeling as they add enigmas to the film which get the

audience thinking.

Slow editing techniques are effective for building

tension as they allow the audience time to take in

what is shown in the scene. Fades are a transition often

used with slow editing techniques as they reveal

information slowly. However jump cuts are often used in

thrillers to unveil information quickly and

give the audience an opportunity to make

assumptions as to the next development in the story.

Usually in thrillers there is a non diegetic soundtrack playing in the background a lot of the time, this is used to create a certain

atmosphere in the scene. Also there is dialogue used to give the audience information to develop the story.

bibliography

en.wikipedia.org

imdb.com

thescriptlab.com

borgus.com