What is a thriller?

• Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thrillers are movies full of intense mystery that drags on through the whole movie which therefore keeps the views more interested to keep on watching. • Here's an example of an thriller ,are you ready ?!!!Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Long Trailer - YouTube

What are the different types of thrillers? • Psychological thrillers, Seven 1995 • Crime thrillers, Inside man 2006• Erotic thrillers, Poison ivy 1992• Mystery thrillers, identity 2006• Disaster thriller, 40 days and nights 2012• Supernatural thriller, Unbreakable 2000• Action thriller, Taken 2008• Legal thriller, Time to kill 1996

What are the main themes dealt with in thrillers?

• Thriller is mainly a mystery that gradually unfolds as you watch the movie till the end ,although many movies end with cliff hanger ,leaving you in suspense.• Thrillers main theme that thriller revolves around is

suspense ,which every thriller movie must have.• Other themes are horror, mystery, suspense, sinister, gloomy,

fear, disasters, crime , erotic , supernatural ,terror, etc. • All theses themes come together to create a great thriller that

creates that intense tension in the movie .

Key characters found in a thriller• Characters include criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent

victims (often on the run), menaced women, characters with deep dark pasts, psychotic individuals, spree killers, sociopaths, agents, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, private eyes, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-friends, and more. The themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.• Many of theses characters are people that build a very scary

mysterious scenario in thriller movies .

Codes and conventions of thrillers• Most thrillers are full of suspense ,which the music is the main thing

that creates this. Many thrillers are based in a really weird ,mysterious place which always suggests that the movie is a thriller from the beginning . • Many thrillers mainly look at the editing and sound, editing in thrillers

tend to mostly be quick cuts at a fast pace. This therefore creates suspense and tension, in a thriller tension is a very significant aspect . The colours used in thrillers are also very important as the colour black and white in thrillers pulls in a more dark and sinister feel to the movie. Fast paced camera angles are also used in thrillers adds that extra tension and mystery.

Case study on one key director of the thriller genre• James Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian film director, film producer,

deep-sea explorer, screenwriter, and editor, he went on to produce and direct films including The Terminator, Aliens and Avatar. He became successful after the movie terminator, He then became a popular Hollywood director and was hired to write & direct Aliens (1986) and three years later followed up with The Abyss (1989). In 1978, Cameron made his first film, a science fiction short called Xenogenesis. The film helped him get a job with New World Pictures, a company run by famed B-movie director Roger Corman. Cameron experienced a number of disappointments. The shoot for the film was grueling. Much of it was filmed in a huge underwater set, which took its toll on the cast and crew.

• Top 4 films

- Titanic 1997

- Aliens 1986

- The terminator 1984

- The terminator 2 :The judgement Day 1991