Thriller movies key components

Stock characters

In thriller movies there are usually the good character and the bad character. The good character is always promoted as the good character. This allows the audience to know exactly who the good character is right from the beginning of the film. However the bad character is usually hidden during the beginning of the film and the audience doesn’t know who the bad character is, therefore the bad character seems to be very mysterious throughout the film. This makes the audience question who is the villain throughout the film.

Stock plots

The stereotypical stock plots in thriller movies tend to be an average person acting like a detective who becomes the victim of the storyline and becomes in great danger. A thriller is a combination between a detective and horror story, however thrillers don’t usually have a lot of blood and gore included. There is always a fight/chase scene between the victim and villain and the victim always win in the end.

Situations and themes

In thriller films, there is always a fight or chase scene which doesn’t include blood and gore, however it does include more physical action. The fight is between the victim and villain and the victim always wins (good always defeats bad). This allows the audience to identify which genre the film is.

Stock locations and backdrops

Thriller films are usually set in busy cities and well built up areas as this creates a realistic location which the audience would be able to relate to. Also this is because the chase / fight scene usually involves a car chase therefore by the location for the film being a busy city with lots of vehicles again makes the chase look more realistic.

Music and sounds

In thriller movies the non-diegetic sounds are usually very upbeat and create a lot of adrenaline. This is because thriller movies include a lot of chasing and fighting therefore the non-diegetic sounds will match the scene. Also the voices (diegetic sounds) tend to be very deep and mysterious, this is because the villain doesn’t want to be caught out in the film therefore my having a mysterious voice allows the audience to get the impression that the villain is the bad character in the film and no one knows who he is.

Generic conventions

In thriller films the shots used during the fight/chase scenes tend to be very short fast shots this is because the directors and producers of the film want to make the audience be on the edge of their seats with suspense. When there isn’t a fight/chase scene the shots tend to be longer and slower than the action scenes because this is when none of the ‘action’ is going on therefore the shots need to reflect on this.