Conventions Of A Thriller

The main aim of a thriller is to create suspense and fear within an audience.  A Thriller usually uses busy streets and environments in urban areas. The story line of a thriller usually revolves around the investigation of an enigma revealing information at a slow pace throughout the movie. The hero is the only person able to solve the enigma and reveal the truth, in some thrillers a hero isn't present and the audience are sometimes left on a cliff hanger ready to lead onto the next movie. Sometimes the audience is left to interpret the movie as how they see it and the ending is a mystery left for them to decide, this can make peoples mind think things more and create more suspense. Violence is very often present in thrillers and linking it to enigma can fool the audience to feel un-safe themselves. Generally the violence shows justice and injustice fighting against each other with an overall feel of suspense.

Thrillers often reveal the workings of particular institutions like the police, army and government and there is commonly a rational rather than supernatural explanation of the puzzle. The hero in a thriller is often an outsider, isolated secretive but moral.

In a thriller there is usually one main character ‘the protagonist’s’, which is showed through authority in the film by the one making all the decisions and answering back to people. The story is usually shown from this person’s point of view following events that the hero’s must overcome. This point of view gets the audience to become more involved in the film and see themselves in the same situation also aiding the feel of suspense. From this point of view the audience and see how the characters interact with each other, see things from different points of view and see how the protagonist acts while being themselves.

Flashbacks are usually found in thriller movies and show the audience what the protagonist is thinking and how they see themselves. It can also reveal the past and add vital points to the main storyline. There are usually lots of action scenes between characters, which keeps the audience guessing (often wrongly). Suspense is created throughout the film by this as the audience are unsure on what will happen the next as it is important the film is not predictable.

Shots Used In Thrillers

• ·         Wide shot to show the entire frame.
• ·         Slow and smooth, with fading transitions, gives a dreamy and surreal effect.
• ·         Dark shots to make the picture mysterious.
• ·         Close ups to keep information given away to a minimum.

Dark and foreboding colours present a theme of mystery and the unknown due to the smoke. Loud and increasing volume creates a crescendo making the audience feel excited and anxious to see what could be next on screen.