Thriller Genre Conventions
The thriller genre contains various codes and conventions that allow films within the genre to become instantly recognizable to the viewer. Their main purpose is to.. well thrill, and various techniques allow this to be achieved. As you will see below, the thriller genre is further split into sub-genres, each with there own slant on the genre but still all with same aim - to excite and entertain.
Sub Genres:
Conspiracy Thrillers: These thrillers tend to have a protagonist, often a member of the public, who gets involved in an attempt to take down a large organisation. The thrillers usually highlight corruption and often play on the fact that the protagonist is alone against a large network of people. An example of this is the Bourne series, where Jason Bourne tries to take down a secret government agency whilst they try to kill him - often the tension comes from the fact that, as the opposition is so great, there is often no one he can trust, or nowhere he is safe.
Mystery/Crime Thrillers: Mystery and crime thrillers go hand in hand; both tending to have a good guy (usually someone who enforces the law, e.g. a detective) trying to stop a criminal. Crime thrillers on their own often focus on the criminal and the criminal acts, whereas mystery thrillers often follow the protagonist and discover information as the 'hero' does. Mysteries tend to be a lot more psychological and play on the audiences minds, unlike crime thrillers which can often focus more on the action itself; however, the two are often blended to create a film full of both suspense and action.
Disaster Thriller: Disaster thrillers normally focus on groups or persons who are attempting to survive natural or artificial events. These can sometimes be natural disasters such as tsunamis, or man made issues (e.g. nuclear explosions). They sometimes reinact disasters that have happened; but often create artificial disasters and play with the concept of "what if this will actually happen in the future?!" - and use this idea as the main way to cause a reaction from the viewers.
Psychological/Religious Thrillers: Psychological thrillers are commonly associated with mystery thrillers as they tend to try and get a reaction from the audience, often using enigmas to question the viewers. However they also link in with religious thrillers, a smaller sub genre of thrillers. Religious thrillers tend to be joined to other sub genres (e.g. 'The Da Vinci Code' where the protagonist is trying to solve a mystery which is linked to the catholic faith.) Religious thrillers, like psychological thrillers, often put questions in the viewers minds and, in particular, highlight the positives but primarily the negatives within religion.
Techno/Supernatural Thrillers: These thrillers usually provide a otherworldly element when being viewed. Supernatural thrillers usually focus on a powerful force, perhaps from a higher power, and so can be linked to religious thrillers. The protagonist is usually involved in fighting the supernatural power, often having supernatural power themselves. Techno thrillers are not dissimilar as they usually involve a protagonist trying to stop powers from the future; often ideas such as robots/aliens taking over the planet are played with.
Narrative Conventions:
Thrillers tend to follow, by and large, a fairly similar story line. Usually the underlying thread of the movie is a mystery or investigation to solve; with the protagonist tending to be the only person who can actually solve the mystery. The film usually contains enigmas which, throughout the showing, often place doubt and another level of mystery and danger into the story line.
Thriller films also normally have a "goodie and badie" with them often sharing similar personality traits - and the climax of the film usually involves the protagonist in a dangerous situation that leads to the conclusion of the investigation or issue. Violence, or some form of danger, is central to all thrillers as it this that is used to create both tension and suspense, but also it often questions the viewers perceptions on certain topics.
In terms of lighting, it is usually low key to add a darker element to the thriller and the music adds to this (whether modern or old) normally creates suspense - it tends to start of slow and then build up to add drama to the scenes.
Character archetypes:
Characters in thrillers vary depending on the sub-genre; however, there are various traits that are common amongst thriller characters. There is always a protagonist(s) and normally an antagonist within the plot and the 'hero' is involved in solving a crime or mystery or surviving an event (etc). Stereotypical characters often include: an isolated hero who is always morally right, the good/ bad guy sharing various traits.. and so on.
Sub Genres:
Conspiracy Thrillers: These thrillers tend to have a protagonist, often a member of the public, who gets involved in an attempt to take down a large organisation. The thrillers usually highlight corruption and often play on the fact that the protagonist is alone against a large network of people. An example of this is the Bourne series, where Jason Bourne tries to take down a secret government agency whilst they try to kill him - often the tension comes from the fact that, as the opposition is so great, there is often no one he can trust, or nowhere he is safe.
Mystery/Crime Thrillers: Mystery and crime thrillers go hand in hand; both tending to have a good guy (usually someone who enforces the law, e.g. a detective) trying to stop a criminal. Crime thrillers on their own often focus on the criminal and the criminal acts, whereas mystery thrillers often follow the protagonist and discover information as the 'hero' does. Mysteries tend to be a lot more psychological and play on the audiences minds, unlike crime thrillers which can often focus more on the action itself; however, the two are often blended to create a film full of both suspense and action.Disaster Thriller: Disaster thrillers normally focus on groups or persons who are attempting to survive natural or artificial events. These can sometimes be natural disasters such as tsunamis, or man made issues (e.g. nuclear explosions). They sometimes reinact disasters that have happened; but often create artificial disasters and play with the concept of "what if this will actually happen in the future?!" - and use this idea as the main way to cause a reaction from the viewers.Techno/Supernatural Thrillers: These thrillers usually provide a otherworldly element when being viewed. Supernatural thrillers usually focus on a powerful force, perhaps from a higher power, and so can be linked to religious thrillers. The protagonist is usually involved in fighting the supernatural power, often having supernatural power themselves. Techno thrillers are not dissimilar as they usually involve a protagonist trying to stop powers from the future; often ideas such as robots/aliens taking over the planet are played with.
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