thriller

By Mahli Macwana

The thriller genre The genre is the type of film. And it’s the placing of the film into a certain category or group e.g. horror, romance and thriller etc. A hybrid genre is a mix of two or more genres e.g. ‘romcom’ which is a mix between a romance and a comedy e.g. 500 days of summer.The thriller genre is a movie that is set to ‘thrill’ to create suspense. Thrillers are different to horrors because thrillers are usually psychological were as horror is just to scare you and make you jump. Thrillers are clever films and will make you confused by the end of it and normally takes a couple of times of watching to understand the film.

The history of thriller• One of the first thriller films was Harold Lloyds comic “safety last” (1923) in this Lloyd

performed some of his climbing stunts despite losing a thumb and forefinger in an accident while making a film four years earlier.

• A couple years later Alfred Hitchcock produced his third silent movie and his first thriller (1926) called “the lodger” which was a suspenseful jack the ripper story. This was the start of an era as Alfred Hitchcock was an inspirational character in the thriller genre. He later made classics like psycho, rear window and the birds.

• In the 1940s Hitchcock was still in the limelight for thriller films and a couple of his best were Oscar winning films “foreign correspondent” and “Rebecca”.

• In the 1950s Hitchcock was still making the best thriller films but Other films included Roberts Liderichs “kiss me deadly”.

•1960s – some thriller spy films emerged for example: “the spy who came from the cold” and “the deadly affair” •1970s – there was a violent wave of thriller films in this genre including Hitchcock's first British film in over two decades. Giving a “R” rating for its explicit content. •1980s brought us classics like “dressed to kill” and “blow out”•The 1990s started with Rob Reiner's “misery” (1990) based on the book by Stephen king. Also in the 90s the famous Jonathan Demme brought us “silence of the lambs” where a young FBI agent is in a psychological war against a cannibalistic psychiatrist named Hannibal lector. •Alfred Hitchcock said his intentions were to give the public “good healthy mental shake-ups” •The 20th and the 21st century we've got movies such as se7en,shutter island and the sixth sense which are all critically acclaimed movies.

The history of thriller

Conventions • The conventions of a thriller. Usually at the center of the narrative there is crime in a

thriller. And the narrative will have a lot of twists and have false paths to build tension like in the movie se7en. The plot will build to a climax. And the climax will usually be unexpected to shock the audience.

• In thriller films their usually set in ordinary places with ordinary people using ordinary objects. This makes the audience believe that this could happen to anyone even them! For example collateral is in a taxi and se7en Is in a normal city. In thrillers it shows how darkness and evil can be in our society without us knowing and how darkness can come out of the least expected people.

• Thriller Sub genres/hybrids – sub genres are subdivisions of films. Thriller sub genres include: Crime e.g. Inception, Medical e.g. Coma, Eco/ Disaster Thriller e.g. The Day After Tomorrow, Romance ‘gone bad’/Stalker Fatal Attraction, Serial Killer e.g. Seven, Psychological e.g. Jacobs Ladder, Legal e.g. The Firm, Spy e.g. The Bourne Identity and Action e.g. Die Hard.

• Genre hybrids have the elements of two or more genres.

Characters • Protagonist: the protagonist is the ‘good guy’ in the film but in a lot of thrillers they

will have a lot of flaws. They are usually corrupted cops or detectives and are dragged into an extraordinary situation. For example mills in se7en.

• Antagonist: the antagonist is the ‘bad guy’ in the film and is usually mentally deranged and is a psychopath. Usually the antagonist back story is left a mystery. For example john doe in se7en.

• Characterization - Vladimir Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates that there were 8 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to other media; these 8 were:

• Villain• Hero• Donor (who provides the hero with essential objects)• Helper (someone who will aid the hero)• The princess (might be the prize for the hero, or captured by the villain)• Father of the princess (will reward the hero)• Dispatcher (may set the hero a task)• False hero (a deceptive character)

Narrative

the narrative of the thriller usually contains a negative storyline where the protagonist is unwillingly forced into an extraordinary situation. there is often crime at the core of the narrative for example in se7en the antagonist is a criminal and the protagonist works in crime prevention. the narrative structure is complex with false paths, clues and resolutions. the plot builds towards a climax. the climax is usually an unresolved problem but is narration is very restricted so you dont know whats going to happen. you will be left with riddles and questions at the end of the film and typically the antagonist wins and succeeds and his job for example in se7en john doe dies but he does what he wanted to do and completes the seven sins.

Mis en scene (placing on stage) • mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its

arrangement such as the sets, props, actors, costume and lighting. Location: the setting is important as it sets the scene and the atmosphere e.g. the raining and storminess in shutter island. We expect to see certain objects in thriller films this is called iconography, for example knives are a typical object associated with thriller films as they have connotations of blood, death, pain and brutality. A typical representation of this would be in the famous knife scene from Hitchcock's film 'Psycho'.

• Costume – the costume can set the scene in a thriller film, usually in a crime thriller there will be detectives dressed in smart suits and trench jackets for example teddy and and chuck in shutter island or policemen dressed in formal uniform. This gives the protagonist power and makes him look like there intelligent. It also shows what time in history the movie is shot in.

• Props – the props in a film can suggest the narrative of the film. The props generally used in thriller films are weapons for example knifes, guns and bombs etc. these things are used to harm people so when there seen on stage it generates thrill and suspense.

• Lighting / colour –lighting in thrillers is normally quite dark low lighting because darkness connotes fear and it creates suspense. red is usually associated with thriller films because red connotes danger, blood and murder. Sometimes films use a colour tint over the scene to create an atmosphere, for example putting a yellow tint on it makes the set look like a sickly, unattractive place. Some editors also de-saturate the colour to make the scene more life-less.

• Body language – someone's body language can show their emotion and personality and it can also show peoples relationships with each other. Their posture can show their power status and mood.

Sound • Diegetic sound – this refers to sound both the audience and the characters

can hear e.g. dialogue, typing, clapping and clicking. in thriller films they use sounds that creates suspense e.g. scratching, screaming and loud knocking etc. they usually enhance these sounds to make them louder to shock and thrill the audience.

• Non diegetic sound – this refers to sound that only the audience can hear for example soundtrack music is played to create suspense and build tension. The soundtrack music will synchronise with the action. Frequently The music will speed up when the action is coming towards the climax. Some movies use a voice over for example “the usual suspects” this critically acclaimed movie has actor Kevin spacey doing a voiceover the film. This puts the audience in rogers point of view.

• The soundtrack to “the matrix” is very fast paced and complements the action in the film perfectly. The soundtrack gets faster as it goes along and keeps increasing suspension and building tension. The music is there to make the action more thrilling and exciting for the audience. Matrix soundtrack

cinematography• Cinematography is the technique of film photography, including both the shooting

and development of the film. Thriller cinematography includes camera shots, angles and movement:

• Wide / long Establishing shot (WS) – This shot shows the audience a basic idea of the setting, the surroundings and the whole subject. In thriller films there usually isn’t an establishing shot because directors want the audience to have to work it out and keep them in the dark about it.

• Mid shot (MS) – this shot shows the audience a bit of background, and shows the subject in more detail and but still giving an impression of the whole subject. In thriller films it can show body language and other peoples relationships with each other. This is important in thrillers because the characters are very complex and hard to read. It also shows the costume which can tell the audience the era its set in. and it can show the class and wealth of the character.

• Close up (CS) – this shot focuses on a particular detail of the subject. And it shows the audience the emotion and mood of the subject.

Editing • Editing is the process of selecting, changing and preparing film shots and placing

them together. • Continuity editing – a system of cutting to maintain continuous and clear action, its

purpose is to make sure the audience doesn't notice the editing between shots and they flow properly. In thrillers they use obvious editing to draw attention to a certain object that is important to the storyline.

• Graphic contrast – this is when there's two conflicting images to make an impact. They do this in thrillers with the antagonist and the protagonist to show that the antagonist is a psychopath and doesn't’t show remorse.

• match cut – this is where an object or person is linked with another scene and it can show if its gone forward or back in time. In the film ‘brick’ graphic match is used when you see the the bracelet of the girl that’s dead and then when she's alive so this shows its gone back in time.

• match on action – this is where there is more than one shot for the action but it looks like the previous shot must match the next shot so it flows. This is an example of continuity.

• 180 degree rule – this rule is one that keeps the camera on one side of the action. This is so the audience doesn't get confused.

• Eyeline match – this is where the shot is focused on the eyes of the character. the person or object that they were looking at is off-screen. followed by a cut to the object or person.

• Parallel/cross cutting editing – this is an editing technique that establishes the switch from one action shot to another. And from one setting to another. In thrillers it can be used to create suspension. For example in silence of the lambs

Bibliography • http://www.imdb.com/search/title?genres=thriller

&title_type=feature&num_votes=1000,&sort=user_rating,desc

• http://hannahlovescomedy.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/textual-analysis-of-se7en/

• http://www.slideshare.net/Cissnei/conventions-of-thriller-films-and-tables-of-analysis

• http://www.slideshare.net/Theberhan/thriller-conventions-10192141?next_slideshow=1