thriller research
TRANSCRIPT
GENRE RESEARCH
THRILLER
WHAT IS A THRILLER
A thriller is a movie that is created to keep the
viewer “On the edge of their seat” using suspense
and tension which provides sudden rush of emotions,
excitement and exhilaration which makes the
audience feel a sensation of hanging from a cliff, as
the plot builds towards a climax.
WHAT DOES IT NEED TO ACHIEVE?
For a thriller to succeed it needs to make the audience feel
certain emotions that they would usually feel when watching a
traditional thriller. It needs to keep the audience pondering
what is going to unfold in the forthcoming scenes. For example,
in a crime thriller you are wondering throughout the film: will
they ever catch the criminal or will they uncover who the
murderer is. Also, it needs to keep certain plot points from the
audience so that at the end of the film, the audience will feel
like they never saw that coming.
COMMON THRILLER CONVENTIONS
Common Thriller conventions include:
Tense and suspenseful atmosphere
Dull and washed out colours (through costume
and scenery)
Tense, fast paced and mysterious music
Confusing plot points and plot twists
Themes of justice and morality
HOW HAVE THRILLERS DEVELOPED THROUGH HISTORY
Many of the best thrillers were made by Alfred
Hitchcock who has been deemed as one of the
greatest directors of all time. Something that has
developed in thrillers over the years is that at first it
was hard to tell the difference between thrillers and
horrors with examples being Psycho and Jaws but
today have evolved into incorporating more action in
to thrillers with examples being Taken and Inception.