Thrillers

What is a Thriller?
A Thriller is a genre of film, designed to create unrest with the audience's emotions and as the name suggests they give the audience a thrill. Thrillers are a popular genre of film due to the rollercoaster ride of emotions, they appeal to people of all demographics.

Examples of Thrillers:
- Sucker Punch (dir. Zack Snyder 2011)

- Se7en (Seven) (dir. David Fincher 1995)

- Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan 2010)

- Pulp Fiction (dir. Quentin Tarantino 1994)

- Shutter Island (dir. Martin Scorsese 2010)

Codes and Conventions of Thrillers:

Camera Shots and Movement:

Point of View - these shots are used so that the audience will identify and sympathise with the character and also so the audience feels immersed within the narrative and plot.
Handheld Cameras - these add to the panic and adrenaline of a scene, such as a chase scene or a fight scene.
Close-ups and Extreme Close-ups - close-ups of a characters features or objects increase the intensity or building of stress and tension. Such as in the film Se7en, the close-up of the murderer's face is framed by the grill in the police car.
Cantered angles - these odd  angles are used in thrillers so the audience can see that something is not quite right, or that something bad is just about to happen.
Match on Action - when going from scene to scene, the pace must be kept and so the action must match, a good example of match on action between two scenes is from the film Mission impossible 3 when going from an office to a chase/action scene.

Suspense and Music:
Suspense is a key element to any Thriller film; it is the building and release of the tension that pulls the audience to the edge of their seats. Suspense can be increased by Camera Movement and music. The music in films such as Hitchcock's Psycho, where sharp strings are used to shake the audience and give them a rush of excitement, or in films such as Nolan's Inception, the music quietly builds up and then blasts out at strategic points to keep the audience's hearts racing.

The Plot:
The plot of a thriller has to have twists and turns throughout to keep the audience involved, thrillers often contain a lot more dialogue then other genres, the violence in thrillers is usually implied and contains much less gore than a horror film. A thriller can be open-ended so the audience can take what they want from the end, such as in Inception you are unsure whethter the main character is still dreaming at the end, or in Shutter Island, it is not made explicit whether the main protagonist is insane or not. Or a similar technique used is when elements of a story are given at different times, so the audience knows just as much as the character on-screen.

Red Herrings (Plot Twists):
Plot Twists are used throughout a Thriller film, this is to keep the audience guessing and to make sure that the audience feels involved with the plot, for example in a mystery Thriller audience members will likely make guesses as to who the culprit is. There can be a final plot twist in a Thriller used to give the audience one last shock. Such as, in the film Sucker Punch, it is not till the end that you find out the main character, is not the main character, it is a different character who is the protagonist, this is hinted at throughout the film.

Death:
Thrillers usually revolve around or encompass death; the endings of Thrillers tend not to be happy and can even end with the death of the film's protagonist. A mystery Thriller will usually be centred on the murder of a character or an action thriller will include numerous character's deaths, deaths that are close to the main character tend to affect the audience and increase the desire for the protagonist to succeed.

Lighting:
The lighting in Thrillers tends to be low key, this is so the audience cannot see everything this increases their intrigue and makes sure that the audience pays full attention to the film, because they do not want to miss anything important

Hidden Identity and Blurred Images:
Just like the frequent low-key lighting, blurred images and hidden identity are devices used to increase the tension, if a point of view shot is used on a character that has been knocked-out they do not see their attacker because of the blurred image, this adds to the realism of the film as well as frustrating and intriguing the audience.