Conventions of Thrillers

2. A Phoenix secretary steals $40,000 from
her employer's client, goes on the run and
checks into a remote motel run by a young
man under the domination of his mother.

3. She’s in her hotel room,
alone. Creating an eery
atmosphere
She’s in a closed room, having a
shower behind curtain,
suggesting she private and safe.
Her facial expression makes
her seem content, safe and
happy. Fooling the audience.
No dialogue used before creating
atmosphere but her screaming in
the shower scares the audience.
Blood in the shower to show
the audience she is dead.
Knife used by murderer to
stab her, the weapon adds
danger to situation.

4. • We see sound used throughout to create atmosphere and
scare the audience.
• At the start of the clip we hear a classic, low tempo, quiet
melody to ease the audience.
• This melody fades out and into the scene being completely
digetic sounds.
• The main sound we hear is the running of the shower when
she gets in the shower, it’s a calming, natural sound, easing
the viewer.
• But, it’s suddenly cut into with loud high pitched screeches
as the murderer pulls open the shower curtain.
• Screaming then follows from the girl, coupled with the
easing of the eerie music into more deeper sounds.
• It then fades back to the sound of the shower, creating a
loop in sound, however this time when the sound is played,
it’s a very different situation.

5. We see the use of deliberate blocking,
this hot, shadows the murderer and
creates suspense.
We see the use of quick action cuts in
shot when the girl is being attacked,
creating a sense of mayhem.
Wide angle shot to show her all alone,
safe, but alone. Making a point to the
audience.
Pan shot, tracking her calm movement
toward the shower. Showing she feels safe
and there is nothing to worry about.

6. • We see editing used throughout to create atmosphere and
build tension for the fore coming scene.
• One of the main tools used in editing/filming, is the decision
to film in black and white. Hitchcock chose to make the film
a black and white, to create atmosphere and make it seem
as unnatural as possible, displacing the audience.
• The use of continuity editing when she walks from the desk
to the shower is perfect, flowing, this makes the scene
seem natural and innocent.
• We then are interrupted by the perfectly time continuity
editing with quick sharp cutting shots of the attack scene.
This change, again, displaces the audience and shocks them
into felling scared and on edge.

7. A boy who communicates with spirits that
don't know they're dead seeks the help of a
disheartened child psychologist.

8. The broken window in the bedroom
shocks the audience as they are not
expecting this.
The man in the bathroom socks the audience
as he is half naked in his pants with bruises
and pale tone. He scares the audience
The opening sequence is set in a house, in one
part the wife goes down to the cellar to pick
up wine and shivers, displacing the audience.
The husband and wife are both dressed very
well, either panning to go out soon or have
just come back from a major event.

9. • We see sound used throughout to create atmosphere and
scare the audience.
• During the opening credits we hear an eerie drone that
develops into a tension building melody.
• The scene then cuts to totally to digetic sound, with the
wife going down into the cellar to get wine. This scene
creates an eerie atmosphere, the natural sounds and odd
silence evokes emotion from the audience.
• When the wife returns to the living room she engages in
light hearted normal dialogue with her husband, lightening
and normalising the mood.
• However, when they go to the bedroom it falls silent again
and we hear eerie sounds creep in when we see the broken
glass.
• The eerie sounds peak when we see the weird man and
when he further goes on to shoot the husband we hear the
cutting loud bang of the gun. Displacing the audience.

10. Panning shot to the man in the bathroom. It
reveals him to the audience slowly, so it doesn’t
scare the audience but makes them feel out of
place.
Tracking shot in the opposite direction the
weird man, going away from the camera
to show closure of the scene.
We see a shot at the start in the cellar
through wine bottles. This creates the effect
someone is there watching her, with her.
We also see the couple through the man’s
mirrored award. The couple are seen romantically
clutching another, providing safety.

11. A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and
relies on his old skills to save his estranged
daughter, who has been kidnapped while on
a trip to Paris.

12. The broken window in the bedroom
shocks the audience as they are not
expecting this.
The man in the bathroom socks the audience
as he is half naked in his pants with bruises
and pale tone. He scares the audience
The opening sequence is set in a house, in one
part the wife goes down to the cellar to pick
up wine and shivers, displacing the audience.
The husband and wife are both dressed very
well, either panning to go out soon or have
just come back from a major event.

13. • We see sound used throughout to create atmosphere and
scare the audience.
• During the opening credits we hear an eerie drone that
develops into a tension building melody.
• The scene then cuts to totally to digetic sound, with the
wife going down into the cellar to get wine. This scene
creates an eerie atmosphere, the natural sounds and odd
silence evokes emotion from the audience.
• When the wife returns to the living room she engages in
light hearted normal dialogue with her husband, lightening
and normalising the mood.
• However, when they go to the bedroom it falls silent again
and we hear eerie sounds creep in when we see the broken
glass.
• The eerie sounds peak when we see the weird man and
when he further goes on to shoot the husband we hear the
cutting loud bang of the gun. Displacing the audience.

14. Panning shot to the man in the bathroom. It
reveals him to the audience slowly, so it doesn’t
scare the audience but makes them feel out of
place.
Tracking shot in the opposite direction the
weird man, going away from the camera
to show closure of the scene.
We see a shot at the start in the cellar
through wine bottles. This creates the effect
someone is there watching her, with her.
We also see the couple through the man’s
mirrored award. The couple are seen romantically
clutching another, providing safety.