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1. GENRE ANALYSIS: Thriller
A thrillerisagenre of literature,filmandtelevisionthataimstoheavilystimulate viewer’smoods,
givingthemfeelingsof suspense,excitement,anticipationandanxiety.A movie classedasathriller
shouldkeepthe audiencegrippedandonthe edge of theirseats,usuallywithaplotthatbuilds
towardsa climax. Some examplesof thrillersproducedwithinthe filmindustryinclude:
Inception The BourneUltimatum Sixth Sense 127 Hours Elephant
One of the earliestthrillerstobe producedwasHaroldLloyd’s Safety Last(1923) whichinvolvedan
Americanboyperformingadaredevilstuntonthe side of a skyscraper.The Germanfilm M(1931)
followed,achillingstorybased onserial killerPeterKurten,andthenEdwardSutherland’s Murders
in the Zoo in 1933. No listof suspense orthrillerfilmscanbe complete withoutmentionof English
film-maker/directorAlfredHitchcock.He helpedtoshape the modern-daythrillergenre,beginning
withhisearlysilentfilmTheLodger(1927), a suspenseful Jack-the-Ripperstory,followedbyhisnext
thrillerBlackmail(1929).
COMMONCODES & CONVENTIONS
Lookingspecificallyatsome of the mostsuccessful thrillersof the past,we cansee that there are
commoncodesand conventions. Characterchoice hasapatternacross the genre,withmany
thrillersincludingone ormore of the following:psychoticcharacters,spies,prisoninmates,convicts,
soldiers,stalkers,menassociatedwithdanger,assassins,law enforcementofficersorinnocent
civiliansthatgetdraggedintotrouble.The themesof thrillersalsofollowapattern;manyfocuson
terrorism,crime,political conspiracy,psychological mindgames,supernatural events,spies,chases,
assassinationsandgeneral suspense.Itisimportantthatmoviesof thisgenre follow orlinkto
certaincodesand conventionsasitmakesitclearto the audience whattype of filmtheyare
watching.Often,producersanddirectorswillmove slightlyawayfromcommoncodesand
conventionstomake the movie unpredictable andunique,buttoofaraway couldcreate a movie of
a differentgenre altogether. Examplesof filmswithtwistedplotsandsurpriseendingstocapture
out audiencesinclude:
 Bryan Singer’s TheUsualSuspects(1995), a mysterysurroundingthe characterof a
Hungarianmobster
 DavidFincher’s Se7en (1995), aboutthe search fora serial killerwhore-enactsthe seven
deadlysins
 M. NightShyamalan's TheSixthSense(1999), abouta youngboy whosees"deadpeople"
 ChristopherNolan's Memento (2000),a tale toldbackwards,withGuyPearce as a tattooed
man withoutshort-termmemory,whohuntsdownthe allegedrapist-killerof hiswife

2. Anotherareaof conventionswouldbe the feelingsthatthrillerscommonlyaimtocreate.Many will
produce excitement,anticipation,suspense,tension,anxietyanduncertaintyacrossanaudience.
Thrillersare alsolikelytoincludesimilariconography,involvinguse of tensionbuildingmusic,fast
pacedediting,lowlighting,weapons,carsand urbansettings. Generally,aswell asconventionsand
codes,thrillerswill pursueamaingoal:to provide thrillsandkeepthe audience at‘the edge of their
seat.’Thiswill oftenbe reachedbycommonnarratives.Manythrillerswill includeplotsinwhich
characters come intoconflictwitheachotheror perhapslife itself isthreatened,usuallybecausea
maincharacter is unknowinglyinvolved inadangeroussituation.
DIRECTORS WITHIN THE GENRE
AlfredHitchcock
Sir AlfredJosephHitchcockwasan Englishfilmdirectorandproducer.He pioneeredmany
techniqueswithinthe psychological thrillergenre andwasbilledasEngland’sbestdirector. His
moviesincludePsycho(1960),Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo(1958).
QuentinTarantino
QuentinJerome TarantinoisanAmericanfilmdirector,screenwriter,producerandactor.His films
commonlyfollow nonlinearstorylinesandfeature lotsof violence. He hasbeencalleda“DirectorDJ”
as he combinesoldpicturesandsoundstomake new ones.Hismoviesinclude PulpFiction(1994)
and ReservoirDogs(1992).
Martin Scorsese
Martin CharlesScorsese isanAmericanfilmdirector,screenwriter,producer,actorandfilm
historian.He iswidelyregardedasone of the bestdirectorsof all time andin2007 he foundedthe
WorldCinemaFoundation.Hismoviesinclude Taxi Driver(1976),RagingBull (1980) andGoodfellas
(1990).
ACTORS WITHIN THE GENRE
Anthony Hopkins
Sir PhillipAnthonyHopkinsisawelshactor,consideredtobe one of the greatestlivingactorsand
probablyknownbestforhisportrayal off ‘Hannibal Lecter’inthe thriller‘The Silenceof the Lambs’.
As well ashisAcademyAward,he haswon3 Bafta awards,2 Emmysand a Cecil B DeMille Golden
Globe award.
LeonardoDicaprio
LeonardoDicaprioisan Americanactor and filmproducer,andownerof a productioncompany
namedAppianWayProductions.He hasstartedin the hitfilm‘ShutterIsland’whichwasranked
amongthe biggestcommercial successesof hiscareer.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole KidmanisanAustralian-Americanactressandfilmproducer.Kidmanbeganfeaturingin
variousfilmtelevisionproductionsuntil herbreakthroughinthe 1989 thriller ‘DeadCalm’.She has
alsostarredin the psychological thriller‘Others’andhaswonthe Academyawardfor bestactress.

3. FILM COMPANIESWITHIH THE GENRE
Fox SearchlightPictures
Fox SearchlightPictures,establishedin1994, is an Americanfilmdistributioncompanywithinthe
Fox Entertainmentgroup.ItspecialisesinUSdistributionof independentandBritishfilms,aswell as
those withinthe horrorandthrillergenres.A notable filmbyFox SearchlightPictureswouldbe Black
Swan,an Americanpsychological thriller-horror.
OrionPicturesCorporation
OrionPicturesCorporation isanAmericandistributioncompanythatproducedandreleasedfilms
from1978 until 1999, andwas alsoinvolvedintelevisionproductionthroughoutthe 1980’s.
Althoughitwasnevera large motionpicture producer,Orionachievedacomparativelyhigh
reputationforHollywood quality. One of itsrecognisablemovieswouldbe The Silenceof the Lambs,
an AmericanthrillerfilmdirectedbyJonathonDemme.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios Inc.isanAmericanfilmstudioownedbyComcastandfoundedbyalarge group of
people:Carl Laemmle,MarkDintenfass, CharlesO.Baumann,AdamKessel, PatPowers,William
Swanson, DavidHorsley,RobertH.Cochrane,and JulesBrulatour.Itisthe world’sfourtholdest
majorfilmstudiosandhasproducedsome of the mostrecognisable thrillerswithinthe filmindustry.
An example of one wouldbe StevenSpeilberg’sJaws,anAmericanthrillerwhichfollowsthe attacks
of a greatwhite sharkon AmityIsland.
NewLine FilmProductions
NewLine FilmProductionsisanAmericanfilmproductioncompanyfoundedbyRobertShaye in
1967, whichthenlaterbecame anindependentfilmstudio.Thriller filmsproducedbyNew Line
include Alone inthe Dark(1982), Orderof Death(1983) and Seven(1995).
ScreenGems
ScreenGemsisan Americanfilmproductioncompany- adiversionof SonyPicturesEntertainment
and ColombiaPictures. Thrillerfilmsproduced byScreenGemsincludeScarecrow (2014),DeliverUs
From Evil (2014), The Exorcismof EmilyRose (2005) and Boogeyman(2005).
HammerFilms
HammerFilmsisa BritishfilmproductioncompanybasedinLondon.Thrillerfilmsproducedby
HammerFilmsinclude The WomaninBlack(2012), The QuietOnes(2014) andX The Unknown
(1956)
AWARDS GIVENOUT WITHIN THE GENRE
The Empire Award
The Empire Awardfor BestThrillerisan Empire Awardpresentedannuallybythe Britishfilm
magazine Empire.Ithonoursthe bestthrillerfilmof the previousyear andisone of fournew Best
Filmongoingawardswhichwere firstintroducedatthe 11th Empire Awards ceremonyin2006.
RecentwinnersincludeThe ImitationGame in2015, The HungerGames:CatchingFire in2014,
Headhuntersin2013 and TinkerTailorSoldierSpyin2012.

4. Saturn AwardforBest ThrillerFilm
The Saturn Awardfor BestThrillerFilm isanaward presentedtothe bestfilminthe thrillergenre by
the Academyof Science Fiction,FantasyandHorror films.Winnersof the pastinclude PulpFictionin
1994, The Usual Suspectsin1995, SavingPrivate Ryanin1998, Kill Bill:Volume 1in2003 and SinCity
in2005.
Crime ThrillerAwardswithSpecsavers
The Crime ThrillerAwardsare presentedannuallyandpresentsthe award‘Thrillerfilmof the Year’.
The inaugural eventwasheldon3 October2008 at the GrosvenorHotel,hostedbycomedian
and JonathanCreek actorAlanDavies.Itwas televisedon ITV3on6 October. Recentwinnersinclude
Skyfall in2013, TinkerTailorSoldierSpyin2012, True Grit in 2011, Inceptionin2010 and Gran
Torinoin 2009.
SUBGENRES- Psychological Thrillers
The thrillergenre caninclude the followingsub genres:action,comedy,conspiracy,crime,horror,
legal,political,psychological,supernaturalandtechno/scientific. Iamparticularlyinterestedinthe
subgenre of a psychological thriller. Itisa subgenre whichemphasisesthe psychologyof its
characters andtheirunstable emotional states.Like itsbroadercategoryof athriller,psychological
thrillerswillfollow codesandconventions. Theytendtofollow certainthemessuchasfocuson
death,reality,identity,existence andpurpose. Psychologicalthrillerswill alsofollowcertain
technical codes…
Mirrors: oftenusedtoportray the use of reflectionof acharactersinnerself,aswell asrepresenting
the ‘dark side’of some characters.
Shadow and low key lighting:usedtoadd tensionina scene, andto representthe innerdarkness
withinthe characters.
Flashbacks: can showwhat happenedpreviouslytogive aninsightintothe characterspast.
Tensionmusic: usedto setthe moodand create suspense orshockthe audience.
Quick cuts, obtrusive and montage editing:usedto highlightthe feelingsof suspenseandtension,
mainlyduringimportantscenes.
Black and white colouring: increaseseffectivenessof shadows
Psychological thrillersalsoseemtoincludecertaincharactertypes.These maybe convicts,criminals,
stalkers,assassins,innocentvictims,prisoninmates,characterswithdarkpasts,psychotic
individuals,terrorists,police,FBIandpeople involvedintwistedrelationships.Thisgenre alsohas
typical mise-en-scenefeatures;locationisaveryimportantelementof a thrillerandthe majorityof
scenesare setin modernplacesandurbancities.The countryside isnotoftenusedasitcouldbe
confusedwithhorror. Claustrophobicspacescanalsobe usedto represententrapmentof the mind.