notes on thriller films for media studies

1. Notes
Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television, having numerous subgenres.
Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit; giving viewers heightened
feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Thriller Film is a genre
that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience
alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem –
an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will
emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built
on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax.
1920s-1930s: a man called Alfred Hitchcock made his first thriller a silent film called the
lodger his next film in 1929 was called blackmail. From 1935 most of Alfred Hitchcock’s films
were thrillers. 1940’s Hitchcock continued to direct suspense thrillers in 1941 he went on to
release his own film called suspense. From the 1920’s to the present day thriller has been a
very big genre of film that has got better and better from editing as the years have gone on.
Crime thriller
Is particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful
account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal
rather than a policeman. Central topics of these films include serial
killers/murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses. Examples are No
country for old men and the departed.
Horror thrillers
Type of film that blends the horror and thriller genres: focusing on suspense, tension
and adrenaline while having an emphasis on fear, terror and/or gore. Many horror
films tend to cross over into the thriller genre due to their suspenseful and tense
nature. Personages of supernatural origin may be present in such films
Examples of this are Saw and Jaws
What is the difference between thriller and horror?
Horror films focus mainly on gore and death whereas thriller films focus on things that make
the audience feel suspense whether it be scary or not, most scary thrillers contain
supernatural activity where you can’t physically see the person.
Key thriller films
 Paranormal activity
 Saw
 Jaws

2.  The silence of the lambs
 Shutter island
 Panic room
 Awake
Key stars
 Neve Campbell
 David Arquette
 Anna Panquin
 Steven Yeun
 Laurence Fishburne
Key directors of thrillers
 Alfred Hitchcock
 Christopher Nolan
 David Lynch
 Roman Polanski
Typical thriller films
A typical thriller is normally set somewhere that seems a bit sketchy and so the audience feel
like its unsafe, a lot of the time it involves someone being taken by someone or tormented by
a spirit to keep the audience in suspense, a lot of the time in thrillers the audience will find
out information before the characters in the film do to allow the audience to feel more
engaged with the characters because they know something bad will happen. The main prop
in thrillers is usually a gun, it will always have something to do with the suspense build up.
Case study of a film
One film that fits into this genre well is Taken which is an action-thriller, it is a thriller
because it involves thee characters daughter being kidnapped and his journey trying to find
her, the fact that the girl is kidnapped and the audience doesn’t know who by creates the
main suspense of the film, there are times when you think the main character is coming close
to finding her but gets set back which again is another way suspense is created, it is an
action thriller because it involves a lot of action, there’s a lot of guns and fighting between
people which puts this under the genre of action, this also creates suspense at the same time
and so make it fit perfectly as an action-thriller.