By Stephanie Woodward

2. It Is difficult to define the genre of thriller because it can cross over many other
genres such as Psychological thriller and even horror. However, there are some
specific characteristics that define thriller and one is that it “thrills” one who
watches/read it. The plots should be shocking and feature unexpected and
unanticipated events like car chases or murders. The characters in a thriller
should be placed in dangerous or thought provoking circumstances that intrigue
the audience and keep them hanging on the edge of their seat.
Thriller contains conventions that feature in all genres such as protagonists
(hero’s), antagonists (villain’s) and plots that build up to a “denouement” (wrap-up)
that shows the defeat of the antagonist; who is preferred to be extremely
malevolent in order to strike fear and suspense in the audience. Successful
thrillers usually include life-and-death issues which can fall under murder
mysteries and crime investigations but it is most important to place the
significant characters (protagonists) in serious danger in order for the audience to
sympathise. Finally, the genre of thriller; if it is successful; should leave the
audience biting their nails and double checking their home security at night!

3. The genre of Thriller has been in existence since the early 20th century, one of the
first films to be made in the genre was called “The Lodger: A story of the London
Fog”. It was a silent film due to the lack of technology in that time period but
nevertheless, succeeded at conveying the themes and conventions of a thriller film
through suspense-inducing camera angles and techniques such as extreme close
up shots and screenshots of cryptic dialogue that make up for the lack of audio,
diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.
In contrast, contemporary film has the advantage with the advances of latest
technology and the ability to edit using software's and even use the technique
known as “Foley” to add in anything in the soundtrack that might need buffering.
A great example of contemporary thriller is the film “Se7en” (1995).

4. Considering the potential explicitness of the genre thriller, the target audience
will range from 18 to 30. It would be a problem for younger audiences because
thriller is very intellectually demanding and potentially distressing as it might
have gruesome, gory features. It would be unethical to let audiences below the age
of 15 witness graphic imagery. Our target audience is sure to be a very pensive
group of people who like to be intellectually challenged because Thriller films
typically involve solving some sort of puzzle or even a crime. A plot of a Thriller
has to be thought provoking and completely unanticipated in order to be
successfully “thrilling”. Our audience needs to be mature and able to sympathise
or empathise with the protagonists in order to support the right character
throughout the plot. They must be accustomed to viewing explicit and graphic
images otherwise they may be to “squeamish” and “resistant” to watch the film.

5. The primary purpose of a thriller is to simply “thrill” it’s target audience with
surprising/shocking plots and suspense inducing camera work (e.g. disorientating
camera angles), fast paced soundtracks (e.g. that resemble heart beats) and
intriguing protagonists with menacing antagonists. It has to be thought
provoking by providing a dramatic conclusion that avoids conventional endings
that are predictable from their over-use. This means the thriller has to be unique
with it’s climax.

6. One of the most successful thriller films made is the 1960 film “Psycho” which was
directed by Alfred Hitchcock and runs for 109 minutes in black and white. It is
based around a secretary who steals a large amount of her employers money and
manages to escape with it into a motel that is operated by a young man who is
very ordered and dominated by his mother. It has an eerie setting especially as it
maintains a black and white composition. This makes the overall vibe lack
generalizability because society is used to seeing colour to help translate the
emotion being conveyed for a character. Although, the lack of colour does connote
the fight between the forces of good and evil or the innocent VS the menacing. A
few more examples of successful thriller films are; Silence Of The Lambs (1990)
and The Shining (1980) which are considered more recent than Psycho.

7.  Alfred Hitchcock (born 1899) directed
Psycho in 1960 and Vertigo in 1958. He was
often nicknamed “The Master Of Suspense”
from his success in the media industry.
 David Fincher (born 1962) directed Se7en
and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
 Martin Scorsese (born 1942) directed
Shutter Island in 2010 and The Departed in
2006.
Each film director has produced thrillers in
very contrasting periods of society. Despite
some being limited to the equipment available
at the time they all managed to produce
equally successful thriller films through
CREATIVITY and thinking outside the box.

8. Paramount Pictures