A thriller is a genre of film that uses suspense, tension, and excitement to stimulate the audience's emotions. Thrillers keep audiences on the edge of their seats as the plot builds to a climax. There are many types of thriller films, including comedy thrillers, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, and supernatural thrillers. Key themes in thrillers include ransoms, revenge, kidnappings, stalking, and paranoia. Alfred Hitchcock is considered a famous director of thrillers, having made films like Psycho, The Birds, and Vertigo that followed thriller conventions of tension, pacing, lighting, protagonists, and suspense.

1. WHAT IS A THRILLER?
By Joe Davies

2. WHAT IS A THRILLER?
•
A thriller is a broad genre of movie which uses suspense, tension and excitement as its
main elements.
•
Thrillers stimulate the audiences mood, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultraheightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror.
•
Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline rushing.
•
A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, and exhilaration
•
It keeps the audience on the edge of their seats as the plot builds towards a climax.

3. DIFFERENT TYPES OF THRILLER MOVIES
•
Comedy Thrillers : A combination of humour and suspense and action e.g. Silver Streak
•
Conspiracy Thrillers : In which the hero or heroine confronts a large, powerful group of
enemies whose true extent only he or she recognizes e.g. The Da Vinci code
•
Crime Thrillers : A thriller that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime
or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal e.g. Silence of the Lambs
•
Erotic Thrillers : A thriller which has a focus on sexual relationships and eroticism e.g.
Basic Instinct
•
Legal Thrillers : A thriller in which the major characters are lawyers and their employees.
The system of justice itself is always a major part of these works e.g. The Client
•
Political Thrillers : A thriller where the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the
government that employs him e.g. The Ghost Writer

4. DIFFERENT TYPES OF THRILLER MOVIES
•
Psychological Thrillers : A thriller in which the conflict between main characters is mental
and emotional rather than physical until the final violent resolution e.g. The Talented Mr
Ripley
•
Spy Thrillers : A thriller in which the protagonist is generally a government agent who must
take violent action against agents of a rival government e.g. Taken.
•
Supernatural Thrillers : A thriller in which the film brings in an otherworldly element, such
as fantasy, mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists. E.g. What Lies Beneath
•
Techno Thrillers : A thriller in which the manipulation of sophisticated technology plays a
prominent part. There is a bit of action and science fiction e.g. Jurassic Park.

5. MAIN THEMES IN THRILLERS
•
Ransoms
•
Revenge
•
Kidnappings
•
Stalking
•
Obsession
•
Paranoia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeAiQF4CB9k
Kidnapping scene in Mystery date
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppjyB2MpxBU
A show of revenge in The Godfather, for trying to take his fathers life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twT4sAZOFQ0
A ransom scene in the film Ransom!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQme3XqjpCk
A scene showing stalking in the Roommate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DixnALMjos0
A scene of paranoia in Reign Over Me

6. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF THRILLERS
•
A thriller must be tension building
•
Must have fast paced editing
•
Must have low lighting
•
Must have a protagonist and antagonist
•
Must have an innocent citizen that gets dragged into danger
•
Must create feeling of excitement
•
Must create feeling of anticipation
•
Must create feeling of suspense
•
Must create feeling of uncertainty

7. ALFRED HITCHCOCK
•
A famous thriller director is Alfred Hitchcock
•
He has wrote a number of thriller movies such as Shadow Of A Doubt, The Birds, Psycho,
Vertigo, The 39 Steps, Dial M For Murder and Strangers On A Train.
•
Hitchcock's films were strongly believed to have been extensively storyboarded to the
finest detail
•
Much of Hitchcock's supposed dislike of actors has been exaggerated. Hitchcock simply
did not tolerate the method approach, as he believed that actors should only concentrate
on their performances and leave work on script and character to the directors and
screenwriters.
•
He was knighted by the Queen in 1980
•
Won 2 Golden Globes, 8 Laurel Awards and 5 lifetime achievement awards
•
The last project he worked on before he died was The Short Night.