2. Methods & Themes
Crime thrillers
Common methods and themes in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities,
heists, revenge and kidnappings.
Mystery thrillers
Common methods and themes in mystery thrillers are: investigations and the
whodunnit technique.
Psychological thrillers
Common methods and themes in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological
themes, stalking, confinement/death-traps, horror-of-personality, and obsession.
Paranoid thrillers
Common methods and themes in paranoid thrillers are fringe theories, false
accusations and paranoia.
Spy thrillers
Common methods and themes in spy thrillers are threats to entire countries, spies,
espionage, conspiracies, assassins and electronic surveillance.
3. The primary elements
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The protagonist faces either their own death or somebody else's.
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The force of antagonism should at first be stronger than the
protagonist's.
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The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a
character who cannot be put down.
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The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.
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The protagonist's point of view dominates the film's narrative
construction.
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The two major themes usually found in the thrillers are the desire
for justice and the morality of individuals.
•
The protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) may battle, themselves and
each other, not just physically, but mentally also.
•
Either by accident or their own curiousity, characters are dragged
into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared
to resolve.
4. Character types
Characters include:
Criminals, innocent victims (often on the run), menaced women
Characters with deep dark pasts:
Psychotic individuals, serial killers, sociopaths, agents, terrorists, cops and escaped
convicts, private eyes, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men&
women
The themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracies, pursuit or romantic
triangles leading to murder.
The protagonists are usually ordinary citizens unaccustomed to danger, although
commonly in crime thrillers, they may also be "hard men" accustomed to danger
such as police officers and detectives. While protagonists of thrillers have
traditionally been men, women lead characters are increasingly common. In
psychological thrillers, the protagonists rely on their mental resources, whether it
be by battling wits with the antagonist or by battling for equilibrium in their own
mind. The suspense often comes from two or more characters preying upon one
another's minds, either by playing deceptive 'mind games' with the other or by
merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.
5. Story
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Thriller plots involve characters who come into conflict with each other or
with outside forces – the threat is sometimes abstract or unseen. An
atmosphere of creepy menace and sudden violence, such as crime and
murder, characterize thrillers. Thrillers often present the world and
society as dark and corrupt, but evil is usually overcome in an upbeat
ending. The tension usually arises when the character(s) is placed in a
menacing situation, a mystery or a trap from which escaping seems
impossible. Life is threatened, usually because the principal character is
unsuspectingly or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially
deadly situation.
•
Thrillers emphasize the puzzle aspect of the plot. There are clues and the
viewer/reader should be able to determine the solution at about the
same times as the main character. In thrillers the compelling questions
isn’t necessarily who did it but whether the villain will be caught before
committing another crime. Hitchcock's films often placed an innocent
victim (an average, responsible person) into a strange, life-threatening or
terrorizing situation, in a case of mistaken identity, misidentification or
wrongful accusation.
6. Setting
•
Thrillers take place mostly in ordinary suburbs and cities,
although sometimes they may take place wholly or partly in
exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or
the high seas. Usually the tough, resourceful, but essentially
ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to
destroy them, their country or the stability of the free world.
Often in a thriller the protagonist is faced with what seem to
be insurmountable problems in his mission, carried out
against a ticking clock, the stakes are high and although
resourceful they face personal dilemmas along the way
forcing them to make sacrifices for others.
7. Setting
•
Thrillers take place mostly in ordinary suburbs and cities,
although sometimes they may take place wholly or partly in
exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or
the high seas. Usually the tough, resourceful, but essentially
ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to
destroy them, their country or the stability of the free world.
Often in a thriller the protagonist is faced with what seem to
be insurmountable problems in his mission, carried out
against a ticking clock, the stakes are high and although
resourceful they face personal dilemmas along the way
forcing them to make sacrifices for others.
