Thriller Genre
Codes and Conventions
By Joe Hawker
What is Thriller?
Thriller films include numerous and
often overlapping sub-genres other
known as a genre hybrid. Thriller
genre tends to provide a suspenseful
adventure within the narrative. The
sub-genres mainly consist of
elements of action and horror, hence
why most thriller films are
characterized by fast pacing and
frequent action. Thrillers usually have
a protagonist that must travel and
journey by planning to overcome the
more powerful and better equipped
villains.
Thriller Associations
One particular generic feature of a thriller is entrapment. Thus claustrophobic
spaces are a key generic signifier in thriller. Thrillers that include this sense of
tight proximity are:
• Flightplan - location - plane
• Snakes on a Plane - location - plane
• Phonebooth - location - phonebooth
• Kill bill 2 - location - buried in a coffin
• Jeepers Creepers – location – the pipe
• What Lies Beneath – location – underwater in bath tub
• Panic room – location – the panic room
• Speed – location – on the bus
• Final Destination – location – in the sun bed
Thriller Association Continued…
Thrillers, similar to Horror can also show
signs of iconoclasm. This is where a
theme of religion is commonly
evident and religious symbols act as a
motif throughout the narrative. This
can make the audience digest a sense
of spiritualism and where super
natural activity can allow the
imagination to evolve into reality.
Example of films such as these include
‘Devils Advocate’, ‘Van Helsing’ and
‘The Exorcist’.
Thriller Narrative and Target Audience
Most thriller films are classified either 15 or 12A where as horrors are
usually rated 18. However, as thriller is a hybrid containing various
generic elements there has to be a consideration to the target
audience. As thrillers can be seen as being less graphic than horrors,
the rating is suitable for teenagers to view and therefore has an aim for
this particular target audience. However despite a younger target
audience, this genre can also attract older generations as some
consider horrors to be too overwhelming whereas thriller can consist
of a more complex narrative and this is where this genre receives the
reputation. Films such as ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Memento’ and
‘Seven’ all show signs of a twisting plot and this involves the spectator
as a participant to the narrative as the audience begin to respond to
the enigma.
Cinematography
• The micro-element cinematography is a key ingredient that
helps define a thriller film. Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’ is arguably
one of the best thriller films of all time and is notorious for
the creative cinematography. This film was the first to
introduce the iconic camera technique ‘reverse-zoom’ and
in this particular scene played an excellent representative
of the character’s fear of heights.
Vertigo
Cinematography in Thrillers
What shot?
What is it?
What does it mean?
Canted shot
A camera position that is on a sloped
angle.
Conveys a sense of disease or illness
towards the characters position.
Hand-held
‘Shaky- cam’ or unsteady camerawork.
It suggests unprepared or unrehearsed
filming and can provide a sense of
dynamics, immersion, instability or
nervousness. Gives the reader that what
is being shown is a ‘live’ recording which
enhances the feeling of reality.
Vertical or birds-eye shot
A steep camera image that is usually
constructed through the use of a crane.
Portrays a disorientated and
uncomfortable feel for the spectator. Can
often be used to intensify scenes that
include large heights.
Duality shot
An image that involves a reflection (e.g.
in a mirror or a reflection in water).
Is affective to illustrate two sides of an
individual or plot. Can sometimes filter a
clear image, hiding a ‘killer’s identity’
which creates questions to the audience
to whom the culprit is.
Reverse- zoom shot a.k.a. The Hitchcock
shot.
A camera technique when the
cinematographer uses the ‘zoom’ control
but moves backwards with the camera.
Emphasises the idea of "falling-awayfrom-oneself feeling" or a feeling of
unreality, or to suggest that a character is
undergoing a realization that causes him
or her to reassess everything he or she
had previously believed.
Mise-en-scene
• The micro-element mise-en-scene is a broad sector that refers
to the lighting, setting, costume, props and character
movement, expression and performance.
In the thriller film ‘Kill Bill’ (Tarrantino), the
mise-en-scene plays a key role throughout the
narrative. The use of black costumes and masks
in the picture shown is an indicator to the unity
of an evil force and in this case represents the
villain(s). Distinguishable by the unique hero
costume, the character movement within the
protagonist is significant. In this scene despite
being a female associated as the weaker gender
and the fact the male dominate in numbers, she
learns to overcome the more powerful and
better equipped villains which is a convention
often used in thriller films.
Mise-en-scene continued…
• In the film ‘Seven’ (Fincher), the Mise-en-scene is particular significant as
it becomes a representative of the deadly sin lust. The picture below
shows the scene where they enter an underground brothel. In this specific
scene the lighting is deliberately altered and a strong tint of red is utilised.
The colour red is often associated with danger or indeed the sin lust and in
this case symbolizes both. This exaggerated lighting also denotes the
blood of the new discovered murder and conveys this sense of evilness
within the narrative, which is why Mise-en-scene is a key component in
Seven by constructing sub-conscious clues to the spectator allowing us to
attempt tosolve the investigation ourselves.
Editing
• When used appropriately, the editing in thriller films can help
develop a purpose in the narrative. As editing is a mirco-element
operated during post-production, certain editing tools can be
applied to modify an image after its original caption. In the thriller
film ‘Sin city’, the whole film was produced in black and white,
however the colour red was the only colour deliberately filtered in
some scenes to again emphasize a sense of danger and the emotion
of lust.
Other conventional editing
techniques used in film which tend
to act as narrative devices are:
•Transitional fades to help move the
narrative on
•Slow or fast motion to exaggerate a key
image or point
•Special effects to perceive unrealistic
images to seem ‘real’
Sound
• Sound is a major participant in films and can almost articulate the mood
or emotion of a narrative. In the sci-fi thriller Terminator 2 (Cameron), the
non-digetic music is imperative throughout the film as it enhances the
villain’s representation. The music also acts as a motif and is continually
repeated throughout the narrative especially in the scenes where the
villain is shown as it is employed to embellish the villain’s command to
‘terminate’, which engages the audience with the motive ‘I’m coming to
get you’. The sounds in this thriller film tend to quite dissonant and
asynchronous as it contains a considerable use of percussion instruments
to symbolize the futuristic background.