Thriller Genre – Genre Research
Notes on Thriller Genre/ History of Thriller
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Thriller uses suspense and excitement in elements
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Thriller give audiences, high levels of anticipation,
uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror.
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Thrillers tend to be adrenaline-rush, gritty,
rousing and fast paced.
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Keeps the audience on the ‘edge of their seats’,
making a sensation of hanging from a cliff, as the plot builds up towards a
climax.
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Thrillers use red hearings, plot twists and
cliff hangers extensively, which adds to the tension and makes the climax more
powerful.
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A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot,
whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.
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Sub-genres are psychological thrillers, crime
thrillers, erotic thrillers, mystery thrillers, and spy thrillers.
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Successful examples of thrillers are the films
of Alfred Hitchcock.
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E.g. Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest and
Rear Window…etc.
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| This is a picture of Alfred Hitchcock |
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| The poster above is an image of Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' |
Conventions used for Thriller.
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Thrillers are mostly characterized by a mood of
menace, violence, crime and murder by showing society in a dark dangerous way.
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Most the time they often feature a happy ending
in which antagonists are killed or arrested.
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Quick cuts and variation of shot sizes and
camera angles, as well as a great use of incidental music.
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Mirrors and Stairs are convention for thriller
movies.
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Lighting and the use of shadows plays a big
part.
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Some thrillers use flashbacks and elliptical
editing, to make the audience sympathise/empathise with the protagonist- Psychological
Thrillers.
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Murder Mystery Thrillers-Early revelation of the
murderer’s identity.
Directors/Films associated with the
thriller genre.
Harold Lloyd
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Harold Lloyd’s comic Safety Last! (1923) with a
character of daredevil stunt on the side of a skyscraper.
)
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His films frequently contained ‘Thriller
Sequences’ of extended chase scenes and daredevil stunt on the side of a
skyscraper.
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Lloyd hanging from the hands of a clock high
above the street in Saftey Last! (1923) is one of the most enduring images in
all of cinema.
Fritz Lang
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Fritz Lang’s ‘M’.
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Uses silence and sparse dialogue.
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Use of Shadows
· Lang used sound as if it were another visual
element, editing it freely.
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Notably is how Lang used the design of sound to
overcome space and time issues.
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Through his use of dialogue over the visuals,
time collapses and the audience moves all about the city with greater ease than
if he straight-cut the visuals.
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Alfred Hitchcock
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Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Vertigo, North by
Northwest and Rear Window…etc.
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Alfred Hitchcock believed that a comic opening
is essential for suspense. ‘The more happy-go-lucky the setting, the greater
the kick you get from sudden introduction of drama.
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He framed shots to manipulate the feelings of
the audience and maximize anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film,
editing to demonstrate the point of view of the characters.
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