Iconography and Conventions of THRILLERS.

+ THRILLER INFORMATION

Thriller Definition and Origins.

Thriller films are meant to be thrilling exciting, full of suspense, enigmas and twists and in some ways dark. Thrillers originate from Victorian period, from stories such as The Count of Monte Cristo.

Characters!
Main protagonist/s and antagonist/s. For example heroes and villains. Often they can be corrupted and by the end of the film changed to opposite. Psychos, detectives, assassins, victims, criminals, doctors, policemen, students, families.

Narrative!
Death (pre-determined, murder, accidental, suicide. Red Herring. Being Watched. Being Followed. Being Trapped. Deception. Elements of intrigue, enigma, suspense and twists.

Several Important Themes!

Entrapment. Isolation. Voyeurism. Revenge. Gain. Violence. Psychosis.

Important Iconographic Elements!

Shadows, street lamps, confined spaces, running water, bars on windows, blood, screaming. Weapons (knifes, guns, axes, ropes.) Characters dress casually, sometimes too revealing or too covering. Colours associate with personality villains in dark, others in more pastel. Shocking colours are used to draw attention to specific character (denotation red, connotation: sexy, confident, bright, bloody, full of passion.)

Setting!
Urban cities. Villages. Unknown Locations. Sometimes exotic setting: foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, high seas. Big Houses.

Colours and Lighting.

The colours are often grey, white and black to highlight helplessness of some characters. Recurring black and red used when close to death. Black and White combination used for dreams and memories. Natural and Low key lighting often a flow from one to another . Dim to create mystery and suspense.

Sound, Camera Shots and Editing!

Sounds often from normal to haunting, eerie, creepy, bangs, jumpy noises, shooting, loud steps, piano and strings, low pitch, key. Camera shots either steady or move a lot. Close ups, extreme close ups on important parts, medium shots in general, establishing shots for setting. Low/high angle for vulnerability and power. Editing differentiates from slow cuts to fast pace cuts depending on action and events, fades are used sometimes for suspense and to divide scenes into parts or the film into chapters. Match on action is often used in the scenes with props, such as weapons.