Laura Collins

Genre Research – Thriller

This genre of film aims to literally ‘thrill’ by engaging the audience with a
mixture of suspense and tension. Generally, a typical thriller will steadily
build these emotions to a climax which aims to surprise and excite the
audience. Twists are used in a plot which aim to shock or surprise the
audience. The protagonist’s life, or that of a loved one or loved ones, is
threatened, usually because the protagonist is involved unknowingly in a
dangerous and mysterious situation.

Stereotypically, the protagonist in a thriller is a character, usually male,

accustomed to dangerous and difficult situations. For example, a thriller
protagonist is frequently a police officer or detective (Se7en; Fincher, 1995
and Insomnia; Nolan, 2002).

Conventionally, thriller narratives are more focused on the protagonist

thwarting the antagonist, rather than the protagonist solving the crime/event
that has taken place. The villain in the thriller is typically unknown until the
climax of the film.

Typically, a thriller will have a non-linear, disruptive narrative, which

generally consists of flashbacks or flashforwards. The use of this type of
narrative aims to disoreintate an audience and perhaps undermine any
predictability in a plot. A good example of this narrative use is Momento
(Nolan, 2000).

Location is also, generally, an important feature of a thriller. Thrillers often

take place in small, spacially limited locations to evoke a sense of
claustraphobia within the audience. For example, Flightplan (Schwentke,
2005), Panic Room (Fincher, 2002) and Buried (Cortés, 2010).

It is not, however, always necessary for the location to be physically

claustrophobic. Many polictical thrillers, for example, still create a sense of
claustrophobia without use of location; State of Play (Macdonald, 2009), for
example, creates a stifling feeling throughout the film with its use of
cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene and sound.

Another generic code of the thriller genre is the use of fast-paced editing
(short takes and fast, hard cuts) or discontinuous, montage editing (jumps
cuts etc.), which aim to provoke audiences; to make them experience the
emotions that the protagonist feels. Some thrillers use montage editing to
disorientate the audience and to make their heartbeat physically accelerate.
Laura Collins

Lighting, a key aspect of mise-en-scene, is also a vital tool used in thrillers to

convey certain tones/moods. Low key lighting is generally used to create
tension and a sese of eerieness. Shadows are inevitably linked with this
lighting and are often used to represent the dark, conflicted aspects of the
protagonists. This technique is prodominantly present in neo-noir thrillers
and psychological thrillers.

A standard icon often used in thrillers, especially the sub-genre of

psychological thrillers, is a mirror. Mirrors are used to connote different
emotions, most notably the inner darkness within a protagonist. A recent
and apt example of this use of iconography is Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010).

There are many sub-genres of a thriller, for example:

• Action Thriller: The iconography of this sub-genre consists mainly

of guns, explosions and violence. There are also often elements
of crime and mystery, for example Jason Bourne films (Liman,
2002 and Greengrass, 2004 and 2007).

• Crime Thriller: This sub-genre is a hybrid of thriller and crime

films; it is usually from the perspective of criminals, rather than
the police/law enforcement, for example, The Godfather Trilogy
(Coppola; 1972, 1974 and 1990).

• Disaster Thriller: The main conflict is usually centered on a

natural disaster, e.g. earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes
(Volcano; Jackson, 1997), or a man-made disaster such as
nuclear war.

• Psychological Thriller: The conflict is mainly focused on the

mental and emotional aspects of a character, rather than the
psychical. A good example of this is Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958).

Each of these include certain codes and conventions, many of which are
mentioned above, that coincide with the thriller genre but also have
separate, distinctive aspects that individualise them as sub-genres.