Thriller conventions ( with thanks, to Longroadmedia who posted this
originally on their blog.)
Obviously, many thrillers
these days are hybrids ie. they draw from more than 1 set of conventions.
However, it is still possible to create a list of thriller conventions. Consider
the list below in your analysis and technical construction of a
thriller:
Thriller Generic
Characteristics
The narrative
centres around a crime eg. a theft or a murder.
The
protagonist is fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' that is exploited by
the antagonist.
The title of the thriller may relate to
this weakness eg Vertigo and Insomnia.
The protagonist will be
seen 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the
resolution.
The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in
an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and
helpless.
The narrative presents ordinary situations in which
extraordinary things happen.
Micro elements
combine in a build up of suspense. ( Micro means film elements like camerawork,
sound, narrative, genre, mise-en-scene, lighting, costumes, actors and facial
expressions, etc.)
Themes of identity are common:
mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia.
Themes of
seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives, visual
McGuffins, and optical illusions are common.
The audience of a
thriller is placed in the ambiguous position of voyeur. Voyeurism can
also be a theme and the objectification of female characters is common
especially in earlier thrillers.
A series of/ one important
enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further
complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.
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