Research: What is a thriller?

Genres

What are genres

In terms of film, genre is a term which refers to the methods in which films are constructed. Most theories of film genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism.

What is a thriller 

A thriller is a movie genre which uses several techniques to create a sense of fearful excitement amongst its audience. Thrillers often fall into the target audience of age ratings 15 and 18. Thrillers also fall into many sub-genres such as; psychological thrillers, action thrillers, sci-fi thrillers and more.

Examples of thrillers 

Final destination 5

  

This film takes place in various settings unlike. It belongs to a sequence of films which all consist of the protagonist visioning a natural disaster right before the event occurs; saving a group of people by warning them about disaster and 'cheating death' to then later encounter a gruesome death in order of how they died in the vision.

This is a thriller because it uses such gruesome and sickening deaths to create thrill amongst the audience. 

 When a stranger calls

This film takes place in large maze-like house which is situated in an isolated location which is where the majority of the film is set. This is where the protagonist, Jill, spends the night babysitting two children. She spends her time on the phone while the kids sleep only to then start receiving phone call from a strange man who is stalker her while she stays in the house. She then has to play hero and save the children as well as herself.

This is a thriller because it uses dim lighting throughout the whole film which creates a dark airy set; along side other characteristics. It also uses mystery to create suspense and tension.

What is a sub-genre?

A sub-genre is a division of a genre into smaller categories. Examples of sub-genres within the thriller genre consists of:

Crime thriller

 Crime thrillers often focus more on characters such as criminals and their activities in leading up to the crime or in retrospect the ending of the film leading back to how it all started. Crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects. Common topics of the films include serial killers & murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses.

Political thriller

This sub-genre focuses on the stability of a government and the reliance on a hero or heroine who must ensure the stability of the government that employs them in order to prevent a bad things happening. Commonly used scenarios are the US presidential elections and the preventions of world wars from occuring.

Psychological thriller

This is the quintessential sub-genre of thriller that is implemented into all the sub-thriller genres. It plays with the audiences minds and creates suspense in film due to the fact that it reflects the main characters conflict being mental and emotional hindered. It depicts the mentality of a character and the thought processes that they go through which makes this sub-genre so suspenseful.

Common themes

 
There are many of common themes amongst the area of thrillers. These include:

• Revenge
• Obsession/ stalking
• Good vs Evil
• Death
• Kidnappings/ abduction

Audience's response to thrillers
Thriller is a genre that uses different characteristics to create fearful excitement in the audience.  There are several techniques that are used to have a large effect on the audience.

Conclusion 
In conclusion, researching about thrillers has furthered my knowledge and has given me stronger ideas of what to use in my own thriller and the kind of sub-genre I'd like to have in it and also the themes.