Analysis of the conventions of the Thriller genre

In thrillers there are many codes and conventions involved to make them believable. I have analysed the different conventions used.


A build up to the action - In the opening scene of any successful thriller the build up to the action starts immediately. To be successful the first 2 minutes of the film has to entice the audience by building suspense, making them want to watch more.

Creation of fear - Fear is created in a thriller by giving the audience a sense of anticipation or an unsettling feeling. This is often created by confusion or doubt over a characters true motives or can be created by unsettling music.

Dark Shadowy Atmosphere - A dark shadowy atmosphere can really add to the creation of fear. Film makers usually choose natural lighting to make it more believable and they subtley try to include typical thriller colours such as red, black and white to add to the atmosphere.

Delay in showing the face of a character - In thrillers the face of the villain is usually hidden to build up suspense. Not seeing who the villain is always makes the audience want to keep watching so they can find out who it is in the end.

Music - Eerie music can add to the suspense of a thriller. Music used in the right way can really play on the viewers emotions, whether it be fast, slow, loud or quiet all music has an effect.

Murder encouraging a suspecting audience - In the opening sequence of a thriller, clues should be put in to make people suspect something bad is going to happen. This will make the audience want to keep watching and find out what is going to happen.

Realistic setting - A realistic setting will make the audience feel uneasy as it shows something unusual, and sometimes scary, happening in a normal every day place. Whether it be in a home, a park, a shopping center etc. the audience will be able to identify with it and make them think this could happen to them, making the film feel more realistic.

Flashbacks - Flashbacks tell us something about the characters past that we did not know before, or can be used when a character cannot remember their past and are trying to recall certain events. They are widely used in thrillers and are usually set in a sepia or black and white tone, sometimes even blurred.

Hero/Heroine in threat or struggle - When the hero or heroine is in threat or struggle it makes the audience anxious and keeps them on the edge of their seats. As the audience has been following the hero and heroine throughout the film they have formed a sort of attachment to them, so if anything happens to the hero or heroine it can really play on the audience's emotions.

Twists and turns - Twists and turns keep the audience engaged in the film and on the edge of their seats. Placing many twists and turns in a thriller makes it more exciting and makes the audience want to keep watching to see what happens next.

Keeping the audience on the edge of their seats - This is very important in a thriller, because thrillers are all about making the audience think. If they knew exactly what was going to happen next it would not be challenging and it would most likely lose the audiences interest. Most conventions are used to keep the audience on the edge of their seats because without suspense you do not have a thriller.

Analysis Of Thriller Openings

Film: Seven
Director: David Fincher

This opening sequence is full of random images of a notebook with a persons hands writing in the notebook and cutting the skin off their fingers with a razor blade. The random images mixed with the titles set up a degree of curiosity. It didn't establish character but may have hinted at the narrative context. It didn't help the audience understand location, character and purpose. We see images of a notebook being written in by someone, making the audience think this person is planning something, however we cannot see this person which makes us think he is the villain as a delay in showing the villains face is a convention of the thriller genre. Scratchy font and eerie music is used to make the audience feel uneasy. I felt this opening sequence came across more like a horror film than a thriller.

What I liked:

• I liked the random images mixed in with the titles, this was very effective in making the audience curious about the plot.
• I liked the fact we only saw the villain's hands, not his/her face, as this created a sense of mystery.
• I liked the scratchy font and eerie music as this made the audience feel uneasy and set them up for the mystery of the film.
• I liked the fact the opening sequence looked more like a horror film than a thriller because this made the film seem scarier and set up a feeling of suspense and eeriness for the rest of the film.
• These are all conventions that I would like to use in my thriller opening.

What I disliked:

• I disliked the fact we didn't get any back story or information about location and purpose. Although I think this was done to create mystery and suspense it would have been nice to know a little bit about the characters or plot before we got into the film.

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Film: Hostage
Director: Florent Emilio Siri

This opening sequence is completely animated with a 3D effect, very different from Seven. There is a theme of the colours black, white and red. Red has connotations of blood/murder/death. There are also a lot of guns/snipers giving the audience an indication of the plot, making us feel this film will be very much based on violence and murder. The eerie music and slow camera movements makes the audience feel uneasy and sets up a feeling of suspense. We see the camera weave through buildings, possibly giving the audience some idea of location.

What I liked:

• I liked the animated 3D effect, I liked how different it contrasted with conventional opening sequences of thrillers.
• I liked the use of black, white and red. It was a very simple yet effective use of colour to set the tone of the film.
• I liked the way the eerie music and the slow camera movements made the audience feel uneasy and thought it was very effective.

What I disliked:

• I didn't like how it was very weapon-focused. I feel like this is a very unoriginal way to set up a thriller.

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Film: Face Off
Director: John Woo

This opening sequence starts off with a flashback of the villain, Nicolas Cage's character, attempting to shoot the hero, John Travolta's character. We know this is a flashback because of the sepia tone effect used. The use of slow motion and eerie music sets up a feeling of suspense within minutes of the film starting. The fact this opening sequence is in daylight is very unconventional of a thriller, usually the opening scenes would have quite dark lighting to set the mood whether it be fear or suspense. It is set in a very normal environment (a park) which makes the audience feel uneasy as it suggests this could happen to anyone.

What I liked:

• I liked the sepia tone effect used in the flashback as it clearly defines this scene as a flashback, and is then used throughout the film for flashback scenes. Using an effect like this shows the audience clearly when a flashback is happening.
• I liked the way they use slow motion and eerie music set up the suspense, this is something I might like to use in my thriller.
• I like the fact this scene is in daylight, although it is not a conventional aspect of a thriller I like how it is different and immediately sets the films individuality.
• I like how the scene is set in a normal environment, playing with the audiences emotions as it shows us this could happen to anyone.

What I disliked:

• I didn't like how we saw the villain as soon as the film started. I feel like it may have been better and added more mystery if we didn't know who the shooter was straight away. However, this is used to set up the rest of the film so we know the hero's motives.

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Film: Panic Room
Director: David Fincher

This opening sequence consists of long establishing shots of the buildings surrounding the area where the film is based, New York. This contrasts with the rest of the film as it is mostly set in a claustrophobic panic room. The opening credits are set around the buildings in a metallic font, the way these credits are placed give it a 3D effect, as if they are actually part of the buildings/surrounding areas. It is set in daylight, which is unconventional of a thriller, and again contrasts with the rest of the film as it goes on to be set in very dull/dark lighting. The use of eerie non-digetic sound along with the long drawn out shots of the buildings creates suspense, making us as an audience expect something is going to happen. However, this opening sequence does not give us any indication of what is going to happen in film and does not introduce any of the characters. I found this opening sequence to be very similar to Hostage.

What I Liked:

• I liked how the credits were placed, I found the 3D look very effective and liked the way this wasn't obviously conventional of a thriller.
• I liked the way the non-digetic sound and the long establishing shots drew the opening out, creating mystery and suspense.
• I liked the fact it was set in a natural, light setting as this is also not conventional of a thriller but gave the effect of drawing the audience into a false sense of security.
• I liked how the opening credits contrasted with the rest of the film.
  

What I Disliked:

• I disliked the fact the opening did not give us any back story on purpose or character. Although I'm sure this was done to entice the audience into wanting to find out more, I personally did not like this.

Out of all of these opening sequences my favourites were Seven and Face Off. I think I will use a lot of the conventions they used in my own opening sequence. I would like to mix the random quick cut images and titles from Seven with the unusual conventions and back story elements of Face Off. I would also like to include a possible flashback and not show the villains face.