THRILLER GENRE RESEARCH

By Liza Mae Saich

Varndean College

THRILLER

Thriller is a genre that aims to anticipation and suspense.

The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on

the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set

against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No

matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will

emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The

tension with the main problem is built on throughout the

film and leads to a high climax.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The very first taster of thriller entertainment is The Arrival Of A Train At La Ciotat

(1895). This was just simply a video clip of a train coming towards the camera. But as

the audience of the 1890’s had never seen anything like this it frightened them and

introduced a whole new film genre. One of the earliest thriller films is Alfred

Hitchcock's, silent film ‘The Lodger’ (1926). This is believed to be the film that helped

shape and form the typical thriller genre we see in films today. ‘Alfred Hitchcock is

considered the acknowledged as the master of the thriller or suspense genre,

manipulating his audience's fears and desires, and taking viewers into a state of

association with the representation of reality facing the character.’ Another famous

early thriller film is psycho (also directed by Hitchcock) this included a very famous

shower scene murder that has influenced many other thriller films to this day.

http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html

THRILLER IS A HYBRID GENRE

Hybrid (noun)- a thing made by a combining two different elements; a mixture.

The thriller genre can be broken down into many different hybrid genres such as;

action- or adventure- thrillers

sci-fi thrillers (such as Alien (1979))

crime-caper thrillers (such as The French Connection (1971))

western-thrillers (such as High Noon (1952))

film-noir thrillers (such as Double Indemnity (1944))

romantic comedy-thrillers (such as Safety Last (1923))

psychological-thrillers (such as The Black Swan (2010))

http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html

NARRATIVE THEMES AND CONVENTIONS

Most stories employ suspense in order to maintain interest, but thrillers exploit that particular

narrative quality as much as possible. Main characters in thrillers are placed in menacing situations

from which they escape seems impossible. Themes often include terrorism (Arlington Road (1999)),

political conspiracy (Shutter Island (2010), love triangles that lead to murder (Orphan 2009)),

Crime (Collateral (2004))etc. Often the heroes are ordinary folk who are drawn into danger

unknowingly or unwillingly. More often the heroes are men, but occasionally women take the lead

(The Terminator (2004)).

As opposed to stories where a crime is already been committed and needs to be dealt with the plots

of thrillers usually involve the hero having to work out the plan of a villain. The villain presents

obstacles throughout the narrative that the hero must overcome. Usually the identity of the villain is

already known to the hero and the audience, as opposed to mysteries where his or her identity must

be uncovered. The villains' plan is usually grand in scale and will result in mass destruction and

many deaths.

http://suite101.com/article/hollywood-thirllers-overview-a121560

TYPICAL CHARACTERS

Protagonist; Innocent victims, sometimes characters with dark pasts / Cops / Ex cops - a

protagonist is the main character of the narrative which ends up in a conflict situation

because of the Antagonist. The Protagonist usually ends up facing their own death or the

death of somebody else in which they have to try and prevent. The antagonist typically

sets up a kind of quest that the protagonist has to complete. The film's narrative

construction is dominated by the protagonist's point of view. The protagonist and

antagonist may battle, themselves and each other, not just on a physical level, but on a

mental one as well. The protagonist is usually a man.

Antagonist; Convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, serial killers, kidnappers, terrorists-

the antagonist is the ‘evil’ character in the thriller film. This character is usually very

sinister and devious, playing with the protagonist's mind and the audience. The antagonist

can vary from male to female depending on the film. Many thriller films I have watched

use children as antagonists.

EXAMPLES OF MISE EN SCENE

Mise en scene (placing on stage) is the objects

used in the films to create the right genre/context to

what ever is being filmed.

The key aspects of mise en scene are; set, lighting

and actors.

Iconography is an aspect of genre. We expect to

see certain objects within the mise-en-scene of a

particular genre.

MISE EN SCENE OF SIXTH SENSE

The mise en scene in this picture helps the

audience know what is going on. The character

is in a car. The interior is a beige leather colour

suggesting that the family may have a bit of

money or family that does as they can afford

such luxury. Outside the window you can see a

tree, gate and buildings suggesting the

characters car is in a street. The other

character in the scene is obviously injured. The

camera is focused on her which means she is

obviously important. The look on the main

characters face although out of focus we can

tell he is concerned.

We expect to see come in contact with characters that are dead because of the title. The women in the screen grab is obviously dead which plays to the thriller genre as seeing a dead person is not

normal.

MISE EN SCENE OF TAKEN

In this scene from the 2008 film taken there

is not much mise en scene, but the objects

that are tell us a lot about the movie and

characters. The main character is obviously

the man holding the photograph. His sleeves

are rolled up and his top button is undone

which suggests that as he is wearing a shirt

and tie he is usually a smart dressing

character but because of whatever is on the

photograph he has had to make himself feel

more comfortable. From the look on his face

and the character opposite him it looks like an

interrogation. The photograph is of a teenage

girl who obviously means something to the

man holding it.

In the background you can faintly see a run down, abandoned room. There is broken furniture and the lighting is very musky and eerie. This could suggest that the place that they are in is in a very reclusive place and they don’t want to get found.