Danielle Conneely

Genre Research

Thriller is a wide genre that uses tension, suspense and scares as their main
elements. Thrillers aim is to keep audience at the edge of their seats as the narrative
builds up to a climax. The thriller genre includes hybrids and sub genres. A hybrid is
a film that includes a mixture of genres and a sub genre is a division of a genre that
combines with another genre. Examples of subgenre Thrillers are:
The Dark Knight (2008)- Action Thriller
Taken (2009)- Action Thriller
Silence Of The Lambs (1991)- Horror/Thriller Film
Examples of Thrillers are:
Inception (2010)
Shutter Island (2010)
The Accountant (2016)

Overtime thriller genre has changed dramatically due to the advancing in

technology, special effects and the evolving of society. Alfred Hitchcock produced
the first thriller film in 1926; this was a silent film called The Lodger and was based
on Jack the Ripper. Alfred Hitchcock also produced the first sound film in 1929 called
Blackmail. Further on, in the 1950s thriller sub genre films began to arise as in the
2960s spy thriller films such as James Bond films became popular. As decades
have changed thriller films have broadened widely by combining into sub genres and
hybrids with the further advancement of technology.
Thriller films have typical conventions that are characteristic to the audience that
they expect to see in a thriller film. The thriller genre uses a lot of typical conventions
such as the audience expect to see the characters behaving in a normal behaviour
Danielle Conneely

this means that they would want to see the characters acting and reacting to certain
situations the way anyone would. This would help the audience connect to the film
as it helps them connection with the situation that the character is in, as well as by
using realistic situations and locations helps the audience picture the situations in
reality. By using realistic situations and location it helps the audience connect with
the film and react or relate to an extent of whats going on. Having an enigma or
suspense within a thriller film helps creates mystery and puts questions in place
throughout the production for the audience to guess and answer this makes them
more interested about what will happen next. Suspense is crucial as it encourages
the audience to be fascinated and excitement with an element of tension to see what
happens next. The protagonist usually has an obstacle, problem or mystery that they
have to overcome but sometimes the antagonist makes it impossible for the
protagonist to overcome. This keeps the audience fascinated by the production and
makes them intrigued to find out what is going to happen next to the protagonist.
Thrillers use a lot of close up shots to show the characters emotions this can help
create suspense within the production and the audience. Fast cuts are often used to
create a mystery or a calm atmosphere that conforms to the convention of using
enigma and twist within the production.
Top 10 Thriller Films:
The Dark Knight (2008)
Inception (2010)
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Departed (2006)
Se7en (1995)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Black Swan (2010)
No Country For Old Men (2007)