Section 1: Thriller Codes & Conventions

Thriller Conventions

Definition: A Thriller is a genre of fiction that attempts to thrill the audience by placing the character at risk. There are no clear ingredients of what a thriller should consist of.
Thriller is a problematic genre. Thriller can be categorised by fast paced editing action, and a hero who must outwit the villain. They make use of cliff hangers and Red Herrings.
Thrillers usually take place in exotic places, foreign cities, deserts etc. The hero is normally a “hard man” accustomed to danger and dangerous situations; yet is involved with normal people.
Thrillers of ten overlap mystery stories, however, they often work on a much grander scale; big crimes, mass murders etc.

Sub-genres:

Action/Thriller – Race against time, and contains violence.
Conspiracy Thriller – Hero confronts a powerful group.
Crime Thriller – Hybrid of crime films and thrillers. Focus is more on the criminal rather than on the police.
Disaster Thriller – Conflict against natural disasters.
Drama Thriller – Slow paced, makes use of in depth character development.
Eco Thriller – Protagonist must rectify environmental problems.
Erotic Thriller – Popular since the 1980’s, (Fatal Attraction between two characters).
Horror Thriller – Conflict between the main characters who find themselves up against a superior force.
Legal Thriller – Lawyer in danger. (Would have to complete a case and win, in order to survive etc.)
Medical Thriller – The hero is a doctor, who will solve a medically expanding problem.
Political Thriller – The Hero must create stability for a Government.
Spy Thriller – Generally is a Government agent. (e.g. Bourne Identity).
Supernatual – Conflict usually involves supernatural powers/forces.
Thriller
Technological – Focus is on a piece of Technological Equipment.
Thriller

Theories:

The Transformed City
· Large, Urban Environment.
· Modern Genre
· Expose the ‘poetry’ of modern life.
(He is saying we live in a boring, mundance era. The place in Thrillers provide the ability to make them exciting).

Heroic Romance
· The hero is an ordinary, everyday person, with no superpowers or strength etc. They become the hero by being placed in an extraordinary circumstance which means they have to take on the role of a hero.
The hero is usually Romanticised, and it exchanges a Romantic setting for a modern city.
(Laws of Nature are Suspended).

The Exotic
· Something within the film that is exotic (Exotic in the context of out of place).
o E.g. Place
o Women,
o Jewel,
o Middle Eastern Artefact etc.

Mazes and Labrinths
· Mazes are full of twists and dead ends. (The hero would usually get lost).
· The maze would usually be complex and unfathmable, and the hero should receive clue throughout to work out the killer/or the red herring.
· Audience will gain pleasure through a prolonged mystery.

Partial Vision
· Audience only sees so much (doesn’t see everything/anything), as it is partially/fully hidden.
E.g. They see part of the action – They don’t see a killing, they just see the result.

Concealment & Protraction
· Pulls the audience in different directions to make them confused, or to diliberatly hide something from them. Concealment and Protraction also make use of the unexpected.

Question & Answer Model
· The Audience are always questionning and are always in suspense, waiting for what is going to happen next. The Question and Answer model will only be answered when the audience least expect it.

Moral Factor
· Where are we positioned?
· What is the moral outcome? – Death? Jail? Etc.
· Probability Factor – Will it every happen? When will it happen?